‘TOO DIFFICULT TO BEAR’

Brother of Marine Killed in Afghan Withdrawal Dies by Suicide During One-Year Memorial

Dakota Halverson had been talking more and more about missing his brother Kareem Nikoui, their mother said.

The brother of a Marine who died during the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal last year died by suicide during the one-year memorial of his sibling’s death. Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, who was born the year the Afghanistan war began, died Aug. 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside of Kabul Airport while thousands of Afghans and other nationals tried to desperately flee the country during a Taliban takeover. His older brother, Dakota Halverson, 28, died Aug. 9. “I look at my kids as strong and like they can handle anything,” their mother, Shana Chappell, wrote on Facebook, noting that Halverson had recently mentioned how much he missed his brother. “That was my mistake.” In a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral services and a burial plot beside Nikou, Chappell said the loss of his younger brother proved “too difficult to bear” for Halverson.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741