thedrifter
06-28-07, 07:49 AM
Veterans reflect on sobering cost of freedom today
Thursday, June 28, 2007
By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday is July 4th, or Independence Day, the day that Americans celebrate their independence from England. It also marks the day that the United States defined itself as a land of freedom, where all people are equal and have the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as defined in the Declaration of Independence.
But the United States conflict with England wasn't it's last battle against tyranny. In the 231 years since the document was signed, the United States has had to defend its belief in freedom and justice for all against a host of enemies. The Post-Gazette talked recently with members of the VFW Post 914 Intrepid in West Mifflin about the high cost of defending America's freedom.
Walter Kuczma was in 10th grade at South High School on Pittsburgh's South Side when he dropped out of school and enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday, Feb. 8, 1944. He was young and headstrong and wanted to help America win World War II.
Mr. Kuczma, now 80, was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, which was the target of a kamikazee attack during the Philippine Liberation Campaign on Thanksgiving Day, 1944.
During the attack, Mr. Kuczma watched as 73 men on the ship's hangar deck were killed. He was lucky enough to be behind a metal pillar that protected him.
To Mr. Kuczma, the high cost of freedom is the lives that are lost in war.
"We lost 600,000 American people in World War II and we've lost over 3,500 recently [in Iraq]," Mr. Kuczma said.
"The American people defend their country with their lives. We shall do so for as long as we live. Any aggressor who hates our country or our policies -- no matter where in the world -- we must defend our nation even if that means our lives,'' he said.
Mr. Kuczma got to visit the USS Intrepid in 2004, when the West Mifflin Area High School Band performed on the aircraft carrier, which is part of Midtown Manhattan's Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
"I cried my eyes out," he said of the experience. "All I could think of were my 73 buddies who got killed."
West Mifflin Police Chief Joseph Popovich, 59, enlisted in the Marines shortly after his graduation from Homestead High School in 1966. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Wing and in September 1969 he was sent to Vietnam's Quang Tri Province, where he served with an observation squadron. The unit's job was to observe the enemy from the air and report back to the ground troops.
While Mr. Popovich was flying over Vietnam in helicopters and planes that were frequently shot at, anti-war demonstrations were taking place back home. News of the demonstrations, including the infamous one at Kent State University, so angered him that he wrote a letter to the editor of his hometown newspaper, the Homestead Messenger.
"Freedom has a price that the protected will never know," he wrote.
It's still his message today. "Those who haven't spent time at war can't imagine the atrocities nor can they understand the oppression under which others live," he said.
As with Mr. Kuczma, Mr. Popovich counts the price of freedom in the number of lives lost: an estimated 59,000 in the Vietnam conflict. But he said that doesn't include the price paid by the thousands who were wounded, or those who returned with parts of their bodies missing because they stepped on a land mine or were shot.
At the Philadelphia Naval Hospital he saw that devastation firsthand. "I saw guys without arms or legs. I saw one guy who had no arms or legs," Mr. Popovich said.
Beyond the physical injuries suffered by Vietnam veterans was the emotional toll of fighting in a conflict that was never resolved and was opposed by a large portion of the American population.
"It was a bitter pill for these vets to swallow. When they came home they weren't treated as heroes," he said.
Michael Mauer, 45, served nine years in the Army from 1984 until 1993. He enlisted to pay off the student loans he acquired to pay for a journalism degree from Point Park College.
In 1988 he signed on to be an Army journalist and public affairs specialist. He also signed up for combat training.
Shortly after Operation Desert Shield was launched in August 1990, Mr. Mauer received orders to ship out to Saudi Arabia. The military effort was launched after Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened the world's oil supply. American troops were defending the borders of neighboring countries.
The effort was later renamed Desert Storm when troops invaded Kuwait and Iraq and returned Kuwait to its former government.
The military effort was relatively short and successful, and ground casualties were "remarkably light," Mr. Mauer said. He believes that that made folks back home think that war wasn't so bad.
Since their return, however a number of Desert Shield and Desert Storm veterans have reported various ailments that have been referred to as Gulf War Syndrome. The ailments include headaches and memory loss, fatigue, sleep disorders, intestinal and respiratory problems and depression.
Some experts have suggested the symptoms are related to chemical warfare used by Iraq during the war.
Mr. Mauer, a housing counselor for the Mon Valley Initiative, pointed out that the Persian Gulf War was the first war in which American troops were made up solely of volunteers.
"The impact of that is that you are free not to defend your freedom. You can sit back and watch your freedom being defended on television just as you might watch a sporting event," Mr Mauer said.
"I can't think of any country that's freer than that."
Jake Bradich, 38, was a U.S. Postal letter carrier in 2004 when his Pennsylvania National Guard unit was called to active duty. He served in Iraq from March 2004 to March 2005 with the 28th Signal Battalion, which provided phone and internet service.
Though he wasn't a combat soldier, Mr. Bradich soon found out that he was still in the line of fire at Camp Al Daji, where his unit was stationed. Shortly after he got there, four soldiers at the camp were killed when they were hit by mortar fire.
"There were just standing around," he said.
At least once a month, the camp was hit by mortars, he said. "Everyone is in danger there. There is no safe place," he said.
Mr. Bradich, who returned to his postal route after his tour in Iraq, said the cost of freedom has been the 3,500 lives lost so far. Another price, he said, is the peace of mind of every soldier who has served.
"They've seen a whole different way of living there. Anybody can be the enemy and you never know what's going to happen. You get a whole different perspective on how short life really can be."
(Mary Niederberger can be reached at mniederberger@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1512. )
Ellie
Thursday, June 28, 2007
By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday is July 4th, or Independence Day, the day that Americans celebrate their independence from England. It also marks the day that the United States defined itself as a land of freedom, where all people are equal and have the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as defined in the Declaration of Independence.
But the United States conflict with England wasn't it's last battle against tyranny. In the 231 years since the document was signed, the United States has had to defend its belief in freedom and justice for all against a host of enemies. The Post-Gazette talked recently with members of the VFW Post 914 Intrepid in West Mifflin about the high cost of defending America's freedom.
Walter Kuczma was in 10th grade at South High School on Pittsburgh's South Side when he dropped out of school and enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday, Feb. 8, 1944. He was young and headstrong and wanted to help America win World War II.
Mr. Kuczma, now 80, was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, which was the target of a kamikazee attack during the Philippine Liberation Campaign on Thanksgiving Day, 1944.
During the attack, Mr. Kuczma watched as 73 men on the ship's hangar deck were killed. He was lucky enough to be behind a metal pillar that protected him.
To Mr. Kuczma, the high cost of freedom is the lives that are lost in war.
"We lost 600,000 American people in World War II and we've lost over 3,500 recently [in Iraq]," Mr. Kuczma said.
"The American people defend their country with their lives. We shall do so for as long as we live. Any aggressor who hates our country or our policies -- no matter where in the world -- we must defend our nation even if that means our lives,'' he said.
Mr. Kuczma got to visit the USS Intrepid in 2004, when the West Mifflin Area High School Band performed on the aircraft carrier, which is part of Midtown Manhattan's Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
"I cried my eyes out," he said of the experience. "All I could think of were my 73 buddies who got killed."
West Mifflin Police Chief Joseph Popovich, 59, enlisted in the Marines shortly after his graduation from Homestead High School in 1966. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Wing and in September 1969 he was sent to Vietnam's Quang Tri Province, where he served with an observation squadron. The unit's job was to observe the enemy from the air and report back to the ground troops.
While Mr. Popovich was flying over Vietnam in helicopters and planes that were frequently shot at, anti-war demonstrations were taking place back home. News of the demonstrations, including the infamous one at Kent State University, so angered him that he wrote a letter to the editor of his hometown newspaper, the Homestead Messenger.
"Freedom has a price that the protected will never know," he wrote.
It's still his message today. "Those who haven't spent time at war can't imagine the atrocities nor can they understand the oppression under which others live," he said.
As with Mr. Kuczma, Mr. Popovich counts the price of freedom in the number of lives lost: an estimated 59,000 in the Vietnam conflict. But he said that doesn't include the price paid by the thousands who were wounded, or those who returned with parts of their bodies missing because they stepped on a land mine or were shot.
At the Philadelphia Naval Hospital he saw that devastation firsthand. "I saw guys without arms or legs. I saw one guy who had no arms or legs," Mr. Popovich said.
Beyond the physical injuries suffered by Vietnam veterans was the emotional toll of fighting in a conflict that was never resolved and was opposed by a large portion of the American population.
"It was a bitter pill for these vets to swallow. When they came home they weren't treated as heroes," he said.
Michael Mauer, 45, served nine years in the Army from 1984 until 1993. He enlisted to pay off the student loans he acquired to pay for a journalism degree from Point Park College.
In 1988 he signed on to be an Army journalist and public affairs specialist. He also signed up for combat training.
Shortly after Operation Desert Shield was launched in August 1990, Mr. Mauer received orders to ship out to Saudi Arabia. The military effort was launched after Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened the world's oil supply. American troops were defending the borders of neighboring countries.
The effort was later renamed Desert Storm when troops invaded Kuwait and Iraq and returned Kuwait to its former government.
The military effort was relatively short and successful, and ground casualties were "remarkably light," Mr. Mauer said. He believes that that made folks back home think that war wasn't so bad.
Since their return, however a number of Desert Shield and Desert Storm veterans have reported various ailments that have been referred to as Gulf War Syndrome. The ailments include headaches and memory loss, fatigue, sleep disorders, intestinal and respiratory problems and depression.
Some experts have suggested the symptoms are related to chemical warfare used by Iraq during the war.
Mr. Mauer, a housing counselor for the Mon Valley Initiative, pointed out that the Persian Gulf War was the first war in which American troops were made up solely of volunteers.
"The impact of that is that you are free not to defend your freedom. You can sit back and watch your freedom being defended on television just as you might watch a sporting event," Mr Mauer said.
"I can't think of any country that's freer than that."
Jake Bradich, 38, was a U.S. Postal letter carrier in 2004 when his Pennsylvania National Guard unit was called to active duty. He served in Iraq from March 2004 to March 2005 with the 28th Signal Battalion, which provided phone and internet service.
Though he wasn't a combat soldier, Mr. Bradich soon found out that he was still in the line of fire at Camp Al Daji, where his unit was stationed. Shortly after he got there, four soldiers at the camp were killed when they were hit by mortar fire.
"There were just standing around," he said.
At least once a month, the camp was hit by mortars, he said. "Everyone is in danger there. There is no safe place," he said.
Mr. Bradich, who returned to his postal route after his tour in Iraq, said the cost of freedom has been the 3,500 lives lost so far. Another price, he said, is the peace of mind of every soldier who has served.
"They've seen a whole different way of living there. Anybody can be the enemy and you never know what's going to happen. You get a whole different perspective on how short life really can be."
(Mary Niederberger can be reached at mniederberger@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1512. )
Ellie