http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/23/Columns/Military_family_watch.shtmlBy BILL MAXWELL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 23, 2003
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As of this writing, the above figure is the number of U.S. military service personnel killed since May 1, when George W. Bush announced the end of major combat in Iraq.
For me, the Iraq war is personal. I keep track of the numbers and exact names and hometowns of the dead because I have two cousins in Iraq. The 19-year-old is a private first class in the regular army. The 28-year-old is a reservist. We no longer call him a "weekend warrior."
As far as I know, I have relatives in 11 states, including California, Illinois, New York and Texas. We are a scattered lot. We are a military clan, which began in modern times with my uncle Joe Maxwell, who lives in Mascotte. He served during World War II at the Battle of the Bulge and is proud of his combat-wounded license plate. Two of uncle Joe's three sons, B.J. and Wayne, served in Vietnam. Three other relatives, who were reservists, served during the first Gulf War.
Currently, we have five kinfolk in uniform - two reservists and three regulars.
My family, like many other black families, has always seen the military as a potential career or as a means to an education and a respectable career. Many used the G.I. Bill to attend college. I was brought up hearing that "the military will make a man out of you." Few of us ever questioned this bit of down-home wisdom, and photographs of men in uniform in faraway lands can be found in many of my relatives' homes
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