News from Camp Lancer, Iraq
Critt set his son, Philip, stationed in Iraq with the 1st Division, up with a blog again. I was shocked to read the news on it today:
“My Company Commander, CPT John F. Kurth, was killed at 0500 hours. SPC Wood, a recent rehabilitative transfer from C Company was also killed. 3 other soldiers were critically wounded and were flown to Lahnstuhl, Germany. …”
I heard some of this news on National Public Radio without the names yesterday. I think that broadcast said parts of the 1st Division were replacing parts of the 4th Division. It seems that Philip’s division is replacing my friend’s brother’s, Pete’s, division. Pete got home last week. The news hits a little close to home. (Philip, may you return home safely and your company suffer no more casualties.)
I think this post of sad news demonstrates the power of blogs. A few months ago, one of my news librarian colleagues asked for blogs of soldiers in Iraq so that she could share them with reporters as potential sources of what’s happening over there. Where else can you find a first-hand account like this, learn something about the people serving our country over there instead of just a name and a cause of death when it’s too late to know any of them? The personal details make them more real than just another name and number. (What was it one of the political candidates said on the campaign trail about the names and numbers during the Vietnam Conflict becoming background noise because there were so many of them, people couldn’t keep up and every day, there were more? And how he doesn’t want the war in Iraq to become that?)
Some of you might be taken aback by the detached nature of my voice. This post borders on being way off topic and completely inappropriate for what I want to do with this space. Believe me: I feel it. I don’t want to get into that in this space. Really, right now all I want to do is call that sergeant friend of mine just to hear his voice. I was going to take the blue star banner off my blog today, but now I just can’t.
Sergeant, …
Whatever else I was going to blog tonight just doesn’t matter anymore.
March 16th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
My husband was CPT Kurth’s roommate at West Point. Does your friend Phillip have any additional information regarding his death? The Casualty Assistance Officer in Wisconsin has next to no information.
Thank You