Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: They aren’t just numbers

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.

SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK American soldiers are wounded and killed in Iraq. Although there has evidently been much reconstruction progress made, these successes should not be used to camouflage the bleeding. The soldiers killed and wounded are our people and what happens to them is important to us. We can't allow ourselves to treat the everyday casualties as just numbers unless they include a relative, neighbor or fellow Nevadan.

We are a big nation and we have millions of people. In Israel, a tiny nation, the death and wounding of soldiers and civilians has an instant impact on a city, town and the entire nation. The dead or maimed Israeli is the brother, sister, son, daughter, niece, nephew, father, mother or neighbor of somebody others know. There are no unknown soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.

Americans cannot allow themselves to become calloused or lulled asleep because the killing and wounding is a steady beat. Just because the deaths and crippling of our soldiers slowly slips into the back pages of newspapers, or are heard late in radio and television news reports, doesn't mean that the physical and mental pain is any less for some American family and neighborhood.

We must admit that the numbers of dead and wounded aren't massive but they are important. Recently President George W. Bush honored the 3rd Infantry Division for its role in the Iraq war. The division had the largest number of soldiers killed in action during the heavy fighting. To some people the number of 40 KIAs the 3rd suffered doesn't seem like many when compared to thousands some divisions lost in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Believe me, their deaths brought pain and suffering to their fellow soldiers and families.

We all should take a few moments and think about each soldier killed or wounded and imagine they are a family member. Americans can't treat what is happening in Iraq as just more business as usual. It's a deadly business that must be completed, but the day-to-day killing and wounding can't be minimized. No, and we shouldn't tolerate the press or our leaders treating it as they treat a local gang killing or auto accident. Those people in American uniforms are you and me -- not just numbers.

Last week UNLV Professor Shannon Bybee passed away. I have fond memories of Shannon. Among those memories are the nights in Ely when he took time to visit with Father William Costigan and me after finishing his shift as a deputy sheriff. Costigan and I drank coffee while Bybee, true to LDS faith, drank milk.

A couple of years later, after he graduated from the University of Utah College of Law second in his class and served as a clerk for the Nevada Supreme Court, I asked him to delay his law career and serve as a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Shannon, with the approval of his wife, Norma, gave four more years of service to the state. He had completed his military active duty with the Army at an earlier date.

Although he found success in the competitive business of gaming in Nevada and New Jersey, it was most appropriate that he entered the field of education nine years ago. He had been a teacher and scholar all of his life as he helped others climb up the ladder of success. His sensitive social conscience made him a very special person when reaching out to help those who had gambling problems.

Although a gentle man, he was also an accomplished heavyweight boxer when winning a title in the Army. He enjoyed sports and had a competitive nature that his friends and family enjoyed. All of us remember his smile and good humor. A few days with him in Ireland still remain among my fondest memories. It wasn't necessary for him to remind us that a river also carried his name.