What’s going on with that boy brain? How harmful is this for me?

It’s been a year since I met an amazing guy, and we've been dating over 6 months. I have allowed myself to fall in love for the first time (I'm 23), and I have fallen hard. I trust him completely and we have so much fun when we get time together. This isn't my first relationship, but the first one where I could see a real future.

GLITCH: He has some deep rooted emotional issues from his past – His heart has been broken and coincided with hard times during his life. He says he is cynical about love. He has had important people in his life be taken by murder and suicide; all abandonment issues (I can relate - I have completed counseling to overcome my own trauma) he says he is dead inside and always will be. He talks about being a husband and father someday though. I see such strength in him though; he’s a full time student, officer in the Army, and one of the best people I know. He says after only 5 months I understand him more than anyone and he can open up with me. However, he starts to feel vulnerable and pushes me away.

ISSUE: Two weeks ago he “broke up” with me saying that this relationship was not going anywhere. He wanted us to be friends no matter what, that I’m too important to not be a part of his life and when he has free time he wants to spend it with me. (What?) He said he has "deep feelings” for me but that he does not and cannot love me because he is so "locked up inside.” He mentioned feeling pressure to commit to me from his family (after 6 months?) and it scared him. He got emotional when he mentioned what an amazing wife and mother I’m going to be. He then said breaking up wasn’t the answer; that I make him happy and he simply wanted us to take a step back from being so emotionally heavy - he cannot process it.

I want to be respectful of what his needs are, but at the same time I know where my heart stands. He requested less demand from the relationship which I’ve given, but has since acted more like a boyfriend than ever before. Mixed signals.

I feel he is the right one for me, but he needs to overcome these emotional blocks. I deserve someone to be all in. So, do I stand by him and help him unpack his emotional baggage? Do I go with the flow and accept we may only be a part of one another’s lives for a short time? Or do I let him go entirely and move on to protect myself?