Posted on 03/26/2008 1:18:08 PM PDT by avacado
Texas soldier's father calls son's death 'a waste'
Sgt. Gregory Unruh, 28, died in vehicle rollover in Iraq
Sgt. Gregory Daniel Unruh was in search of an adventure when he enlisted in the Army. But after five months in Iraq, the war was not what he expected, his father said Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Unruh died March 19 in Mandali, Iraq, from injuries suffered when his military vehicle rolled over during a reconnaissance mission. The incident remains under investigation.
...
"I think it's a waste of his life," said an emotional Anthony Unruh, his father. "I don't think anybody should die that way ... in war."
...
Gregory Unruh recently spoke to his family about his disillusionment with the war, particularly with political leaders in Washington, calling them "a bunch of idiots" who are "going to get people killed," his father said.
...
"The only thing that bothers me is the politicians who send our children to things like this without knowing what it really does to the families," Anthony Unruh said. "I think if they knew what it did, they would be more cautious instead of worrying about their political careers."
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
The journalist should be hog-tied.
Bite your tongue... don't you know Rosanna Ruiz of the liberal Houston Chronicle is protected by the 1st Amendment and all those Hate Crime Laws. To disagree with her would be racist!
Yes. Very misleading.
“The only thing that bothers me is the politicians who send our children to things like this without knowing what it really does to the families,” Anthony Unruh said. “I think if they knew what it did, they would be more cautious instead of worrying about their political careers.”
I don’t read it the way you read it at all. It sounds like he’s mad at ANY politician who approves of the war.
I'll admit I've always thought traffic accidents were a waste of life. Better to go down fighting or doing something significant, such as saving someone else. This applies whether we're at war or not. One reason I hate drunk and other stupid, selfish drivers.
Shoot, the soldier died in an automobile accident of all things!
The “journalist” should be shot.
did they interview any of the other 4000 who feel (like I do) that their son or daughter bravely sacrificed for them?
I feel sorry for his loss, but the media are real sh*theals for exploiting him...
Read with the idea that she (journalist) left out details such as which politicians and the "what" they are are supposed to be "cautious" about that affects the families.
I think it’s very telling that on the father’s web page where there was space to list his hero, he didn’t think to list his son. The kid was certainly a hero, serving in the theater of war. Instead the dad wrote, “Still looking for one.” Dad, really?
The father condemned all politicians. His view is that this war wasn’t worth it. Is any war? Every parent who lost a child to war could say the exact same thing. “I support war and I’m not a pacifist, but this war wasn’t worth fighting.”
I do pitty the losses of these parents, but I pitty them as much as anything else that they cannot understand how much I value the price their child had to pay for our freedom. Their kids died an honorable death in the service to our nation. It’s not something we want for them, but to denegrate that sacrifice is shameful IMO.
Agreed.
he’ll be the new poster child for the looney left. They’ll have him and Cindy Sheehan dancing together like Fred and Ginger.....
Last time I checked, we had an all volunteer, adult military - when did this change?
The young man was "looking for an adventure"--perhaps he should have considered his decision to look down this avenue more carefully.
That aside, I am deeply sorry for the family's loss, and appreciate that young man's sacrifice regardless of how it was given.
_________________________________________
Boy, are you stretching........
"I don't think anybody should die that way ... in war."
...>
I don't know what the stats for all traffic deaths were in 2004, the last years stats are in, but in Texas alone, just the alcohol related deaths that one year were "Texas 3,583" and the country "42,518 "
Perhaps, when he's had time to grieve and think clearer, he'll understand the chances of his son dying in a vehicle accident in Texas was greater.
The loss of anyone, especially one's child, is as bad as it gets...but it isn't just in war or war time. His son could have rolled a vehicle anywhere in the world - or been hit by a drunk driver.
His son died only a week ago. I don't think editing his webpage is a priority right now.
Not at all. In the following he *isn't* talking about politicians worrying about their careers because they DID authorize the war. He's talking about Democrats talking about defeat. The journalist is free to leave out the context of his expression and skew it toward a different expression.
"The only thing that bothers me is the politicians who send our children to things like this without knowing what it really does to the families," Anthony Unruh said. "I think if they knew what it did, they would be more cautious instead of worrying about their political careers."
If my son were in Iraq, his name would have been there from day one. I realize the father (and mom of course) has experienced a heart rendering loss and I really do sympathize on that point. Having put up with Cindy Sheehan for the last (what seems like) 1000 years, I’m not real sympathetic to people who trash the war effort using their dead son’s service record to do so.
I appreciate where you are coming from. I hope you understand.
Found time to do an interview though. I don't think I'd be well enough to do either after just a week.
I can give you websites but just a simple search will reveal,in the USA we average about 40k deaths every year on our roads. Amazing isnt it?, but its true.
heres it is in a nutshell. Maybe we should ban bikes?
http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.