MOUNT LAUREL — The Mount Laurel veteran who died by setting himself on fire in Washington, D.C., Friday served his country during the Vietnam War, officials say.
John Constantino, 64, was an active-duty Marine from December 1968 until May 1973, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. President Richard Nixon ordered U.S. forces to withdraw in 1973, and the war ended in 1975.
Constantino was also receiving veteran benefits, a Veteran Affairs spokesman said.
The Courier-Post reported earlier today that property tax records indicated Constantino was a disabled veteran. It’s not clear at this time what that disability was.
However, Constantino’s family members said he had long struggled with mental illness.
The day after police in Washington confirmed Constantino’s identity, Virginia-based attorney Jeffrey Cox issued a statement on the family’s behalf:
“John Constantino was a loving father and husband. His death was not a political act or statement, but the result of his long battle with mental illness.”
The burning man
Tis a crisis in these here United States.
He went to a lot of trouble to commit this action if he did not intend to express something. When the Buddhist monks and nuns in Vietnam immolated themselves it was to express themselves against their government and the war when their voices could not be heard. Mr Constatino’s family obviously had not been listening or they did not like what they heard.