| Page 3 of 5 < > |
An Army Death, and a Family Left In the Dark
Jesse Buryj dances with his wife, Amber, at their wedding on Oct. 18, 2003. He left for Iraq a few months later.
(Family Photo - Family Photo)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
One soldier told investigators he did not remember hearing his own weapon fire or the truck hitting the Humvee. "The atmosphere during the fight for me was one of confusion and like I was looking on from the outside," he said.
The U.S. investigation rules out the possibility that the U.S. soldiers at Buryj's side could have accidentally shot him, although several soldiers reported bullets flying in all directions. Investigators later found holes in Buryj's vehicle that appeared to show that the bullets came from close by -- so close the tracers were still burning when they hit.
At 1:08 a.m., the U.S. platoon leader called for medical support. Buryj was on the ground, complaining that he couldn't feel his legs. Medics who arrived 10 minutes later surmised he had a broken back. They took him to a base camp and then transferred him to a combat hospital in Baghdad.
On the way there, about two hours after he was injured, medics discovered a puncture wound in his lower back. By this time he was unconscious. He died of internal injuries at 4:49 a.m.
Meanwhile, soldiers at the traffic circle in Karbala found that the dump truck was filled with dirt or sand, not explosives. "The driver and passenger were wearing civilian clothing and no weapons were found," an incident report said.
An official U.S. casualty report said that Buryj had died of "a back injury" caused by hostile enemy activity.
'A Homicide'
DeCloud, Buryj's roommate and a close friend, said the death devastated his unit.
"He was just awesome. The kid was hilarious," he said. "In the worst circumstances, he could still make you laugh. The whole thing was really hard. I always wondered why it had to be him."
A military police battalion commander wrote a letter to the family on May 7, praising Buryj and crediting him with killing one attacker and wounding another in the incident that killed him.
"Unfortunately, the truck hit Jesse's military vehicle in the fight and Jesse sustained severe injuries that he was unable to overcome," the letter reads.
Buryj was awarded a Bronze Star for valor. A death certificate issued four days later, however, called the incident a "homicide" caused by a "penetrating gunshot wound of the back." Buryj was buried in Canton on May 15, with military honors.
The death certificate was handed over to the family about two months later.
