Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

An Australian military casualty

Considering that Australian service personnel are on active duty in Iraq Afghanistan and Iraq and other places the casualty rate has been very low. Very much lower than the Americans and British. Only a couple of weeks ago there was much publicity that the American deaths in Iraq had reached the 2,000 mark. However there is ambiguity about this figure because the website Cryptome reveals a significantly higher figure.

It seems to be related to where and how the soldier dies. To be included in the officially released US figures one apparently needs to actually die in Iraq or Afghanistan, not succumb in some other place later from war related injuries.

I've mentioned before that I receive automatic emails from the public site of the United States Department of Defense. (sic) I've subscribed to these sort of messages since before the invasion of Iraq commenced in March 2003 and they have been coming ever since. The latest one which arrived yesterday read:

Capt. Jeffrey P. Toczylowski, 30, of Upper Moreland, Pa., died in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on Nov. 3, from injuries sustained during combat operations. Toczylowski was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Panzer Kaserne, Germany.

The terse tone of the message is typical of the thousands which have now been stored here. I don't read them all, but sometimes I will sit down and scan through a batch. They all have the same subject heading, "DoD Identifies Army Casualty."

When I look at them, I remember that behind every one is a tragic story, not so much for the individual, which is tragic enough, but for the bereaved families - the mothers, the fathers, the brothers, the sisters, the aunts and uncles, the cousins, the girlfriends, the boyfriends, the wives, the husbands, the children. These casualty messages include women soldiers as well as men.

It will be noticed that Jeffrey Toczylowski was a Captain - a senior officer, presumably highly skilled. It can be observed that there are many senior ranking, presumably experienced individuals amongst these casualties. Its something which must be creating an enormous strain on the overall system.

The earliest casualty message on my computer is dated 22 July 2004 - last year. I have earlier ones but they have been transferred to a CD. This particular one reads:

Cpl. Todd J. Godwin, 21, of Muskingum County, Ohio, died July 20 due to injuries received from enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

President Bush appears unfazed by these deaths, and the many which have occurred in between them. He has recently indicated that the war will be pursued regardless of how many of his countrymen and women are killed in action. So it seems there are many more deaths to come in the so called Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, which relates to Afghanistan.

The Iraqis and Afghans are suffering too. I don't know how many of them have been killed, but it must be many more. The implications are obvious for such cultures where revenge and/or significant compensation is an obligation.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, Australia is involved in these wars too. Our Prime Minister John Howard was one of the first to put his hand up when Mr Bush called on volunteers for his war.

Australian military casualties in these regions have been much less than expected. Indeed the first one since the beginning of the 2003 invasion has just been revealed.

Warrant Officer David Nary from the SAS Regiment, based here in Perth was killed when he was struck by an Army vehicle in Kuwait. The details are vague, but apparently the incident was a training accident. It is an irony that one of Australia's most skilled soldiers who had been with the Regiment for 17 years, was killed in a "friendly" vehicle accident. There have been several such accidents amongst American troops in the region too since this war began. I can tell this too from my collection of emails.

I receive automated emails from the Australian Defence Department as well. Anyone interested can subscribe to these. But one mentioning David Nary is yet to reach me. It will probably be there today when I check.

WO2 Nary leaves behind a wife and five children, two of them from a former marriage. His wife Naomi will be experiencing a doubly emotive time. Her first husband was Corporal Gordon Holland who was accidentally killed during training with the SAS Regiment at Swanbourne, Perth in 1993.

There is a photograph of David Nary in civilian clothes on the front page of today's The Australian. He was a pleasant looking man. The accompanying report says he had a great sense of humour, and the ability to see the funny side of most things.

© MMV Paul R. Weaver.

About the writer

Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days.

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