A young war veteran who took his own life after suffering from post traumatic stress disorder will be honoured at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

People came from far and wide to help scour bushland from Casino in the Northern Rivers to the New England regions of New South Wales in May 2013.

Sapper David Wood, a 22-year-old veteran who completed two tours of Afghanistan, had gone missing.

Ten days after his family raised the call to help in the search, Mr Wood's body was found in bushland not far from his home at Casino, after he had taken his own life.

Now, he will be memorialised on the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour as a casualty of the war in Afghanistan.

His grandfather Roger Wood said Mr Wood had suffered from PTSD and was being treated for depression, but it was only in hindsight his family realised how deeply he had been affected.

"It's the old story. If we knew then what we know now we'd still have David," he said.

Sapper David Wood's name will be added to an honour roll at the Australian War Memorial. ( Supplied: Roger Wood )

"People who have [PTSD] deeply and people I've met since — Vietnam vets who are still with us and who helped us when we were searching for David — [they know] PTSD is a mental dysfunction.

"For the bearer of PTSD it is quite logical for them to consider that the only solution for them is to take their own life."

Changing the culture

According to his family, Mr Wood was a compassionate, reflective young man with a passion for ancient history and the natural world.

He had told his family he wanted to study archaeology or palaeontology.

"But then out of the blue, 'I'm going to join the Army,' and he did," his grandfather said.

He said that as a combat engineer, David had been exposed "to the worst of it", including when a seven-year-old Afghan girl died in his arms.

"We lost David when the little girl died in his arms; that was when we lost him," Mr Wood said about the onset of PTSD.

He said two soldiers who had served in similar roles as David and had died in Afghanistan were already on the honour roll.

That will change on Tuesday when his family takes part in a private ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

"They'll unveil a bronze plate that will show our David as being number 42, the 42nd casualty of Afghanistan," Mr Wood said.

An Australian War Memorial spokesperson said in a statement that the Australian War Memorial Council's criteria for inclusion on the roll stated that the death must have been due to war service, and did not exclude psychological injury.



Mr Wood's family has taken some comfort in knowing similar sacrifices made by others now will be remembered.

"We're very proud of him, but we were proud of him before he lost his life," his grandfather said.

"I think what it means to us is that Sapper David Wood has changed and modernised part of the culture of Australia."