There’s a moderate-sized park near my office. Last week I decided to take a walk through the park on my lunch break, more to get out of the office than anything else. Halfway through my promenade I noticed a man on a ladder, lowering the flag to half-mast.
“Why’s the flag being lowered?” I asked.
The guy barely glanced at me. “Local kid died in Iraq.”
“Shit. Who was he?”
“I don’t know,” said the man.
His name was Michael Bouthot, and he was 19 years old. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 67th Armored Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. Maybe the Angry Veteran can make sense out of that shit, but I can’t.
On April 22nd, 2006, Pvt. Michael E. Bouthot was killed along with Sgt. Kyle A. Colnot, 23, of California, Spc. Eric D. King, 29, of Washington and Pfc. Jacob H. Allcott, 21, of Idaho, when an “improvised explosive device”, a.k.a. a roadside bomb, blew up next to their ride in Baghdad.
He was a 2004 graduate of Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River, Massachusetts. He studied culinary arts. He wanted to be a chef.
I didn’t know Michael Bouthot. I never met him. Everything I just wrote I found out from the Fall River Herald News.
Now you know him as well as I did.
With 2500 Americans killed in action and close to 18000 wounded, not to mention the staggering loss of Iraqi life we never hear anything about, I think it’s important to keep a face on this war. Pvt. Bouthot enlisted of his own free will, which pretty much guarantees he and I would have had little, if anything, in common.
Yet the fact remains that if there was no war in Iraq, this 19 year-old would still be alive, and so would 2500 other Americans and lots and lots of Iraqi military and civilians.
How much longer?
Half-mast
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Posted by The Angry Piper at 5:34 PM
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10 comments:
There was just a huge funeral for a Fairhaven Native also 19, killed same way. It is heartbreaking to hear some of the stories, on the plus side though, less soldiers killed per 100 than ever. Modern Technology. If this was still the 70's that 2500 or so would be close to 20,000.
Another young fellow by the name of Lance Corporal Michael Ford died on April 26th in Al Anbar Province after a roadside bomb exploded under his tank. Ford had been in Iraq for about two weeks. His family has been friends with mine for years.
He joined the armed forces because he wanted to help in the war on terror.
He was a New Bedford native.
He was also 19.
And, since there is nothing that can be said that will bring him back, nor is there anything that can be said that will convince those who have the power to take action so this will not happen to any more kids; I will not write another word.
But I also won't forget.
I am not pro wars at all.
fight fire with fire will never cool things down.
Dr. D.
Remember that one too.
Don't forget, most of these kids were tricked into signing up in the first place. They're promised jobs, education, training, a future...
What's worse, drafting the unwilling who have no choice but to become criminal, or tricking the naive into fighting?
There's always some kid dying in some country we care nothing about until someone pulls back and reigns in our government's imperialist agendas.
The New Rome.
You know what, this is something its really hard for me to judge, I live in a very rich county, honestly I work and earn more than I really need to, I see my surroundings and I get the idea that US is entirely like that (Cause I haven't had a nice chance to travel outside) I have visited few states around here, I lways thought that people joined the ARMY for thirst of fighting or because they offer college etc etc.
I almost couldn't believe when my brother told me that there are parts in US where even Americans are very poor and sometimes they take the ARMY as one chance to go to school.
Well I really feel deeply for those who have lost their lives in Iraq
There is a common thread here, between the socioeconomic status (SES) of the average recruit (poor) and the failure of the American public to care.
The sons and daughters of opinionmakers are not dying - so witness the media cheerleaders for so long.
Also the same reason Americans don't care abour the genocide in Darfur - no empathy for poor black people.
But we love those V8 engines.
We broke it, we bought it.
Toyi, some stats.
New Bedford MA, city of 100,000. Only 60% of it citizens have a High School Degree. The average wage for a family of 4? $22,000 a year.
^ well I do just myself more than that...
I happened to go from $41 part time job in my origin country as Handdrafting designer to $ lol earning way more than $41 per day in US. Well as I said this is the 2nd richest county in US and here will be a joke to join the ARMY for college benefits, so is hard to trace.
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