thedrifter
12-11-08, 08:44 AM
In Iraqi desert, Marine awoke to nightmare at home
By Erica Perez of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 9, 2008
Michael Bohn awoke from a nightmare with the feeling something terrible had happened to his young wife.
It was June 5, 2005. He was a U.S. Marine six months into his first Iraq deployment. He'd just finished a weeklong stint guarding a building in Ramadi.
Michael found a phone and reached his mother.
While he'd been sleeping, thousands of miles away, investigators had found the body of his 22-year-old wife, Michelle, pinned in her SUV in the shallow waters of the Pine River in rural Richland County.
"I was so freaked out," Michael said. "I hung the phone up and went back to my barracks, and I just sat there thinking, 'Is this really happening?'&ensp"
Michelle had gone to a party in Muscoda and gotten into an argument. She was upset, so even though it was raining and she'd been drinking, she got in her car and drove toward home in Hillsboro.
At the last corner before she reached her mom's house, Michelle lost control of her Saturn Vue. She slammed into a utility pole, veered off the road and wedged the SUV in a group of trees in the creek bed. Richland County sheriff's investigators found her about two hours later.
Toxicology tests measured her blood-alcohol content at 0.21 - more than twice the legal limit. She hadn't worn a seat belt.
Michael's battalion commander promised they'd get him home first thing in the morning. But a sandstorm raged for five days straight. Michael wouldn't get to Hillsboro until the day of Michelle's funeral nine days later - nine days of dealing with his grief largely alone in the desert, with nothing but his thoughts.
She was just 19 and Michael was 18 when they wed in 2002. They bought a little house in Muscoda. Michelle became a licensed practical nurse and got a job with a local nursing home. Michael worked in construction.
Michael always envied the passion Michelle had about her job. She loved working with older people and would come home with stories about her patients, whom she missed on her days off. Many said she was their favorite nurse.
"As far as what she wanted out of life, it was helping people and nursing," Michael said. "She would've been happy doing that for life. She enjoyed helping people and making their day better."
When Michael enlisted in the Marine Corps, Michelle moved back in with her mother and helped her finish repairs on her Hillsboro home. She dreamed of her future with Michael, too. They already had picked out names for the children they hoped to have: For a boy, it was either James Philip or Philip James. For a girl, it was Madison.
By the time Michael arrived in Wisconsin the day of Michelle's funeral, he couldn't handle the mix of emotions. He had 17 days at home before returning to war. Each of those nights he got drunk with his friends.
"I was messed up for a year," Michael said. "I never thought I'd fall in love again. I figured everything was done."
Now, Michael is out of the Marines and has gone back to school so he can get a job he's passionate about, like Michelle did. He wrote a letter to his mother last Christmas, before he got out of the service.
"I wrote, 'I'm 24 now. Me and Michelle would be married six years. If she hadn't died, where would we be? Would we still be married? Would we still be in love?'&ensp"
He'll never know.
Ellie
By Erica Perez of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 9, 2008
Michael Bohn awoke from a nightmare with the feeling something terrible had happened to his young wife.
It was June 5, 2005. He was a U.S. Marine six months into his first Iraq deployment. He'd just finished a weeklong stint guarding a building in Ramadi.
Michael found a phone and reached his mother.
While he'd been sleeping, thousands of miles away, investigators had found the body of his 22-year-old wife, Michelle, pinned in her SUV in the shallow waters of the Pine River in rural Richland County.
"I was so freaked out," Michael said. "I hung the phone up and went back to my barracks, and I just sat there thinking, 'Is this really happening?'&ensp"
Michelle had gone to a party in Muscoda and gotten into an argument. She was upset, so even though it was raining and she'd been drinking, she got in her car and drove toward home in Hillsboro.
At the last corner before she reached her mom's house, Michelle lost control of her Saturn Vue. She slammed into a utility pole, veered off the road and wedged the SUV in a group of trees in the creek bed. Richland County sheriff's investigators found her about two hours later.
Toxicology tests measured her blood-alcohol content at 0.21 - more than twice the legal limit. She hadn't worn a seat belt.
Michael's battalion commander promised they'd get him home first thing in the morning. But a sandstorm raged for five days straight. Michael wouldn't get to Hillsboro until the day of Michelle's funeral nine days later - nine days of dealing with his grief largely alone in the desert, with nothing but his thoughts.
She was just 19 and Michael was 18 when they wed in 2002. They bought a little house in Muscoda. Michelle became a licensed practical nurse and got a job with a local nursing home. Michael worked in construction.
Michael always envied the passion Michelle had about her job. She loved working with older people and would come home with stories about her patients, whom she missed on her days off. Many said she was their favorite nurse.
"As far as what she wanted out of life, it was helping people and nursing," Michael said. "She would've been happy doing that for life. She enjoyed helping people and making their day better."
When Michael enlisted in the Marine Corps, Michelle moved back in with her mother and helped her finish repairs on her Hillsboro home. She dreamed of her future with Michael, too. They already had picked out names for the children they hoped to have: For a boy, it was either James Philip or Philip James. For a girl, it was Madison.
By the time Michael arrived in Wisconsin the day of Michelle's funeral, he couldn't handle the mix of emotions. He had 17 days at home before returning to war. Each of those nights he got drunk with his friends.
"I was messed up for a year," Michael said. "I never thought I'd fall in love again. I figured everything was done."
Now, Michael is out of the Marines and has gone back to school so he can get a job he's passionate about, like Michelle did. He wrote a letter to his mother last Christmas, before he got out of the service.
"I wrote, 'I'm 24 now. Me and Michelle would be married six years. If she hadn't died, where would we be? Would we still be married? Would we still be in love?'&ensp"
He'll never know.
Ellie