WP: An Army Death, and a Family Left In the Dark

[kskiska]

'Friendly Fire' Incident In Iraq Remains Murky

Tuesday, January 17, 2006; A01

Army Spec. Jesse Buryj was in the gun turret of a Humvee that night, guarding a traffic circle in Karbala, Iraq. The soldiers were on edge -- they had been warned about a car bomb -- so when a dump truck came barreling into the intersection, they opened fire from all sides. But the truck kept coming and crashed into Buryj's armored vehicle, sending the 21-year-old hurtling to the ground.

(snip)

In July 2004, two months after their son died, Steve and Peggy Buryj met Bush after a rally at the Canton Civic Center and passed him a letter asking for the truth. "I asked him to do what he could," Peggy said. "He appeared concerned and was very sincere. He said that sometimes all it takes is a call from the president."

Nothing happened, and Peggy Buryj doesn't know whether he made that call. In early October, she said, she received a call from the Bush campaign in Ohio. She said Darrin Klinger, then executive director of the Bush-Cheney Ohio campaign, asked her if she would be interested in appearing in a campaign commercial as a grieving mother who was sticking by her president. (Klinger, reached at his office in Columbus, Ohio, said he is familiar with the Buryj family but does not recall that conversation.) She said she refused. "I told them that if he finds out what happened to my son, I'll win him an Academy Award," she said. "I voted for Bush, I was a supporter. But I was just getting strung along, and I knew it at that point.

"I think Bush needed Ohio to swing the election, and I think they didn't want the publicity of what really happened to Jesse," she said.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/16/AR2006011601394.html

[purduejake]

1. Bush supporter?

I feel no grief for her loss. She asked for it.

[purduejake]

3. To be clear...

I don't feel sorry for her. Her son's death is horrible and never should have happened.

[coldiggs]

2. That is sad I lost a few buddys in my national guard unit.

[kskiska]

4. Then there's this, at the end…

(snip)

Despite her frustration, Peggy Buryj continues to support her president and the war, believing her son did not die in vain. She even wrote to Bush in April, thanking him "for being my son's Commander in Chief."

--------

Go figure.

[JI7]

5. it's hard for some to accept the reality

people react in different ways. some face reality and set out to change what is going on.

for some it's just too difficult to face what really happened. and they try to convince themselves that it was all for the better.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

6. I don't mean to sound cavalier, but my God

Peggy Buryj sounds like the original Kool-Aid drinker. Maybe someday she'll realize that her son died for a lie.

[LizW]

7. Horrible.

How typical that they couldn't give the family any information about how their loved on died, and in fact gave them conflicting information, but when they wanted to use them for political props, they knew right where to find them?

This is just unbelievable. They begged * for help, he blew them off, and then the Republicans had the nerve to ask them to let themselves be used in a campaign ad.

That makes me nauseous.

These chickenhawks care nothing for our sons and daughters.

[salin]

8. I can understand the emotional response

of *wanting* to believe that one's son did not die in vain, and in this case for some that means staying aligned with those who sent the orders, in order to still be able to believe the orders were sincere and not cynical.

I feel for this woman, and her family for the loss of their son - regardless of her political leanings. There is little harder in life than outliving one's child.

[hadrons]

9. on one hand, I understand her not admitting to the truth .....

that Bush lied, didn't give a shit about her son, and her vote and support of Coke-head and his policies led to her son being send to Iraq, but on the other hand ... what a dope