Soldier who got parents' OK to enlist at 17 killed in Iraq - What was he 12 when this started?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=6798055

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A teen who got his parents' permission to join the Army at 17 has been killed in the blast of an improvised explosive device in Baghdad.

Eighteen-year-old Private First Class Christopher Kube was from Macomb County's Shelby Township, about 15 miles north of Detroit.

The Pentagon says he died Saturday.

[Ghost in the Machine]

1. I'm almost at a loss for words...

part of me wants to say "he died doing what he wanted to do"....

the other part screams "end this insane fucking war NOW!!"

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. Part of me wants to choke his parents

[Ghost in the Machine]

44. True... how *could* they give him their permission? Did they NOT know

there's a war going on?? My son will be 14 in a couple of months and I already tell him that I'll take him out of this country before I'll let him sign up or get drafted...

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. My oldest son is 28 and he told me the funniest story just recently

When he was in high school, the recruiters came to his school and he was arguing with one of the recruiters who had told his friend something my son thought was wrong. The vice principal called my son into his office and was lecturing him about arguing with the recruiter. The VP said "Let's call your mother and see what she has to say about you disrespecting this recruiter". So my son said "Well, you don't know my mom very well, but she would probably be proud of me for what I said!"

:rofl:

Needless to say, the VP didn't call me.

[Maraya1969]

47. You've raised a fine you man!

[Zywiec]

50. At what age will he be able to think for himself? n/t

[EFerrari]

2. He was a sparkle in his dad's eye in 1968 when the CIA

recruited Saddam. :mad:

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. He was born in 1989

Grok that.

[EFerrari]

7. He was born in 1937. n/t

[EFerrari]

12. I think I misread your post.

This soldier was younger than both of my kids. :(

[ninkasi]

25. He was younger than 2 of my grandchildren

My sorrow for the loss of these young people, on both sides, causes me a lot of agony. I just don't know how to stop it. I hate the * regime, and everything it stands for. My oldest great-nephew is almost 17. I would sell everything I own to get him out of this country, should a draft become mandatory.

We have to stop this insane war NOW! My two oldest grandchildren are both in their twenties, and I don't know what I'd do if we started drafting youngsters. It's not just my own loved ones I want to protect, it's everybody's loved ones, American and Iraqi.

[EFerrari]

45. I remember feeling that terrible worry when it looked like Reagan

would go into El Salvador. I had 7 cousins and 1 brother who were all potentially at risk. My mother and I made plans to take my brother to Canada.

It was a good thing when this city kicked recruiters out of our schools. This occupation can't end soon enough. :(

[orleans]

3. maybe the parents wanted to be early empty nesters? well,

i guess they got their fucking wish!

[jrlentini]

9. That's a horrible thing to say

When I was 17 I also made the decision to enlist. I told my parents that I had thought long and hard about it, and that I didn't want them to be saddled with my education costs, and that a stint with the Reserves might do me good in the long run. They respected my decision, and, knowing that I'd just enlist at 18 if they didn't let me enter the Delayed Entry Program at 17, they agreed to let me join. Because they did, I was promoted twice, up to PFC, before I even graduated from high school, which put me in a better position, both financially and in terms of on-the-job experience. Both my parents disliked the idea that I was going to join, but they had enough respect for me to help me make the best of the situation.

These parents are heartbroken and shattered. Your comment was mindless and insensitive.

[EFerrari]

10. Welcome to DU., jrlentini.

:)

[JacquesMolay]

39. The true believers are learning some hard lessons...

... except the rich ones who don't have to go.

[qanda]

11. Welcome to DU

I'm sure those parents are completely heartbroken right now. Children grow up and decide what they want to do in life, whether it's going to school, joining the military or getting married. All a parent can do is hope for the best. My heart goes out to them.

[BlooInBloo]

14. That about sums it up.

[TomInTib]

18. See #17 below

Good God...

[malaise]

35. Any parent (who knows the truth about Bushco's lies

that led to the invasion and occupation of Iraq) who lets their child enlist in this mess is sending their child to his or her grave.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. Was there an insane war going on?

How can any parent let their CHILD go to the quagmire in Iraq??

And I am sorry but 17 is far too young to make a decision this important.

[orleans]

52. yeah, what war did your parents enlist you into?

what illegal civil war in a foreign country were you fighting at seventeen? my comment was insensitive because i didn't take the time to express MY RAGE over what these people did to their child.

[Adsos Letter]

13. That's pretty cold...

...I enlisted in the Army at 17 in order to get out of an alcoholic household that was imploding and trying to take me with it. At 17 the military seemed like the best option available to me.

People enlist for all kinds of reasons.

edit: ...spelling... :dunce:

[TomInTib]

17. What the fuck are you saying?

As a combat vet, I surely hope that I have mis-read you.

No parent deserves that knock.

I spent 39 months in combat and I was never really afraid of what might happen to me.

But the thought of a uniformed stranger knocking on my Mother's door absolutely terrified me.

[Adsos Letter]

21. Tiburon?

We're practically neighbors...and that's a nice part of the Bay Area :D

:hi:

[TomInTib]

22. Yeah, Tiburon...

I live in one of the three oldest houses in Old Town (high over the Ferry Landing).

If you get close, let me know.

[Maddy McCall]

23. Maybe his parents had no way to send him to college.

Maybe his parents were poor and he wanted to help them with household income.

Maybe he had no other opportunities present.

Maybe...Maybe...Maybe his parents will cry every day for the rest of their lives for allowing him to sign up.

Maybe yours is the most heartless post at DU that I've ever encountered.

[orleans]

51. yes, maddy--what a total fucking heartless bitch i am

of course no one knows how horrible this war is
of course no one has been talking about it
of course this came as a complete shock because we all know hardly anyone dies in this war--and of course we didn't know a year ago when this kid was seventeen.

(wait...kid? did i say KID?)

HE WAS A KID!
HE WAS UNDER THE SAID AGE FOR HIM TO MAKE THE DECISION ON HIS OWN!!!
HE WAS THEIR CHILD!

AND THEY TOOK THE CHANCE FOR THIS?
THEY ALLOWED HIM TO BE PUT IN HARMS WAY LIKE THIS?

I AM FURIOUS ABOUT IT
WHY AREN'T YOU???

oh yes, sign my child up right away for george bush cannon fodder because i can't afford college.

what a crock of shit! a complete total crock of shit.

NO OTHER OPPORTUNITIES?? WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T THEY FIND ONE FOR HIM? PUT HIM ON A TRAIN AND SEND HIM TO LIVE WITH RELATIVES IF THEIR AREA IS SO GODDAMN DEPRESSED.

MAYBE THEY NEEDED HELP WITH THEIR HOUSEHOLD INCOME???
(no--you said maybe the KID wanted to help support the parents. WELL WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL HIM IT WASN'T NECESSARY--THAT THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIM??)

THIS IS A REASON TO LET YOUR CHILD JOIN THIS FUCKING WAR???
im sorry--do we no longer have welfare and food stamps? i must have missed the day when we got rid of that.

THIS WAS THEIR OPTION?
JESUS, MADDY, WHY THEY HELL DIDN'T THEY JUST .....

you said "Maybe his parents will cry every day for the rest of their lives for allowing him to sign up." I HOPE THEY DO. I HOPE THEY GROW A FUCKING CONSCIENCE AND CRY EVERY FUCKING DAY. I WOULD HOPE THEY NEVER STOP REGRETTING WHAT THEY DID.

there's no going back maddy, this boy is gone.
seventeen years old and they PUT THEIR SIGNATURE ON HIS DEATH WARRANT!

THEY SHOULD BE ARRESTED FOR CHILD ENDANGERMENT!
THEY SHOULD FUCKING BE ARRESTED.

let me tell you something maddy--you and everyone else on this thread calling me, basically a heartless bitch--THERE IS NO REASON--NO REASON--TO PUT YOUR CHILD IN DANGER LIKE THEY DID. that's how heartless i am! AT LEAST I AM NOT MAKING EXCUSES FOR THE CRIMES/THE SINS OF THESE PARENTS.

I WAS HORRIFIED WHEN I READ THIS STORY.
THIS HEARTLESS BITCH HAD ANOTHER PIECE OF HER HEART BROKEN AWAY WHEN I SAW THIS.

did it ever occur to you that they just might support george bush more than they supported their son??

would you sign away your seventeen year old child?
how about your sixteen year old child?

WHY DON'T WE JUST LET ALL THE KIDS GO TO IRAQ? WHAT THE FUCK?

how do you make excuses for ADULTS that allowed/permitted/let their CHILD to die in this insane fucking illegal bush war??

you know, if they had made him wait--try to figure out something better for him, he might not have enlisted when he turned eighteen; he might have been taking classes at the community college. but neither you, nor i, will ever know.

[Marrah_G]

31. What a nasty thing to say

[Swamp Rat]

4. poor kid

:(

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. Killing is "hard work"

[TomInTib]

20. Come on, man, don't pass it on so lightly.

This kid never knew shit.

And he is gone.

Forever.

I knew a bunch of them.

FNGs

Fucking New Guys

They died by the handfull.

Respect them.

They are paying while we are sitting.

Paying for bullshit.


Tom

[Dragonbreathp9d]

34. but we're making progress

[ClayZ]

8. .

:cry:

[Just-plain-Kathy]

15. My kids and I were just talking about the TV ad asking parents to "support"...

their child if the come to you and tell you that they're joining the service. "They're" so afraid we're going to try to talk sense into these kids.

..I'm so glad I talked my daughter's boyfriend out of enlisting.

[blondie58]

36. I don't watch too much tv, so I haven't seen that one

but that is incredible. I am a letter carrier, though and I noticed on a recent magazine that I delivered, that the back cover had a large piece of propoganda about joining the military. I think that it was the Army on the back page of the Boy Scouts mag.

[Hawkowl]

16. Good chance of Dying

I believe the odds of dying are about 1 in 100. The odds of being seriously wounded about 1 in 10. Any parent that lets their children enlist at the age of seventeen is guilty of child endangerment. There is a WORLD of difference between an 17 and an 18 year old. If you love your child you spend that year taking him to Walter Reed and visiting with amputees and VA hospitals to tour the abhorrent conditions and lack of access to health care. Then you read all the stories about divorce, and how enlisting actually decrease your long term earnings potential (just ask Cheney and *).

[Selatius]

19. He was young and stupid. Were we all so different at that age???

I don't know what his parents were thinking allowing him to enlist. That's really between themselves to ponder and suffer the consequences of for the rest of their days.

[Maddy McCall]

24. Terrible.

Warmest wishes for peace to his family.

:(

[Sherman A1]

26. I look at my 5 year old nephew and wonder

if the Repubs get to hold onto to everything, where he will end up. It really isn't that many years.

Take a good look at the kids in your neighborhood and fast forward for a few seconds. Those are the ones that will fill the boots and body bags if we don't end this mess soon.


Just my ranting, very early in the morning.


:argh:

[Eagle_Eye]

27. My first suspicion would be he was brainwashed by talk radio

It would be interesting to see where he picked up the idea of enlisting at 17.

[JTFrog]

28. They prey on these kids.

It's everywhere. School, summer jobs, TV.

I have sat down with all 3 of my teenage boys and talked about this. They've promised never to sign anything without talking to me first. This will be my oldest son's senior year in high school and his 4th year of sitting through recruitment talks in the school.

I had no problem with this before 2000 when my daughter had just reached 17 and was thinking about joining the Air Force. She eventually decided against it when offered a job in Hawaii, however, I hadn't been terrified that she'd be sent off to active duty in some insane illegal war.

I feel for his parents, but I don't think I could have done the same in their shoes. Unless the child was a physical danger to me or my other children, I would have to risk him hating me for a year.

[Chulanowa]

30. I gave it thought at that age, myself

It has a certain appeal to it, at that age. As jobs go, it's probably the easiest to get, and comes with the bonus of the "cool" factor of saying "I'm in the Army" rather than "I fry burgers, would you like a hot apple pie?"You get it in your head you're going to see the world, have some excitement, And of course, "better yourself." There's also absolutely no consideration that you will be the guy screaming in the sand with a couple chunks of shrapnel in your gut, and that's what the military counts on. Youthful enthusiasm paired with an irrational immortality complex that pretty much every teenage boy has.

I don't blame the child's parents. Others have pointed out that if he wanted to join at 17, waiting a year would not have deterred him. And, I fear, this war will still be burning for a few years more.

It's a chilling thought though that this guy was 13 when we invaded. Fucking god.

[Adsos Letter]

48. Having enlisted with my parents permission at 17...

in 1972 I think you have well characterized the outlook of a lot of males that age. As noted in an earlier post, I enlisted to get away from a totally destructive alcoholic and abusive home life; however, the mindset I had regarding the realities of war was quite in line with your general characterization.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

29. I think he was 2 years old when this started

By my thinking, the Iraq mess started with Desert Storm in 1991. It slowed down during the "no-fly zone" period, but we never completely left the place.

[Kolesar]

37. & it all started with April Glaspie's miscue

Giving Saddam an indication that the US was OK with Iran overtaking Kuwait.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

40. Yes, GHWB should have honored her reply

and "let Saddam be Saddam".

[Adsos Letter]

49. yup...

and who told her that characterization would be ok?

[Drifter]

32. There shouldn't be ...

a single person in theater that is below 20 years old. Immaturity and inexperience can ruin a good war plan. It can be disastrous with a misguided war plan. What we see today in Iraq is evidence of this. We have very young, and very tired soldiers that are forced keep slogging along with no end in sight.

What a brave family. Too bad they have paid the ultimate sacrifice for a lie.

Cheers
Drifter

[Dragonbreathp9d]

33. This is on his parents' heads

I hate to say it, but its their damn fault (as well as *)

[blondeatlast]

38. Tragic, just tragic. A sober reminder that NCLB allows the military access to names

and contact information unless the parent opts the child out--FROM AS YOUNG AS MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Info here: http://tools.leavemychildalone.org/index.cfm?event=showContent&contentid=63

[HonorTheConstitution]

41. I feel very sad for the boy and the parents, BUT

as parents you are obligated to educate and sometimes convince your children that they might be to early for doing certain things in life.

I agree, but reality is that many parents let their sons enlists for reasons I cannot except. Like:

- Not enough money to send the kid to college. Let the kid get vocal training or let it do regular work until it is old enough
- Family tradition of serving. Making the boy the black sheep if he is not enlisting.
- Not willing to discuss the reality of military service: That it involves the high risk to kill and being killed.