Greg Mitchell
Editor
& Publisher
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Over and over, the press -- and parents and spouses -- have been
lied to about how young Americans in the military have died in
Iraq. Now another case has surfaced, this one involving a soldier
from Ohio, who (it turns out) died in a friendly fire incident
-- shot in the back.
For the past five weeks, in this column, I have spotlighted the
misreporting of American deaths in Iraq and among veterans of
that war here at home. Over and over, the press -- and parents
and spouses -- have been lied to about how young Americans in
the military have died. Now another case, this one involving Jess
Buryj, a soldier from Canton, Ohio, who (it turns out) died in
a friendly fire incident – shot in the back – has
gained some attention.
The U.S. military has tried to blame Polish soldiers for his
death, but a soldier who served with Buryi told his parents an
American G.I. was actually at fault. Buryj’s father was
so shaken by the alleged cover-up that he came to question whether
the body they buried was even their son’s.
The Associated Press had announced the death of the soldier back
in March 2004, asserting that he had died "while heroically
trying to stop an attack on an Army checkpoint." Of course,
they are at the mercy of the military for any information.
“Jesse Buryj, 21, of Canton, fired more than 400 rounds
at a dump truck trying to crash the checkpoint near Karbala,"
AP related. "He shot the driver of the truck, which then
crashed into the Humvee in which he was riding, an Army sergeant
told his mother, Peggy Buryj, on Wednesday morning."
The official U.S. casualty report said that Buryj had died of
"a back injury" caused by "hostile enemy activity."
Actually,
the dump truck was filled with dirt or sand, not explosives, and
was driven by civilians who had no weapons.
Buryj had a new wife named Amber. On one of the “fallen
heroes” message boards on the Web, she wrote: “I want
to thank all of you for your lovely comments. I would also like
to just tell you all Jesse was an absolutely amazing man, of which
no one could ever compare. A wonderful husband, son, brother,
soldier,and friend to so many! I love you forever and always Jesse."
But later his mother would write at the same site: "I am
Peggy Buryj, the mother of Jesse. My son was promoted to Specialist
the day he died. My son died as the result of friendly fire.”
The death certificate now called it "homicide."
Yet even after his mother learned of the shot in the back, the
lies continued.
Yesterday, Josh White in the Washington Post reported that U.S.
Army officials destroyed critical evidence that could have determined
who shot and killed Buryj, “one of several problems with
the friendly-fire inquiry that may permanently shroud Buryj's
death in mystery, according to an Army inspector general's review.”
The inquiry, which produced a 47-page document recently delivered
to the dead man’s parents, “found that criminal investigators
destroyed bullet fragments, agents failed to collect ballistic
evidence from weapons at the checkpoint, medical personnel made
incorrect notations on Buryj's records and military officials
knew his death was a friendly-fire case months before they officially
notified his family,” White writes.
“As a result, Buryj's family buried him believing he was
killed when his vehicle was rammed by a dump truck. They did not
learn that he was shot by friendly forces until nine months after
his death, and a lack of physical evidence means it is nearly
impossible to know what happened that night.”
Investigators ruled that the Poles “probably” fired
the fatal shot, but the Poles strongly deny it. The final report
notes that the original investigators were well aware of international
sensitivities involving countries among the coalition of the willing.
This could explain why they wanted to hide the friendly fire angle
at the outset.
Back in January, Peggy Buryj told White: "If they can lie
to Pat Tillman's family, what do you think they're going to do
to Ma and Pop in Middle America here?"
Now she remains angry about the handling of the case, blasting
the “incompetence.” She is resigned to the idea that
she may never know what happened to her son, White reports. “I
feel like I gave them my son and they've done nothing but dishonor
him," she said.
On Nov. 17, 2006, the NOW program on PBS interviewed Peggy Buryj
for a report. Here are excerpts from the transcript.
*
BURYJ: When your son's a soldier you know they could get killed.
You know, you pray. But you know it—it's a reality. But
what happened after Jesse died, and the journey to find out what
happened to him has just—broken my heart worse.
HINOJOSA: Peggy Buryj wants the truth. Her son, private Jesse
Buryj was killed in Iraq on may 5, 2004. Peggy was first told
her son died when a truck hit his humvee, but she later found
out—it wasn't true.
BURYJ: Some—maybe some mothers could- say well it didn't
matter —oh, how he died. Well, it does. It's—it's
important. It's a part of history. It's a part of my son's life,
how he died. And they're not—going take that away from him…..
HINOJOSA: After a funeral procession through his hometown streets,
Peggy Buryj had her son Jesse buried with military honors. At
the time, she had no reason to doubt the army's story.
BURYJ: You know, we were basically told that a truck ran a checkpoint,
hit Jesse's Humvee and Jesse was thrown from the Humvee and sustained
internal injuries and died. That's what we were told. That's what
we thought when we buried him.
HINOJOSA: But almost 2 months after Jesse's funeral, his young
widow sent Peggy documents she'd been given by the army.
BURYJ: And on the death certificate, it said, "Cause of
death, penetrating gunshot wound to the back." I said, "He
was shot?" I just couldn't believe that they would leave
out that detail that Jesse was shot., I start making phone calls.
I'm calling everybody I could possibly call that I could think
of. I even called, like, the Red Cross. Could you help me here?
Anybody, help me.
HINOJOSA: Peggy says she spent hours on the phone and on the
internet trying to get more information. But she didn't get very
far…
BURYJ: If Jesse was killed here at home, I could go to the police
station and say, "Could you please give me a copy of this?"
The police report. I could go to the coroner and get a copy of
the autopsy.
HINOJOSA: Peggy—along with her daughter Angela—found
out that getting information from the military is a different
story. Peggy was shocked to learn that to get the army reports
relating to her son's death—she needed to file a freedom
of information act request.
BURYJ: Everything went through the military. I have a son that's
dead. That was shot. I don't know who shot him, how he was shot.
I know nothing other than the fact that my son's dead.
HINOJOSA: Eight months after Jesse's death, her freedom of information
request was answered. Peggy was in for an even bigger shock.
BURYJ: I finally get a copy of the autopsy. And the autopsy said:
"Specialist Jesse Buryj died as a result of friendly fire."
HINOJOSA: What's going on for you when you see "friendly
fire"?
BURYJ: It's like I'm blind sided. It's like I'm blind —I
felt like —I literally felt blind sided. You know it too
me all this time to even have them tell me that my son was shot.
BURYJ: This was the first formal, any time the military sat us
down and tried to explain to us what happened to Jesse….
HINOJOSA: Army investigators called Jesse's death a "tragic
accident" and was "most likely" a result of friendly
fire from "polish forces". But it pointed out "most
likely does not mean proved." Even so the report concluded
that the "investigation of the incident is complete."
But Peggy says... the report was far from complete...
BURYJ: I just, the more I read it, the more holes were in it.
The more inconsistencies, the more this isn't right. In my gut,
I knew this isn't right….
HINOJOSA: Peggy Buryj is still far from the truth. She had new
reasons to question the army's account of Jesse's death by friendly
fire from polish troops. A soldier from her son's unit turned
up at her doorstep with a new version of events.
BURYJ: He came here and told me that the Polish had absolutely
nothing to do with Jessie's death. He was there when the confession
was made. As to who shot Jessie. He was there when statements
were coerced, and the reports were falsified. And he said the
Polish were a complete scapegoat. They had nothing to do with
Jessie's death.
HINOJOSA: And you're getting this from another soldier?
BURYJ: Yeah. Sitting here in my living room. Telling me "If
this was my parents, I would want them to know."
HINOJOSA: Peggy says the soldier told her Jesse had been accidentally
shot by a member of his own unit. This new revelation sparked
a second investigation into Jesse Buryj's death.
The army would not comment on the specifics of Jesse's case.
After two years, Peggy is angry that it's taking the army so long
to figure out how her son died.
BURYJ: I like to think they think it hurts too bad to tell families
that their son was killed by friendly fire. But that's not the
truth. What hurts is not knowing.
HINOJOSA: In an effort to address some of the problems families
like Peggy Buryj are experiencing, the army has recently changed
its notification procedures for families of soldiers who have
been killed.
This past summer, the army also began a review of 810 casualty
reports—that's about 40% of all army deaths. Their conclusion:
only seven families had been misinformed about their loved ones
deaths. But Peggy believes there are many more.
BURYJ: I find it hard to believe that there was only seven—problems.
I know seven people here in Ohio that had problems with their
notifications—were told one thing, and—found out—you
know, maybe a day later, or maybe even that same day. But there
were problems. I don't believe it.
HINOJOSA: And of those seven families, five had already been
reported in the media. Including the families of Pat Tillman,
Ken Ballard and Jesse Buryj. Peggy says, it's no coincidence that
they ended up in the army's report,
BURYJ: The people that have come forward—and made the stink,
and—and—made the stink, and—and questioned it,
are the people that are getting the attention….I hope the
military's accountable. I hope—for the truth. For the truth.
That's all I ever wanted was the truth.
