Marine who inspired sister to enlist dies (in Iraq)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05281/584910.stm

Lance Cpl. Patrick Kenny looked and acted like he belonged on a Marine Corps recruiting poster. So able and enthusiastic was Cpl. Kenny that he inspired his younger sister, Katy, to follow his example and join the Marines.

Katy Kenny, back home in Emsworth after completing 13 weeks of boot camp, learned yesterday that her hero was dead -- killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

<snip>

Katy Kenny, 19, had spent the week in Pittsburgh-area high schools, recruiting young women for the Marine Corps. But yesterday, she said, all she could think about was being brave for her father and her mother, Tricia. Cpl. Kenny would have expected that of her.

<snip>

Chuck Kenny said he supported both his son and daughter when they decided to join the Marines. But now, he said, he must insist that Katy serve her country some place besides a war zone.

"I told her she ain't goin' to Iraq," Mr. Kenny said.


Katy Kenny, left, stands on her family's porch in Emsworth as her dad, Chuck Kenny, is consoled by family friend Sherrie Miller after the Kenny family was notified that Katy's brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Kenny was killed in Iraq.

[serryjw]

1. WHY does their child need to die

before they 'get it'?

[NEOBuckeye]

6. Pain and suffering is the terrible price of ignorance.

This country still has so very much to learn.

[Skittles]

7. wuth all due respect to them, it is a very selfish attitude

only when it affects them

[serryjw]

19. That's exactly the point

What do they think their son is playing some combat game? Did they NOT pay attention to all the prior deaths? Now they don't want their daughter to go to Iraq. That's what happens when you bury your head in the sand. Parents are suppose to advise their children. They were 'proud' of them as long as someone else's child is killed.:spank:

[karlrschneider]

2. RIP Patrick. I'm sorry you died in vain for a pack of lies.

:-(

[adarling]

3. it brings tears to my eyes

I am just so sick of this needless death. Bush is a murderer, this man who went to fight for his country got taken out by a roadside bomb....we all need to remember these guys whenever we feel we are not on the right side....we are...we are the only ones fighting for them and everything they stand for, we need to keep it alive, in the words of Cindy Sheehan, "so they did not die in vain!"

[dionysus]

34. I like your post

n/t

[saigon68]

35. They are DYing like dogs for no good reason

Except to maximize Halliburton and Exxon profits

[Erika]

4. The right doesn't even acknowledge the war

It's one of those unspoken topics. You know, no rich kids dies. It's those others".

[ShockediSay]

5. I don't care about his politics

I grieve for his family.

He died for what he believed in.

Let others judge his beliefs and those who indoctrinated them. That's not my job. And so I pray.

[Skittles]

8. his daughter was so brainwashed she was recruiting

it IS our job to stop this nonsense

[leftchick]

12. yes indeed Skittles

It is up to us to stop the cycle of violence that bush and the pentagon are perpetuating with the myth of "fighting for our freedoms".

[Barkley]

23. And we're winning; military recruiting is down

because people are getting informed about what's really going on in Iraq - blood for oil.

The mainstream media outlets are not telling the truth; its the alternative news sources and our grass roots efforts that is help make the difference.

Cindy Sheehan is bringing light to the situtation.

Each one of us is bring about change.

We are powerful and we are going to get the troop home!

[Skittles]

24. I don't see the failure of military recruiting as "winning"

that affects us all

[guruoo]

28. Not generally, but I allow an exception...

when the recruiting is done to prop up
a corrupt, immoral, anti-American regime.

[tabasco]

29. I see it as winning.

I have no doubt in my mind that if America were in danger, there would be no recruiting problem. It is music to my ears to hear low recruiting numbers, because it tells me Americans know this bullshit relentless oooga boooga boooga terror scare is a scam.

I should be wishing for great recruitment. I just got called up from the IRR and I'm not happy about it. But I would not recmmend to any young person to enlist with the national leadership we have in place.

I favor universal service similar to many European countries, but only implemented during peacetime, and with a VERY strict deferment policy.

The volunteer military is seen as a mercenary army and is treated like a mercenary army. The neocons and their chickenshit supporters say "they volunteered - let 'em die!"

[Skittles]

30. that's like saying when there's a disaster people line up to donate blood

that may be true but it's the blood that's already available that needed immediately

[tabasco]

31. The problem with your analogy.

In a disaster, there is a real need for blood.

America has no real need for soldiers to serve in Iraq.

The Iraq war is not necessary for the defense of America. The neocons want more soldiers for empire-building, but that does not equate to a real need for America's security.

If the neocons see 100% recruiting, they will press ahead with their insane goals. If they do not have enough troops, they will have to scale back opertions (or implement a draft). The personnel shortage is a wrench in the works for the neocons.

While it sucks for those of us already in the service (called back in my case, stop-loss for others), it is overall good for the country that recruiting numbers are down.

[NorthernSpy]

10. so you recommend inaction?

Interesting...

[WildClarySage]

9. "I told her she ain't goin' to Iraq," Mr. Kenny said.

Um, she has no say in the matter, Mr. Kenny.

[NorthernSpy]

11. amazingly, some of the people closest to the system...

... seem to have the least idea how it works.

I dread the day Mr. Kenny learns that his daughter hasn't got much say in whether she gets posted to a war zone or elsewhere.

[LostinVA]

14. The odds are very good she will go to Iraq

Man....

[Occulus]

32. We are self-aware. We ALWAYS have a choice. At all times. n/t

[Jacobin]

13. All the shiny uniforms and 'glory' talk

get a little too real when the enemy shoots back.

Now, where is that wonderful piece Mark Twain wrote about the rabble rousers for war........

[mikita]

17. is this the Twain quote you were looking for?

“The loud little handful will shout for war. The pulpit will warily and cautiously protest at first…The great mass of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes, and will try to make out why there should be a war, and they will say earnestly and indignantly: ‘It is unjust and dishonorable and there is no need for war.’ Then the few will shout even louder…Before long you will see a curious thing: anti-war speakers will be stoned from the platform, and free speech will be strangled by hordes of furious men who still agree with the speakers but dare not admit it...Next, statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.”

[Jacobin]

25. Yes, it is. Thank you for that

If only a few newscasters had read that piece in the run up to the invasion, instead of cheering on the hordes, maybe, just maybe, people would have stopped to ask: "is this really necessary?"

[yorkiemommie1]

27. perhaps they've never seen it and should

..... may be a nice project for a quiet saturday evening.

[mainer]

15. but -- but -- so many military families call us liberals "traitors"

It's hard, sometimes, for me to get up the passion to try to protect them from themselves. Again and again, I hear quotes from gung-ho Marines repeating the Bush party line of "we have to fight them there so we don't have to fight them at home." I've gotten to the point where I just wanna yawn and say, "Okay, if you want to fight, or send your sons off to fight, go ahead. I'll just keep my own sons safe at home, thank you."

[Media_Lies_Daily]

16. How many Marines have you heard say that recently...

...other than the very senior officers that are within the NeoCon inner circle?

[mainer]

18. I've heard quite a few soldiers say that.

In newspaper interviews. On TV. My best friend's son is a Marine (she's anti-war) and it galls her no end that her own son repeats the line about fighting in Iraq to "make America safe."

[Joey Liberal]

21. Marine officers are hard core right wingers

Marine officers are the some of the scariest right wingers you will ever meet. It's a shame, because the Marines have some great people in their ranks. I've been so disappointed with the Army generals. Gen. Casey is a ragbag that needs not one, but two haircuts. Gen. Abizad is a pathetic 'yes man'.

[Joey Liberal]

20. A good Marine died for Halliburton and the GOP

May he rest in peace. Semper Fi from an old Army dog.

[The_Casual_Observer]

22. "Devil Dog" felled by a cheesy home made bomb.

[oregonindy]

26. This is why we need a national service that serves here at home.

wanna serve your country? join the national service and do hard work in a hurricane zone helping restore lives. Join the national service and serve your country by fighting a forest fire. Join the national service and help your fellow humans learn to do better for themselves in the inner cities.

we need a real hard core national service to counter the idea that the only way to serve your country is to pick up a gun and fight for the corporations.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

33. i agree

i'm thankful, though, that we don't have one right now. A national service led by chimp cronies can do one of two things - fuck up accidentally or fuck up on purpose.

[westernpenndem]

36. This hits very close to home--one block away

Thanks RamboLiberal, I was glad to see this posted in DU. You do such a nice job getting important news from Western PA posted.

The Kenny home is one block from my house, directly in front of the Emsworth Borough Building, in our older, pleasant sidewalk suburb of Pittsburgh, one of the string of tight-nit "boros" along the Ohio River. Pittsburgh is often referred to as a collection of small towns and, indeed, this is so true. Most have lived here for several generations, and everyone knows and supports each other in the toughest of times.

My wife and I are transplants from other parts of this region, but we've always felt very welcome here. The Kenny's home is one we pass almost nightly when we walk our dog. It is very similar to our home, a brick house with a big, welcoming front porch, and so often we hear friendly conversation coming from it. It's clear they have many friends. We don't know them personally, but I did once have a passing greeting with Mr. Kenny on one of our nightly walks. This particular night was a joyous occasion, as they'd welcomed Cpl. Kenny back from his first tour of Iraq. A big welcome home sign was posted the front yard and friends and family were chatting on the porch.

Our yards are rather short (always on a hill in Pittsburgh!) and, while passing by, we looked up and greeted Mr. Kenny on his sidewalk. I added, "Did your son just get back from Iraq?" He smiled and said yes, and we told him how happy we were that he was back home safe and sound. He thanked us and we went on our way. We thought this meant he was back for good. Just last week, however, we saw another welcome home sign in the yard, and figured he must have serve another tour, but had once again come home healthy and unharmed. As we sadly found out yesterday, that was not the case. The sign was there to welcome home his sister from boot camp.

The Kenny's have always had a Marine Corps flag and stars and stripes ruffles hanging from their porch, and a yellow ribbon around their biggest tree trunk. But I've never noticed a single political bumper sticker, political campaign sign, or signage urging passersby to support the troops. I wonder if those families in the neighborhood who still have the big Bush/Cheney bumper stickers on their cars are willing to risk their own lives (many are still under 36 years old) like Cpl. Kenny did. I wonder how many are encouraging their service-eligible children to join the military to ease the recruitment shortage that's resulted from the war in Iraq. I wonder.

I deeply respect the Kenny family and know this must be so incredibly hard. Their small town is coming together to support them. Soon I will try to meet Mr. Kenny again, this time to give my sympathy. I pray for them and their fallen son, and hope the military brass shows some decency by allowing their daughter to serve in a place different from Iraq. That's the very least they can do for this family.

[alcuno]

37. What a beautiful post!

The Kenny's are lucky to have people like you in their neighborhood.

[westernpenndem]

38. Thank you for your kindness, alcuno

n/t