Fundraiser For Family of Veteran Found Dead At New York Cemetery

Here's how you can help four young children after their veteran father was found dead inside a Hudson Valley cemetery.

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A GoFundMe page was started for the family of 41-year-old Kyle Van De Water. The Afghanistan veteran and former congressional candidate was found dead at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery last week.

Van De Water leaves behind his wife and four young children.

"We are heartbroken. His family is heartbroken. And, his children will now grow up without their father. We may not always know the burdens and challenges shouldered by our friends and neighbors and we most certainly must do more for all those who struggle, especially our veterans," Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro wrote on Twitter while sharing a link to the GoFundMe page. "For now, we can help Kyle Van De Water’s children and family."

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As of this writing, in four days, over $25,000 has been raised. CLICK HERE to donate.

"I am beyond grateful for all the love that everyone has shown our family throughout this time. To see we are not alone in a moment like this is immeasurable. Nothing has gone unnoticed and I do not have enough words to express how genuinely grateful my children and I are for everyone’s support. I know Kyle would be so happy to see how many people truly cared for him and our family," Van De Water's wife stated.

Van De Water reportedly shot himself inside a cemetery about two weeks after announcing was ending his campaign for the 19th congressional district.

Van De Water was born in Rhinebeck and raised in Poughkeepsie. He attended Spackenkill High School, graduating in 1998. He became an active duty member of the United States Army in 2006. He was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan where he was awarded the Bronze Star in 2011.

He received the Meritorious Service Medal and his honorable discharge from the Army in 2014, according to his bio.

"This reminds us of the invisible dangers of PTSD. Kyle was somebody who on the outside, seems like he had it all together and so many of our veterans, younger veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, put on that brave face, but obviously, there were other things going on. So we need, this as a reminder that we need to check on our younger veterans and connect them with great services like Vet2Vet," VetZero spokesperson Tommy Zurhellen told Hudson Valley Post.

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