Pickleball tournament to honor Las Cruces veteran lost to suicide

(April 2, 2018 Las Cruces, NM, www.lcsun-news.com)

A pickleball tournament will be held April 7 and 8 to honor the memory of Aaron Gifford, a U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq War who took his own life on Jan. 8.

Proceeds from the tournament will go to Mission 22, a national organization that works to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from combat missions.

Gifford served in the 3rd Infantry with the U.S. Army, and was in the first invasion of Iraq, explained his mother, CeCe Hunter. He returned with PTSD that got progressively worse, she said. He had difficulty sleeping, but resisted going to get help.

“Pickleball became a passion for Aaron and he built a wonderful community and made many friends,” his mother said. “We enjoyed playing as a family, and felt like Aaron had found an outlet for his PTSD.” Read More…