Master Sgt. James C. Coons

A U.S. soldier who killed himself after he was evacuated from Kuwait and hospitalized with post-traumatic stress disorder two years ago has been added to the Defense Department''s list of war casualties, the department said Wednesday. Army Master Sgt. James C. Coons, 35, of Conroe, north of Houston, was found dead July 4, 2003, in his room at an outpatient facility at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was receiving psychiatric treatment, the Washington Post reported last week. Coons had hanged himself. At the time of Coons'' death, Defense Department policy prevented counting him as a war casualty because he committed suicide outside of a combat zone. But his family asked that he be considered a war casualty, and a military casualty board ruled in December that he be counted as such. His mother, Carol Coons of Katy, declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press on Wednesday. Coons, a commander for the 385th Signal Company, 54th Signal Battalion, had led creation of communication systems in Camp Doha, Kuwait, for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. He received a Bronze Star. Jack Herschfield, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Michael T. McCaul, confirmed Wednesday that the congressman is helping the Coons family in their efforts to change the date of James Coons'' death. While he was found dead on Independence Day, an independent coroner who reviewed his autopsy at The Post''s request said results indicated Coons died before the holiday.