John J. Boria

When Jodie and I marched to protest the third anniversary of the war in Iraq, we were approached by someone with a box of popsicle stick crosses. Each cross bore the name of a soldier who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. We taped the crosses onto our protest signs.

Jodie's was John J. Boria. I looked him up and was surprised by a couple of things. One, he wasn't injured in Iraq. Stationed in Doha, Qatar, Captain Boria oversaw Air Force logistics at the Combined Air Operations Center.

Two, though he was a pilot, Captain Boria was not assigned to fly missions.

Three, what happened after his death. On August 31 2004, Captain Boria, a 29-year-old native of Oklahoma, and a friend rented all terrain vehicles and took them out on Doha's sand dunes. Captain Boria's vehicle overturned and he was thrown off. His friend rushed him to the nearest hospital, but nothing could be done for his injuries. Captain Boria was kept on life support until his parents could fly to Qatar two days later.

Forced to make the decision to keep him on the ventilator until his kidneys failed or to take him off life support, his parents chose the later and donated his organs to the people in Doha.

Captain Boria's death allowed four other people in this Arab nation to live, his corneas provided sight for two more.

I understand that culturally, socially and economically Qatar is a far cry from Iraq. Indeed, with the the dominant religion being Wahhabi, Qatar is actually more closely associated to what Americans think of when they think of Arab Iraq.

But, regardless of how Captain Boria's death helped six others, the only way to describe it is as a tragic waste. There should be no reason this man was sent to die for the Orwellian myth of "God and Country." No reason he will not be able to start his own family. No reason he has been reduced to a number. One out of 2,377.

We don't build monuments for soldiers killed in action during ongoing wars. If we did, I wonder if the names would be inscribed with disappearing ink. It's easy to not think about the wars, or what your responsibility is for the death of this man. Or for the deaths of every person killed by the Bush Administration's malicious foreign policy. Weather you supported the war or not, the events that unfold are now your responsibility. And mine.

Because now I have this popsicle stick cross, with the name John J. Boria written on it with blue ink. What do I do with this?

For more about Captain Boria please go here http://www.lifeshareoklahoma.org/lifestories/?idx=31

~Lila
Because Responsible Citizens Clean Up After Their Governmenthttp://goodusgov.org/