He Worked With The Army He Had ...

This is the true story of a young man who wrote a columnist and asked that we not forget about him. Like thousands of other young people, he joined the military as a means to getting a college education.

"This February column found its way to Iraq and several months later I received a lengthy letter from one of the Guardsmen confirming the comments I had made.

'I hope you don't forget about us because your writing can help people realize the reality of the situation,' he wrote in his first paragraph. Then he went on to explain that he had a dream of going to college and was enticed to join the Guard because of its promise to help finance his education.

When he enlisted, he explained, the major emphasis of the recruiter was on the college education. Nothing was said about the possibility of war, let alone deployment in an optional pre-emptive action halfway around the world.

He was assigned to traveling up and down the highways to locate roadside bombs. It was a dangerous mission and the equipment was inadequate. Instead of an armored vehicle, he was assigned a heavy gravel truck insulated with boxes of sand. Not only was he in constant danger of running over bombs but he was a ready target for snipers along the road.

'I told my family and friends nothing about what I do,' he wrote. 'I don't want to worry them because to me that is the worst part - having loved ones worried about us.'"
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As for my July correspondent, he will not be taking advantage of that college education he was promised. Spc. Cody Wentz of Williston, N.D., was killed in Iraq a few weeks ago. This column is being written to honor his request that we not forget the Guard and to help people understand the reality of the situation.

He worked with the army he had -- the one Rumsfeld gave him -- and he died.