Despite Wound, Medic Fought To Return To Iraq (a moving and poignant must read article "RIP")

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | January 29, 2005 | Ken Dilanian

[Former Military Chick]

BAGHDAD - Taylor Burk's friends here in Iraq told him over and over: Don't come back. You've bled enough for your country. You've got nothing to prove.

But the 21-year-old medic from Amarillo, Texas, couldn't stand to be away from his brothers in arms. So, even though the gunshot wound he sustained while saving another soldier's life made walking painful sometimes, he pushed to leave Fort Hood in Texas and return to his unit. And when he got back to Iraq, he finagled his way out of a headquarters job and into a frontline company.

Spec. Burk died Wednesday after a powerful roadside bomb exploded next to the armored humvee he was driving in southwest Baghdad.

Soldiers were told that a small piece of shrapnel ripped into him under the collarbone, severing major blood vessels. Two other soldiers were wounded - one hit in the head by shrapnel, the other suffering a broken arm. They had been on the way back to base from a routine patrol.

Happening as it did on the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Iraq - a day when a helicopter crash killed 30 Marines and one sailor - Burk's death merited barely a mention in news reports. But for the soldiers of his battalion, it was shattering. Several - hard men, men trained not to let their emotions get in the way of their jobs - cried when they heard.

"We've got people who made it their mission not to leave this" base, said Burk's squad leader, Sgt. Andrew Wintz, 40, a native of Brooklyn. "We've got people who went home on leave and never came back. He took a bullet and he came back."

Wintz added: "I want people to know that he was proud of what he did. He was proud of being a combat medic."

He was good at it, too. On April 4, during one of his first missions in Baghdad with Charlie Company, First Battalion, Eighth Cavalry Regiment, which is part of the First Cavalry Division, a soldier in his humvee, Pvt. Joseph Bridges, was shot in the face and thigh during a five-hour firefight against more than 100 insurgents.

The thigh wound was life-threatening because it hit an artery. Burk began to tie a tourniquet around it when he was hit by a rifle round that took a chunk out of his heel.

He kept treating his patient all the way to the combat hospital.

Bridges made it, and is now in the United States.

Burk also was sent home to recover. For his actions that night, he was awarded a Bronze Star; for his wound, he received a Purple Heart. When he was well enough to work, he was sent to his unit's base at Fort Hood, where he was given a rear detachment job.

He spent a lot of time chatting online with his buddies in Iraq. Almost immediately, he began pushing to get back to Baghdad.

"He said, 'Hey, I didn't join the Army to cut grass,' " Wintz said. " 'I joined the Army to be a combat medic.' "

When he returned to Iraq, he was given a job at battalion headquarters, a job that didn't require him to leave the base often. That didn't suit him.

When a medic was wounded from Alpha Company, he begged to take that spot. He knew it would mean near-daily patrols into Baghdad's Doura district, where roadside bombs and gunshot attacks are routine.

"I would tell him all the time, you're a better man than me," said his roommate, Spec. Lamart Brown, 21, of Goldsboro, N.C.

Indeed, most of his fellow soldiers disagreed with his decision to come back. But they were glad to have him around.

"When he came into the room, even if he was in a bad mood, he'd have you laughing and joking around," said a close friend, Pvt. Kirk Kelley, 24, of Nacogdoches, Texas.

Burk was a little nervous in his first few missions after returning, but he settled quickly into the routine, soldiers said. He didn't have occasion to treat another wounded American, but he treated plenty of Iraqis, they added. Army field medics in Iraq are constantly beseeched by ailing civilians who can't find help in Iraq's decrepit health-care system.

Like many soldiers, he wasn't sure whether the American mission in Iraq was succeeding, friends said. What he knew was that he wanted to be there to help his comrades.

He was driving the third in a three-vehicle convoy when the bomb, a 155mm artillery shell, exploded. Soldiers were told it was unclear how the shell was detonated. The convoy was carrying a device designed to jam radio-detonated bombs, but the machines are not foolproof. Neither is the armor on even the most heavily armored humvees, as Burk's was.

Two nights before he died, he was sitting with a group of medics who were planning a post-deployment adventure. The unit is scheduled to leave Iraq in a month.

"He was talking about how he'd never been hunting, and we were talking about doing that when we got back," said Sgt. Bryan Hayes, 32, of Haughton, La.

Hayes shook his head, eyes downcast.

"There's so much you could say about him. He was a great guy."

[Happy2BMe]

Our eternal gratitude sir, to you, your family, and most of all to your beloved son Taylor.

In a very real way, he was the son of us all . .

* * *

* * *

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

__________________

IT'S THE SOLDIER

It's the soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the
PRESS.

It's the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of
SPEECH.

It's the soldier, not the campus
ORGANIZER,
Who has given us the freedom to
DEMONSTRATE

It's the soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a
FAIR TRIAL.
It's the soldier who salutes the flag,
Serves under the flag
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the protester the right to burn the flag.

-Father D. E. O'Brien

 

We Must NEVER Forget!

Iraqi Coalition Casualty Report

* * * * *

Because of Their Sacrifices, These People's Lives Will Never Be The Same.

[Happy2BMe]

The pictures from IRAQ that you won't see in the NEWS.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[taxesareforever]

So young, but what a big heart. He is what make true Americans proud to be Americans.

[Rabble]

"Please check out comment 39. It is amazing to read the remarks of those who loved Spec. Burk, it gives us a glimpse of who this young man was to his family. I thank his dad for sharing his words and hope he will post some photos of Spec. Burk and his family"

"Comment #39 Removed by Moderator"

?????????

[windchime]

Thanks for the ping, Former Military Chick!

[Former Military Chick]

I am clueless on that one as well.

[SoldiersSister]

I have set up two blood drives in honor of Taylor Burk.

The first one is Wednesday March 16th and the next one will be Thursday March 17th.

I have been talking to my brother, Joe about this and he is so thrilled to know that Burk is being honored by many who will never know him.

My brother is recovering (thanks to Burk) but the painful loss of his friend has been very difficult for him.

He met Burks family at the funeral and spent some time with them. They treated him like a son and he was deeply touched by their kindness.

What a wonderful man and soldier this was. He is greatly missed!

[Former Military Chick]

It was removed because the mod's felt that perhaps they did not realize how much info they gave on the thread and were trying to protect their privacy.

[Former Military Chick]

***PING***

SoldiersSister, I just wanted to share with other Freeper's your Blood Drive in the name of Taylor Burk. What a wonderful idea. I also appreciate the other comments on this thread as it pertains to your brother and his friendship with Taylor. It does humanize one of our finest.

I hope many turn out and let us know afterwards. Perhaps those I ping can forward this to their ping list and address book letting folks know of the blood drive.

If you like to read other posts by SoldiersSister please do a search or read the entire thread.

God Bless you and your brother Joe and thank him for his service and I hope he recovers quickly.

[StarCMC]

 

 

The Mansions of the Lord
Click the picture for music

To fallen soldiers let us sing

Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing

Our broken brothers let us bring

To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight

No prayers pleading through the night

Just divine embrace, eternal light

To the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep

We will stand and guard though the angels sleep

Through the ages safely keep

The Mansions of the Lord.

 

 

 

[Former Military Chick]

I did not realize that when I sent out the PING that SoldiersSister had not mentioned where the Blood Drive would take place. I was assuming it would be Texas but I do not know for sure.

So, I hope you will return often and I hope she will return and tell us where the blood drive will be held so we can let our friends and loved one's know should they live in the area.

Sorry for not paying attention as I should have and the repeat ping.

[windchime]

Bump!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[G.Mason]

Bump

[SoldiersSister]

Thank you so much!

I just had a reporter and photographer here from our local newspaper. They are running an article on Taylor, my brother (Joe) and the blood drives. I think it will be in tomorrow's paper.

I will try to link the article to this site, if you like.

www.starbanner.com

[WizDumb]

Sorry I have not checked in for so long. I did not realize that my post had been removed, and I am not sure why, either, except that I may have put in some sort of address or phone number or other personal information that the moderator found it necessary to remove the entire post.

I really don't remember exactly what I wrote, so if anyone has a copy of the post, please send it to me. I have asked the moderator for assistance, but have yet to receive a reply.

Meanwhile, I love that someone posted the "Farewell" photo of Taylor. It was printed in the funeral brochure, along with a picture of Taylor when he was 3 years old. I took that farewell picture of Taylor the day he left for Iraq the last time.

We were all in one of the huge gyms on post at Ft. Hood, along with all the other soldiers and their wives and sweethearts and families, and I took pictures and videotape.

I plan to upload some more photos, and tell more of Taylor, as I am able to. It is all so overwhelming, so great and so terrible and so sad. Taylor was such a success as a human being. He took the raw material of himself as a boy and made himself into a man, with a little help and lots of grace from God. I would love to have seen Taylor marry and have children. He would have made a great dad.

These messages from all of you have been meaningfully healing, and sustaining to us. Thank you all, and especially to Former Military Chick for starting this thread. You know, we did not even know that Taylor had been awarded a Bronze Star for his action back in April of 2004 -- he never talked about himself in that way. We found out when he went back to Iraq, and was called out in front of his company by his commander to receive it, and that story first hit the news reports.

No amount of medals could ever outweigh the loss of a man like Taylor to his family, especially to his mother. But expressions of sentiment such as have been posted here, both by people who knew and loved him, and people who only knew of him, have been very comforting and sustaining to all of us.

Thank you. Thank you all.

[WizDumb]

Actually, I got distracted --

Sorry.

I meant to tell you I think the blood drive is a great idea!

Thank you.

[SoldiersSister]

I'm sorry that I haven't checked in on FR for a bit. My brother was able to take his leave from Fort Hood and come here to Florida to visit for 2 weeks. He brought pictures and the memorial for Taylor. We talked about Taylor a lot during those two weeks he was here.

I am still so thankful to Taylor for blessing my family with the gift of my brother's life. He is never far from our thoughts.

I would love to have contact with his family members. I understand that one of his sisters lives in Florida? If you (Larry) can private message me, I would appreciate it so much.

Many Blessings,
Nancy