And that, it turns out, was all he could take. The point of putting up with the abuse suddenly vanished. He knew if he stayed he'd have to fight back, a no-win situation for sure. He was trapped in a nightmare and took the only option he had left.
"I grabbed my backpack and civilian clothes and got in my car and drove home," he said. It was the end of Solowynsky's brief military career.
I know, this is just one desertion story out of thousands. There are others with more political clarity - Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the highest-ranking officer (so far) to refuse deployment to Iraq, recently had his "Article 32," or pre-court-martial, hearing - but the unfolding saga of Matt Solowynsky, the gung-ho Marine, shines a terrible light on things. Sometimes we wrest the idealism from our young and turn them into the enemy, as though we don't have enough enemies.
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Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this column at bkoehler@tribune.com or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com.
Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this column at bkoehler@tribune.com or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com.
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