This War Stuff Is Freakin' Me Out, Man

Okay so I get that war is traumatizing and all, but he seriously killed himself? On page 149, O'Brien says "Norman Bowker...hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown in central Iowa." That's a little extreme. I mean, he lost a comrade, and he should be upset. But Kiowa's death was not by any means his fault. Kiowa was shot, and he died because he was shot. The fact that he slipped into the muck had nothing to do with his death. Norman couldn't have saved him, so why did he feel so guilty? It's frustrating that he blamed himself when he didn't need to.