A Memory I Would Like to Erase.

Today is one of the saddest days. It's September 11 and although it has been six years, I try not to remember. Although I was not directly affected, the memory of the Twin Towers coming down brings tears to my eyes and I feel a weight on my heart. You would think that after six years I would forget, but it is just that I do not want to remember.

May God bless all those directly and indirectly affected by the collapse of the Twins. May God bless the Firefighters, Police Officers, EMS workers, and volunteers who put their lives on the line to save and/or help others. May God bless the servicemen and women who are still fighting for who knows what reason. May God bless us all.

Ever since September 11, 2001 I have not worked on that day. I was off on that day because I was taking the kids to the doctor. Then every year after that I just could not bring myself to work because it just felt like a day of mourning. I would always watch the news and memorials, and the reading of the names, and I would cry. As the years have gone by, it has become unbearable. I cannot bear to watch any more memorials. I do not want to watch any more movies. I wish the impossible. I wish this day would never have happened. It is the one memory I would like to erase.

Military Issue Part 2

And the story continues.


KILLEEN, Tex. - Bronx soldier Jonathan Aponte doesn't know yet if he'll be punished by his superiors, but he's already taking lumps from his peers.
Since returning to his base, the 20-year-old private has felt the scorn of other soldiers - through stares and words - who are appalled that he hired someone to shoot him in the leg to avoid returning to Iraq.
"Some guys have been giving me a hard time, here and there," Aponte told the Daily News at Fort Hood, where he arrived Thursday after being ordered back by the U.S. Army. "It's random people," he said. "Not really anyone I know. They've been saying, 'You're a piece of s---.' I'm trying to take it lightly."
For the young G.I., the timing of his return could not have been worse. The day he got to Texas, officials announced two Fort Hood soldiers - Pfc. Ron Joshua, 19, and Pfc. Brandon Bobb, 20 - had been killed by a bomb.
The news left few soldiers sympathetic to Aponte's struggle.
"I wouldn't want him next to me in combat - not a chicken like that," said Dee Xiong, 22, an infantryman set to redeploy in December after serving 10 months in Iraq.
"What he did was wrong," said a 20-year-old Army mechanic who served a year in Iraq. "You know what you sign up for and you just have to finish it out."
Even residents and merchants near the base frowned on Aponte's actions, though they expressed a sincere appreciation for the difficulty of his job.
"He should have went about it in a different way," said Nancy Watts, 50, a manager at an Arby's. "There are people who can help you," said Watts, whose daughter is a retired Army medic. "I feel sorry for him that he felt he had to do something so drastic."
But one soldier confided he has thought about faking an injury to get out of service - saying the burden of war can leave the mind and body totally warped.
"I understand where he's coming," said a 20-year-old grunt from Amarillo, Tex., who asked not to be named. "There's a lot of stress and no downtime. People will do desperate things to stay with their families."
Aponte had served 10 months in Iraq when he returned to the Bronx on a two-week leave in June. He was scheduled to be redeployed on July 9. Instead of reporting for duty that day, he arranged to be shot in the knee by an acquaintance in exchange for $500, he has admitted.
He said he was so psychologically damaged by his time in Baghdad he could not return for another eight months, and that his scheme was hatched out of desperation.
Aponte, his wife and the alleged triggerman, have been charged with conspiracy and face serious jail time.
tel-ghobashy@nydailynews.com

And the following are a few comments from some daily news readers.

DaveP Jul 22, 2007 1:20 AM
His fellow soldiers are dispensing their own brand of justice, quite apart from whatever the Army does to him. This should not have had to happen, besides the fact that we shouldn't be there. This is what happens when there is an all volunteer military. You go to war with what you have- not what you wish you had. Not too many people would volunteer when they know they will be getting shot at. Being re-deployed into combat three and four times is mind boggling. In a way, I don't blame the guy, but it is what it is. The problem is that there isn't anyone else left to send. If Mexico invaded us there would be nobody to fight them. Forget Korea, they would have to fend for themselves.

Pomeranianzdad Jul 22, 2007 5:55 AM
I can understand why fellow soldiers feel anger towards Aponte, but I don't condone their actions. The questions that remain unanswered include 1--What has or hasn't the military offered Aponte in terms of support? 2--What would lead a person to have himself maimed to avoid returning to Iraq? 3--Is Aponte truly fearful or an opportunist? and (most importantly IMO) 4--Why are we still sentencing our troops to death in Iraq? BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!

hjo4 Jul 22, 2007 6:16 AM
Mr.Aponte's actions should be a lesson to all young people.Don't volunteer for anything unless you're prepared to finish it.Yes we're in a invasion in Iraq,but that's were he was ordered to go and fight.His feelings, concerns, wishes and wants are not relevant here,He goes proudly where hes ordered to and do what he's told to the best of his ability.Sadly this was his choice, (for his own reasons) now he must face the consequences of his actions.Anyone knows the military and the mafia has the same principal, once you join, you're in for life.The question becomes either punk out or risk your life on a bullshit tip that you have no control over.Kinda tough choice.
anjta Jul 22, 2007 7:04 AM

This guy is shell-shocked, but not enouugh to be declared unfit for compbat. Some of his peers probably hate his guts, and his lateral thinking, and they are disguising it as patriotism for the bandwagon effect.
loisdom Jul 22, 2007 7:30 AM

To pomeranianzdad Your statement "bring the troops home now!!" provides no answer to two questions: How to achieve victory? How to prevent a full scale genocide of millions Iraqis currently supporting our efforts? My assumption is that you care about neither. People like you completely vaccuous and clueless to life on the ground in Iraq can make these Sheehan like statements in the safety of their living rooms, but the death and carnage is for someone else to worry about. You would have us turn Iraq over to sub human animals that think nothing of strapping bombs to the retarded, the infantile, unwilling women, children. You may be a citizen, but an American; this is in question.

Paulie Walnuts Jul 22, 2007 7:41 AM
If this had happened during World War II, instead of during the current "politically correct" era, this cowardly punk would have faced a firing squad!!!
pluto24 Jul 22, 2007 8:09 AM

I served our country back in 1980-1986 in the US Army (3 yrs active//3 yrs inactive) & by the Grace of God I didn't experience war. Jonathan Aponte did, as well as thousands of other soldiers whom I do not know but feel their pain. I feel that there was other ways for Pvt Aponte to express his feelings about going back to Iraq. I understand that the military has counseling for soldiers with this fear of going back to war (hey, who can blame them, right?) but the one thing that I did know when I enlisted back then was that no matter what your assigned job classification is, bottom line: you're a soldier. In hiring someone to shoot him in the leg so that he doesn't have to go back was, whether he realized it or not, a disrespect to ALL of our soldier in arms. Some will understand, but the majority will feel betrayed by his actions. A betrayal that will not be welcomed if they do deploy him back to Iraq. Forgive him: YES! for GOD is about forgiveness! But Pvt Aponte has to ante u

mizonglohong Jul 22, 2007 8:12 AM
I wouldn't want to loose my life for this war or any one elses either. WWII was one thing, and the Iraq war is another. We were fighting against a dictator, not for one.

bklynmom Jul 22, 2007 10:40 AM
The world needs to take a look at this desparate measure as a cry that there's seriously something wrong with the war and the treatment that the soldiers receive when they return. Look at the soldier who went AWOL after he sought assistance for mental health treatment. It appears that the military is not providing the proper mental health treatment for soldiers before or after they go to a war zone. Yes, a mental health assessment should be done before the soldier goes to war, giving him/her a detailed description, which can include a video, of what they will be experiencing firsthand in an active war zone. Instead of chastising Aponte, use his actions as a starting point to create adequate mental health services for those suffering from post traumatic stress. We're not out there fighting with them. We only hear of the reports, and see very limited pictures. Their reality is being there, seeing comrades die, having to kill insurgents, smelling burning flesh, and other gory details.

This summer I went to the Six Flags Great Adventure and saw the US Marines had a recruiting station set up inside the park. They made it look fun and exciting to join the Marines, as if it was a ride. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it for myself.

Military Issue

The following story appeared in the news on Thursday, July 19: My comments will follow.

The Bronx soldier accused of hiring a hit man to shoot him in the leg so he could get out of returning to Iraq has been ordered back to his military base - and could face stiff punishment.
"I'm scared s---less," Jonathan Aponte, 20, said after testifying in front of a Bronx grand jury yesterday and learning he is to report to his commanders by midnight tonight.
"I don't know if I'm going back to Iraq or not, but I don't want to," he said.
His wife suggested, and he agreed, that they hire someone to shoot him on the streets of New York in the hopes he would avoid his six-month return tour to the war zone, prosecutors said.
"I just didn't want to go back," he said, shaking with emotion as he stood on crutches. The G.I. was on a two-week leave in the Bronx after serving 10 months in Iraq when the couple allegedly hatched the scheme.
"I feel like I can't handle it mentally after everything I saw," he told the Daily News with tears in his eyes. "I've had friends die in my arms and I've seen things most men my age will never see."
On July 9, the day he was to report to duty, Aponte was shot once in the leg at the corner of Bronx Blvd. and E. Gun Hill Road by Felix Padilla, cops said.
While they were being grilled by cops, the newlywed couple's story began to unravel.
Aponte, his wife, Alexandra Gonzalez, 22, and Padilla were arrested and charged in the conspiracy. All face serious jail time if the Bronx district attorney prosecutes the case.
But military law experts said it is more likely that the Army will take over Aponte's case - opening the door for a possible court-martial and jail time.
William Holmes, a former Marine Corps defense attorney, said it is also possible Aponte will be given some psychological counseling and discharged.
But "the Army may take the attitude that they can't show any tolerance for this kind of behavior," said Holmes, now a private attorney based in Virginia.
Aponte could also be charged with malingering - inflicting injury on himself to get out of duty. That charge alone carries a penalty of up to 10 years in a military jail and a dishonorable discharge.
Another possibility is that the traumatized soldier will be disciplined by his commanding officer. He could lose a month's pay or be stripped of a stripe or be given extra duties, Holmes said.
That punishment can also include being redeployed - for Aponte, the worst result.
"I still have nightmares and smell burning flesh in my dreams," he said. "I was home for the Fourth of July and had to wear earplugs because the sounds reminded me of explosions in Iraq."
His family and lawyer say the G.I. is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
"I want Jonathan to get the treatment he needs to make him a whole person once again," said his attorney Marty Goldberg


Do we seriously want to send someone who is this adamant not to return to war, enough to hire someone to shoot him, back to Iraq? Does this make the best sense? I am not judging the guy for what he did. I actually sympathize with him. He doesn’t want to go back. He is scared. He is most likely suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He doesn’t want to die out there. He misses his family. And exactly why is he out there? Yes I know he took an oath to protect his country. Blah, Blah, Blah. I took that same oath at some point in my life. I took the oath to protect my country but are we out there protecting the good ole U.S. of A??? Can someone be truthful enough to explain why is HE out there? Why are WE there??? I am sure the motivational speech includes something about being proud to be American. It includes something about fighting for your country. It includes something about fighting for freedom, rights, and justice for all. Whatever! Can someone tell me why we are out there again? Was it 9/11? Was it GW avenging his father? Is it Al-Qaeda? Is it Saddam? Well it cant be Saddam because we got him already. Was it the guys on the cards? I think we got most of them too. Is there a new list of people that are being made up as we go along? Is it to free the country of its oppressors? OIL??? Why? Can someone remind me why we are there?
Does it do anyone any good to send him back besides sending a message that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated? If I were out there fighting in the trenches, I wouldn’t want anyone unstable watching my back. I say keep him here. Get him the medical help necessary and then discharge him. Relieve him of his duties and responsibilities. It would serve no purpose to put him in jail.

Iraq War is no WWII, more like 'Nam

"December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy..." This speech was given to a joint session of Congress on the very next day of the Pearl Harbor attack. US casualties were heavy and included 2,403 dead; 1,178 wounded and President Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war and so the United States enters WWII. Fast forward to September 11th, 2001 (referred to as 9/11—pronounced "nine eleven") almost sixty years later. The casualties, similar; There were 2,973 fatalities with an additional 24 people remaining listed as missing. Approximately one month after the attacks, the United States led a broad coalition of international forces in the removal of the Taliban regime for harboring the al-Qeada organization. And now a little further into the future, we have the invasion of Iraq on March 20th, 2003. Which was sold partly as crucial to the successful resolution to the 9/11 attacks, which we now know that Saddam & Iraq had no part in. An invasion which has led to asymmetric warfare with the "Iraqi insurgency" and civil war between the Shiite and Sunni muslims, 3,080 US service members dead & 22,834 wounded in action (don't forget the civilian contractors and coalition forces, they have casualties also), 54,432 to 60,098 civilian deaths (according to the Iraq Body Count project as of January 24th, 2007), and this is all costing the American taxpayer over $360 billion as of January 22, 2007. There was something noble and honorable about WWII, an actual cause. Even the war against the Taliban and al-Qeada had meaning to it. Oh, but here is the Iraq war, a modern day Vietnam (in terms of the mighty US military machine getting it's butt kicked), guzzling on our financial resources and claiming thousands (who knows where the number stops) of lives - of our own children and of those who we are supposed to be liberating. With this war there will be no parades, ticker-tape, or even a memorable photograph for our troops returning home, just post traumatic stress, lack of a limb(s), and no support from their own government...just like Vietnam.