World War II Vet Kills Himself Outside Upstate Clinic

By Melissa Keeney

Greenville, SC Apr. 24, 2008

When the shot sounded around lunchtime at the Greenville VA clinic, all her years of experience could not help Brenda Jansons.  “I heard code blue! Code blue!,” she says.  “I felt so helpless, because I couldn’t do anything.” The former Vietnam nurse stood in shock with fellow veterans, wondering what was going on.  Jansons says, “Someone came in and said they had told a doctor that a patient had shot himself outside the clinic.”

Outside, 89 year old Grover Chapman, a World War II vet, shot himself in the head.  The Greenville Sheriff’s Office says doctors found the vet lying in the parking lot, with a gun by his side.  Spokesperson for the VA administration, Pricilla Creamer, says Chapman was a regular patient at the clinic.  He did not have an appointment Thursday.  Neighbors tells us the 89 year old was in bad health, and ambulances showed up regularly at his Greenville home.  Jansons believes he could have been frustrated with his medical care.  “They need help there,” she says.  She believes the clinic has too many patients, and not enough people to help them.  “It’s not acceptable how the clinics are understaffed period. It’s not acceptable how our veterans nationwide are not getting the care they so richly deserve.”

The VA says their Greenville clinic has nearly 100 employees, which is more than enough.  “I have no idea whether he just gave up,” Jansons says.