July 20, 2007
18-Year-Old Enlisted To Prove His Masculinity Article Suggests??, Got Killed Iraq July 14th
Army Spc. Christopher D. Kube was memorialized Thursday in a packed theater at this outpost in east Baghdad. Another fallen soldier. . .Army Spc. Christopher Kube needed his parents' permission when he enlisted at age 17.He was 18. He was a newlywed.
He was killed on July 14, eight months after he arrived in Iraq on a deployment that made him nervous from the start, as one fellow soldier remembered. Back at his home station, Fort Carson, Colorado, he drew attention for being so young, so short, so slight and so cheerful.
"When I saw him I asked, `How old are you, 10?"' recalled his platoon sergeant, Staff Sgt. Eugenie Byron-Griffin. "`What are you doing here? You're a baby.' He looked me straight in my eye, with his chest poked out like he does, and he said, `I'm 17, and I ain't no baby. I'm a man."'
Tears flowing, she added: "Everyone in the unit used to mess with him because he was so small. And almost always he would fight hard to prove his manhood. Like when he purchased his first vehicle and bragged about how little he paid for it."
Fellas, this story was tough to read. Very tough.
Posted by anthony at July 20, 2007 08:51 AM | TrackBackYeah... It is.
Posted by: Brad at July 20, 2007 11:11 AMI hope proving his manhood wasn't the only reason he joined the military. I think going to Iraq would quickly help me to realize how "unmanly" I am. A friend of mine lost his brother there not to long ago and he was still unflinching in his desire to fulfill his own deployment. Luckily, for his pregnant wife, I think they are letting him come home. The thing that amazes me is those who can do it without having faith. I can't imagine facing those kind of things without some kind of understanding about the greater purpose. I have so much respect for those soldiers who fight with full knowledge of the scope of the situation.
Posted by: Dave at July 20, 2007 11:34 AMDave, yeah, I'm equally amazed at these guys.
Posted by: Anthony at July 20, 2007 01:45 PMI'm not sure why we join the military. I honestly joined for the college money but knew that it could take me in harms way (the recruiter being overly honest about that).
I met kids like this stateside and overseas. Some running from a bad childhood, some running from their own past - looking for a purpose and something else to define their life.
The weird thing is that the military can help with that. I found out a lot about myself, my sins and the good and bad in others. My time in Iraq was nothing like this kid's, but even with the scary stuff I wouldn't trade what I learned for anything.
I feel for this kid's family and for those like him. A lot of folk are getting physically and emotionally hurt through all of this.
Pray for these folks, pray for peace.
Posted by: stelmodad at July 20, 2007 03:43 PMI don't expect every one to understand why there are wars...and there are warriors. As an officer I understand my choices. I guess it is like trying to explain to people..I love my home, I do not love bugs...ergo I have people come in and eradicate the bugs, I couldn't do it but I am glad someone else can.
Posted by: marie at July 20, 2007 04:13 PMI sent in this poem as a comment on the story about Army Spc. Christopher Kube, I am sure it wasn't touchy-feeling enough for the editors at CNN, but perhaps some one reading here may see the connection.
Behold a broken world, we pray...
Where want and war increase,
And grant us, Lord, in this our day,
The ancient dream of peace.
A dream of swords to sickles bent,
Of spears to scythe and spade,
The weapons of our warefare spent,
A world of peace remade.
Where every battle-flag flurled
And every trumpet stilled
Where wars shall cease in all the world
A waking dream fulfilled.
No forces of arms shall there prevail
Nor justice cease her sway,
Nor shall their loftiest visions fail
The dreamers of the day.
O Prince of peace, who died to save,
A lost world to redeem,
And rose in triumph from the grave
Behold our waking dream.
Bring, Lord, your better world to birth,
Your kingdom...love's domain,
Where peace with G-d, and peace on earth,
And peace eternal reign.
By Timothy Dudley-Smith
from "Awake, O Sleeper, Behold a Broken World
Where does the post title come from? The article says he insisted on his manhood once he was in, but nothing about that being the reason for joining. In fact, his own sergeant said, "But he wanted to make a better life for himself and his family."
Posted by: pentamom at July 21, 2007 08:16 PMRicardo Arjona said it best in his song "Si el Norte fuera el Sur" (If the North were the South):
"Con 18 eres un niño para un trago en algún bar, pero ya eres todo un hombre para la guerra y para matar"
"At 18 you're just a kid for a drink at the bar, but you are a man for killing and for war"
Posted by: Juan Callejas at July 26, 2007 05:11 PMAugust 2,2007
Who do you think you are suggesting that MY SON joined the Army to prove his masculinity. Where in the hell do you get off writing such a statement. My son was a MAN way BEFORE he joined the Army. You better get your facts straight before you put anything in print.
My son thrived on discipline, structure, and the ability to ALWAYS ACHIEVE. I consented to my son's enlistment because the military could offer him a higher education, benefits, and things that at this time I can not financially afford to do for him. I just wanted my son to have a better life than I do. He deserved that much.
Why don't you prove your masculinity and do what my son did.He served his country at the age of 18 and knew EXACTLY what the risks were. But you choose to be a coward and hide behind a pen, a piece of paper, and a computer and write fictitious statements about others.
Deborah Krupski
(Mother of Spc Christopher David Allen Kube)
Posted by: Deborah Krupski at August 2, 2007 10:30 PMAS A MOTHER I CAN UNDERSTAND WANTING TO GIVE YOUR CHILD MORE THEN YOU CAN GIVE OR HAVE HAD YOURSELF. HOWEVER THE ARMY WOULD NOT BE A OPTION FOR MY SON. I WOULD NEVER SIGN OR CONSENT, SOME MAY THINK I'M SELFISH, BECAUSE "OUR" ARMY NEEDS US. I CALL IT LOVE NO AMOUNT OF MONEY CAN REPLACE MY CHILD OR AND OTHER MAN OR WOMAN. "MY" FAMILY NEEDS MY SON ALIVE AND THRIVING RATHER DEAD AND GONE WITH A PAID FUNERAL. MY HEART GOES OUT TO HIS FAMILY AND PRAYERS TO THE SAFE RETURN OF ALL THE SOILDERS FIGHTING FOR PEACE.
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