July 23, 2003
Too early for a memorial?
The Tampa Tribune reports on a memorial installed in downtown Tampa yesterday:
Tears fell at the mournful sound of taps Tuesday as Hillsborough County dedicated a memorial to military personnel killed in the war with Iraq. Seven men with connections to the county were honored in a ceremony at Joe Chillura Courthouse Square, where officials have set a stone monument bearing the names of the dead.
Unfortunately, they may need a lot more room on that stone, as soldiers have continued to die at a rate that exceeds one per day. This despite the fact that our fearless leader declared the war to be over on May 1 when he played top gun for the cameras.
CENTCOM, based right here in Tampa, is issuing press releases like this one every day.
July 22, 2003
Release Number: 03-07-65
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ONE SOLDIER KILLED, 1 WOUNDED IN RPG ATTACK
AR RAMADI, Iraq – A soldier attached to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was killed and one was wounded when their vehicle convoy was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire in an ambush at approximately 9 a.m. July 22 on the road between Balad and Ar Ramadi.
The soldiers were evacuated to 28th Combat Support Hospital.
Names of the deceased and wounded soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
“But the TV news says only 33 troops have died!”
Yeah, but the mainstream news outlets are simply playing along with the Pentagon’s manipulation of the numbers. See, if the death of an American soldier can be classified as “non-combat”, then it doesn’t count against our final score. Oh Joy!
According to Thursday's press and television reports, 33 U.S. soldiers have now died in combat since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting in the war on May 2. This, of course, is a tragedy for the men killed and their families, and a problem for the White House.
But actually the numbers are much worse -- and rarely reported by the media.
According to official military records, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq since May 2 is actually 85. This includes a staggering number of non-combat deaths. Even if killed in a non-hostile action, these soldiers are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved. And it's safe to say that nearly all of these people would still be alive if they were still back in the States.
Nevertheless, the media continues to report the much lower figure of 33 as if those are the only deaths that count.
...
An analysis of the 85 deaths by E&P reveals that nearly as many U.S. military personnel have died in vehicle accidents (17) as from gunshot wounds (19). Ten have died after grenade attacks and seven from accidental explosions, another seven in helicopter crashes. Six were killed by what is described as "non-hostile" gunshots, and three have drowned.
The vast majority of those killed -- at least 70% -- were age 18 to 30 but several soldiers in their 40s or 50s have also perished. Pentagon officials also disclosed that there have been about five deaths among troops assigned to the Iraq mission that commanders say might have been suicides. As inquiries continue, one official said the susupected suicides were not clustered in any single time period that might indicate a related cause.
The most recent non-combat death was Cory Ryan Geurin, age 18, a Marine lance corporal from Santee, Calif. "He was standing post on a palace roof in Babylon when he fell approximately 60 feet," the site said.
On July 13, Jaror C. Puello-Coronado, 36, an Army sergeant, died while "manning a traffic point when the operator of a dump truck lost control of the vehicle."
Another soldier, still officially listed as "Unknown," died on July 13 "from a non-hostile gunshot incident," according to the site.
Before that, on July 9, another Marine Lance Corporal, age 20, died in Kuwait "in a vehicle accident."
Many other deaths are only vaguely described as the "result of non-combat injuries." One recent death occurred in a mine-clearing accident. Others "drowned" or "died of natural causes," and still others lost their lives in a "vehicle accident."
So, the war is officially over, but soldiers continue to die, but as long as they are shot by their own gun or by their comrades in arms, we shouldn’t worry about it. And even if the death is combat related, no sweat: remember, the war is over. Dubya said it, so it must be true, right?
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