Saturday, July 12, 2008

He will not be listed

Army Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer dies of wounds from Iraq, five years after his service there.

There is an "official" list of those soldiers who have died as a result of the Iraq war. Then there are the thousands like Army Spc. Joseph Patric Dwyer who shall never be acknowledged as casualties of Dear Leader's war to make Iraq safe for... what? A democratically-elected President who spent Saddam Hussein's regime as a guest of the Iranians? Oil concessions for Big Oil? For what? I don't know, and nobody has ever been able to give me any reason that made sense. Is profit for Vice President Halliburton's company it? Is that all? I don't know. All I know is that too many have died, and so many of them, especially those whose injury was mental rather than physical, will never be listed on whatever monument of ignominy is ever set up for the veterans of the Iraq war.

-- Badtux the Memorial Penguin

3 comments:

  1. I am quick to admit I never served . Nam was not my idea of a high school retreat . My Dad however made Lt. Colonel in the Army during WW2 and taught me respect for the military at a very early age . Dad never saw combat but he " debriefed " some of the American/Japanese divisions that came back from combat in Europe .
    His recolectons left me with a stone cold respect for ' combat vets ' that will last all of my life . I admit freely that I am a ' differen't thinking ' kind of person . But , it stuns me how this government can ever say " support the troops " and treat them so very very badly , in so many ways and places .
    Of All the horrible and ungodly things this administration has done , it's actual support and treatment of those who served , is the worst abomination I could imagine . From lack of gear to lack of care , to friendly fire , to complete ignoral of their presence once discharged . The list of abuses goes on and on without end , and these people risked and some gave thier minds , health and or lives for our country ?
    Support the Troops ?
    Where ?
    A very Sad and Angry
    w3ski

    ReplyDelete
  2. :::bows head::::I can never even estimate how many names I never see. Thank you for providing me with the name of one more of the lost. Joseph will be on MY list and walked into the Labyrinth with his comrades, to song and tears afterwards.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My brother died over in Iraq, in Baghdad, on May 3rd, 2007. He was killed when his Humvee hit an IED.

    I, too, wrote about Spc. Dwyer's death on my blog. I did so because I think it is such a textbook case of how this war is fucking up our soldiers who DO manage to make it home alive. It still kills them, and in so many ways.

    My brother's name is on the DoD casualty list for this horrible war.

    I think Spc. Dwyer's name should be there, too.

    ReplyDelete

Ground rules: Comments that consist solely of insults, fact-free talking points, are off-topic, or simply spam the same argument over and over will be deleted. The penguin is the only one allowed to be an ass here. All viewpoints, however, are welcomed, even if I disagree vehemently with you.

WARNING: You are entitled to create your own arguments, but you are NOT entitled to create your own facts. If you spew scientific denialism, or insist that the sky is purple, or otherwise insist that your made-up universe of pink unicorns and cotton candy trees is "real", well -- expect the banhammer.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.