The war in Iraq came home in the most tragic way imaginable for one area family on Nov. 23, when Army Staff Sgt. Aram J. Bass of Niagara Falls was killed while conducting combat operations in Baghdad.
Bass left behind his wife, Breanne Sterner of Youngstown, and parents William Bass and Deborah Johnson, both of Niagara Falls.
Things got worse for the family last week, when it became known that the Department of Defense was conducting an investigation amid reports that Bass' death was the result of "friendly fire" rather than enemy action.
While the results of the investigation are not yet known, what is known is that the Pentagon has used the friendly fire excuse to deny benefits to the families of soldiers slain in Iraq, as well as to wounded veterans still recuperating from their ordeals.
In calling for an American pullout from the Iraq quagmire, Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania got emotional when telling the story of a severely wounded GI from his home district he'd visited at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington.
The soldier seemed unconcerned about his wounds and the prospect of the long rehabilitation that lay ahead.
What he did get upset about was that he too had been deemed the victim of friendly fire, and had been denied a Purple Heart because of it.
Murtha, a Marine combat hero in Vietnam, angrily confronted Pentagon officials.
"If you won't give him a Purple Heart, I'll give him one of mine," he said.
Friendly fire also caused the April 22, 2004, death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. But in Tillman's case, the Pentagon reacted differently. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, the standout defensive safety for the Arizona Cardinals turned down a $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the Army.
But, although Pentagon officials knew almost immediately the circumstances surrounding his death, they waited more than a month -- a month that included a televised memorial service, eulogies from President George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain and others, and 24-7 coverage on Fox News -- before returning soldiers who knew what really happened forced the Pentagon to come clean.
Make no mistake. Tillman is a hero, and so is Aram Bass.
It's unfortunate that we don't have individuals of a similar caliber directing war policy in Washington.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 6 2005 |