http://www.pigstye.net/iraq/article.php/20041014081457768Bismarck Tribune -- Late Monday night, as the lights were going out and the gates going down inside Kirkwood Mall, a sullen woman showed up at work.
Her shift had come and gone without her, the day a blur. She had been too sad to work. Not just sad. Heartbroken.
But still, she was drawn to the mall, to her store, because there was one piece of business that had to be done. Judi Mackie pried open the door to the glass display case with a tear in her eye.
Next to the picture of Pfc. Anthony Monroe was a yellow ribbon. She reached in and plucked it from the back of the case. He wasn't coming home now. Not alive.
Mackie replaced the yellow ribbon with a black one that had the American flag depicted on it. Its dark tails told a sadder story than the hopeful yellow one had.
Tony Monroe, 20, died Sunday in Iraq.
He was hit with shrapnel during an attack in southern Baghdad. Monroe, from Bismarck, was serving with the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.
"I couldn't have loved him more if he was my own son," Mackie said Tuesday. "He called me his second mom. Tony was a terrific kid. He was like a son to me."
Mackie was Monroe's friend and boss at the Pretzelmaker, a food kiosk in the mall. They had grown close in the three years he worked there.
Monroe left Bismarck for the Army in June 2003. Mackie urged him not to go, but she said it was something he wanted to do.
"Tony loved Bismarck and really, really loved North Dakota," Mackie said. "But he wanted to get out in the world, and this was a good chance for him to get his education."
Monroe's mother, Bernadette Monroe, called Mackie early Monday morning to tell her the heartbreaking news. She also called her parents, Jeff and Lola Monroe, who moved to Bismarck this summer from Florida to be closer to family.
"That was a bad wake-up call, and I still can't believe it," Jeff Monroe said. "He was a nice, laid-back kid who volunteered to (join the Army). We were looking forward to seeing Tony in March."
Jeff Monroe, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, said the family hasn't yet made definite funeral plans. The Army told them the body would be back within three to five days, but couldn't be more specific, Monroe said.
"I'm dreading the end of the week because I know Tony will be home," Mackie said. "We've been waiting for him to come home for so long, but not in this way."
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