Remember it was 1979, I was 23. Iran had taken over our embassy there in Tehran on November 4, 1979. They would hold 52 of our people for 444 days until January 20, 1981. Vietnam was still fresh on some of our minds yet. The people in the United States seemed to be like deer in headlights. Here was yet another national ego blow. Then, to remind us we were all still in a precarious Cold War, the Russians invaded Afghanistan on December 25, 1979 . The U.S. economy was in blight with high interest rates, high unemployment, lay offs, high gas and fuel prices, and in general, citizenry ambivalence.
But despite our cynicism at work about everything, a co-worker named Rusty was finally pulled up on the General Motor's interview list. Ol' Rusty had a little protective wife at home. He was actually younger than me by a couple years. He would indeed leave the floundering furniture business for the floundering auto industry. No one could blame him for trying to make more money and benefits.
About half the time at work I would go out on the delivery truck with Don. Don knew how to work the routes so we could always stop for a good breakfast on each morning delivery. Rusty would go on deliveries the rest of the time. But when Rusty left, a new fellow was hired. He was even younger yet - and dumb as the day is long. It only took a couple days for ol' Don to sniff out the new guy as being the nephew of the boss's son, Gary. Gary was about 29 or so and one of the sales people in the store. The new guy was related to Gary's wife. Gary was under orders by his wife to stop smoking. For this reason, Gary hid cigarettes all over the store.
I soon found myself bumped off the delivery truck in lieu of the new guy family member. I was relegated to dusting the furniture in the large two-story building, moving furniture at the behest of the sales people, and prepping the in-coming and out-going shipments.
Each morning I started dusting the hundreds of pieces of furniture on the showroom floor before the other staff arrived, I could hear the clinking of glasses and the prattle of bar talk through the wall of the furniture store. We shared a wall with a tavern that catered to the third-shift, all-night foundry workers at the mill down the street. They had just gotten off work as I arrived at seven in the morning.
The dusting duty is why I found all the cigarettes all over the store. In rather quick Bob-esk fashion I put in my two-week's notice. One kind thing that Gary did just before I left was pay me cash for a snow day I came in to work any way. They had tried to call me but I had left home already to trek through the 35 miles of drifts in my '74 Ford pickup truck. Remember this was pre-cell phone days. When I left on my last day, Gary handled the last minute paper work. I seemed to end up with some more cash for some vacation days I never took according to Gary. He looked at me with a apologetic half-smile and said something to the affect of, "sorry about this Bob, but I think I know pretty well why you are quiting. You have been a good employee."
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Specialist Justin W. Linden, 22. Specialist Linden was killed on Friday, June 4, 2004 when his convoy unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device and rocket-propelled grenades in Baghdad, Iraq. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Justin moved to Portland, Oregon, after graduating from Clinton High School in 1999. Clinton is a town of about 2000 people in Rock County, Wisconsin. Specialist Linden served with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard. Specialist Linden was the 18th Wisconsin soldier to die in Iraq since Spring 2003. The Journal Sentinel went on to say Justin's mother Donna lives in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Linden moved to Portland about four years before his death. In Oregon he was married to wife Sarah on February 28, 2004 shortly before leaving for Iraq. In Oregon he had worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken were he met his future wife. The Journal Sentinel mentioned Justin is remembered in Clinton for his participation in baseball. Linden played outfield for Clinton and earned an honorable mention on the Rock Valley All-Conference baseball team in 1999.
3,681 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
27,279 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
78 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 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.
