Fate plays so much in some of the jobs we end up with. Shortly after I returned home from the Army, an old high school friend of mine looked me up. Ol' Chuck picked me up and took me over to where he worked. It was the school bus company in Whitewater. 

   "Wouldn't you like to drive one of these big ol' buses?" Chuck asked as he smiled. He had popped the door to a shinny new bus open as it sat in the lubrication bay of the big bus shop. I soon learned they sold buses too. I looked it over and sighed. I had higher expectations for myself than driving yellow buses. Heck, I had just rode one myself three years earlier as a senior in high school. It seemed so surrealistic to be back near a school bus so soon after high school and especially after driving and riding in some of Uncle Sam's war machines. But, it was Wisconsin and the job market and economy was in the midst of the "Rust Belt" era. I took the job. 

   When I was not driving grain truck and hauling corn ( Sixth Job of Bob) I trained to drive bus. There was several behind-the-wheel practice sessions with Jack the personnel and training guy, and then off to the State driving test at the Department of Transportation sub station at the American Legion. I remembered Jack from my bus riding days. No body messed with Jack. He had been in the Army; he was also married to the bosses daughter. If you were a kid riding the bus and you damaged a bus, you dealt with Jack. Those were the days before politically correct disciplinary procedures. In other words, if you screwed up as a kid on a bus, Jack would kick your butt in short order. It seemed odd to have him talking peer to peer with me about the Army now just three years after he was the authority figure and I was the kid. Each day he took me out to practice driving the bus, it ended up in a pleasant conversation about Army service. I respected that, he talked straight about it to me, unlike my old high school class mates that either made fun or just did not know how to place the subject of the military in a conversation. Vietnam had given everyone a brain jam when it came to trying to talk about the military intelligently, or even civilly. 

   When I finally went over to the Legion to take the road test, I remember the Tester having me pull over. I had been driving slowly and carefully. "Drive this damn bus like you need to get somewhere son or I will fail you right now," the Examiner said as he sighed. Reverting to my military training, I revved the bus up, took off in a cloud of dust, ran through the designated instructions, and passed with flying colors.

   This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Captain John F. Kurth, 31, of Columbus. Captain Kurth died Saturday, March 13, 2004 in Tikrit, Iraq. Kurth was one of two soldiers killed by a roadside bomb. John was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Captain Kurth was the 12th Wisconsin soldier killed in Iraq. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press, John had been in Iraq less than one month. His unit patrolled roads in and around Tikrit. He had been based in Schweinfurt Germany for the three years prior to his death. His company had been dispatched to Iraq in rotation of forces. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned John went by "Hans," he had played on the 1991 high school championship football team, and had graduated West Point in 1995. Kurth had also served in the 82nd Airborne. Captain Kurth had also served two tours in Kosovo.

   3,569 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   26,350 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   76 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   108 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.