Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day


On May 1, I started wearing a red memorial bracelet in honor of Marine PFC Brandon Sturdy. PFC Sturdy was sitting next to my son in the back of a Humvee on May 13, 2004, when an IED went off just outside Fallujah. PFC Sturdy died in the blast; my son was seriously wounded, but came home and recovered. The difference for those two young men, and their families, was about the distance traveled by a half turn of the Humvee wheels.


My son, a Navy corpsman, was the last person to attend to PFC Sturdy. He did so with his uniform still on fire, for which he received a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor designation, along with a Purple Heart. Everything I could find out about PFC Sturdy is in the little memorial below. When someone dies at the age of 19, there often isn’t a lot to find out.

May is the month of my son’s birth, Brandon’s death, and Memorial Day, which we’re celebrating today. It’s an appropriate time to put on the bracelet. I believe that the appropriate time to take it off is after the last soldier or Marine dies in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope that when anyone sees the bracelet I’m wearing, or anyone like it, they will remember the men and women the bracelets represent.

As of today, there have been 4,394 coalition troops (4082 Americans) die in Iraq. An additional 820 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan (507 Americans). More than 8,300 members of the Iraqi security / police force have been killed. At least 100,000 - 150,000 Iraqis and Afghan civilians have died in the war (there are estimates five times that number).

Four weeks from now, my son will return to duty in the Persian Gulf.

MARINE PFC BRANDON C. STURDY, 19, of Urbandale, Iowa, was killed May 13, while conducting security and stability operations. Friends say Brandon was always trying to make people smile. "He made everybody laugh. He could turn a situation around like that," said his eighth grade teacher Heidi Zlab, who said he disliked school but loved life, "I don't think he had an enemy." Brandon graduated from high school in Urbandale in 2003. "He was always trying to be the comical guy," said Sara Broek, 19, who attended elementary and high school with Brandon and was his neighbor. His mom is Shelly Rivera, an administrative assistant for an insurance company; his dad is David Sturdy. He was engaged to Tricia Johnson of Grimes, Iowa.

10 Comments:

At 5/26/2008 6:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The "spaces between" can be breath-taking.

 
At 5/26/2008 9:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this. It would do this country a great deal of good to hear of more stories from people whose sons & daughters have endured so much so very, very young. Heaven in help us all in this... in particular the Sturdys & your family.

 
At 5/26/2008 9:48 PM, Blogger BabyGurl said...

I found your blog via Andrew Sullivan. I thought your post was poignant and heartbreaking. I am glad your son is safe and happy that his father is someone who understands the greater meaning of life and does not take his existence for granted.

 
At 5/27/2008 1:38 AM, Blogger James said...

Damn.

 
At 5/27/2008 5:16 AM, Blogger Hellmut said...

It's sad that how we are treating our beautiful children. It's up to us as citizens and voters to elect a government that respects soldiers and veterans and only exposes them to harm when it is necessary.

Yesterday, my wife, children, and me went to a memorial day celebration and I resolved to live a better life to give meaning to the sacrifice of people like Brandon Sturdy.

I will work my heart out this election to see to it that the Veterans Administration is finally fully financed. Right now, veterans have to wait over 180 days to receive benefits. That can mean bankruptcy and homelessness in some cases.

 
At 5/27/2008 7:29 AM, Blogger rondi adamson said...

Very beautiful. Thank you for posting this.

 
At 9/07/2008 10:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jonathan,

I appreciate your thoughts and comments. There is sacrifice each and every day by all military personnel to serve our Country; as you don't have to give the ultimate sacrifice to understand this fact.

Brandon was the first person from Urbandale, IA to be killed in this latest war. My son Eric was the second. All four of my children attended the same school as Brandon, and therefore knew him. Your commitment to wear the memorial bracelet is very honoring. I wear my son's dog tags and will not take them off until this war is over.

Chuck Woods, Gold Star Father
Pfc Eric Paul Woods, Combat Medic
Grim Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment
United States Army
KIA 7-9-2005 Tal 'Afar, Iraq
www.RememberingEric.com

 
At 10/30/2008 8:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, I googled Brandon today during school. Brandon Sturdy was one of my brother's best friends. I don't know if any of Brandon's family, or my brother know about this blog and I am extremely happy to find it. Thank you so much for this, it means a lot and I'm going to inform my brother. You are a kind and loving person and I wish I had one of your bracelets.

 
At 10/30/2008 8:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, I googled Brandon today during school. Brandon Sturdy was one of my brother's best friends. I don't know if any of Brandon's family, or my brother know about this blog and I am extremely happy to find it. Thank you so much for this, it means a lot and I'm going to inform my brother. You are a kind and loving person and I wish I had one of your bracelets.

-Mallory
Mallory5182@hotmai.com

 
At 6/04/2009 11:15 AM, Anonymous Shelly Rivera said...

Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.Brandon is forever in our hearts~never forgotten.
Respectfully,
Shelly Rivera
Mother of PFC Brandon Sturdy

 

Post a Comment

<< Home