Six months after his son’s suicide, Howard Berry is hoping to find justice in the trial of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the man who on Tuesday declared he was the shooter in the 2009 attack at Texas’ Fort Hood military base.
Staff Sgt. Josh Berry was among the 32 victims who survived the massacre nearly four years ago. But he suffered from severe post traumatic-stress afterwards.“He was never at peace,” said Berry on NewNation Wednesday. “There was never a time that I could say that he was comfortable.”Berry said his son viewed the Army as a “safe place,” one where he “thrived,” but that the shooting on Nov. 5, 2009, took that away from him.“I just wish that more could have been done to help him,” Howard Berry said.Berry is among a group of survivors and victims’ family members who have expressed outrage over the Army’s handling of the case.“We hear the same thing,” said NBC 5 investigative reporter Scott Friedman on NewsNation Wednesday. “They’re frustrated with how long it’s taken to bring this case to trial--more than three and a half years. They feel that the judges on this case have gone out of their way to make accommodations, to allow for delays in the process leading up to the trial. They’re frustrated with the fact that Maj. Hasan remains on the Army payroll.”“The victims, meanwhile, have not been awarded Purple Heart medals and combat benefits that they feel they deserve,” said Friedman.