Got This From A Friend In Iraq

[FC]

"Don't cry, Mama," wounded sailor tells his mom

Did any of you read the New York Times' November story about Petty Officer Third Class Dustin E. Kirby, a Navy hospital corpsman? It was a gripping account of Kirby's fight to save the life of his roommate, Marine Lance Cpl. Colin Smith, who had been shot in the head in Iraq. Here's that story, one of the best I've ever read in the Times: "Tending a Fallen Marine, With Skill, Prayer and Fury."

 

Now Kirby, 22, has been severely wounded himself. He was shot in the face by an Iraqi sniper on Christmas Day. The Times reports:

 

His jaw and upper palate were damaged extensively, but after several operations he was conscious and on a ventilator in a military hospital in Germany...Although Petty Officer Kirby cannot speak because of his injuries, his mother said she had communicated with him through his brother-in-law, a serviceman who is stationed in Germany and has been at his bedside, holding a phone to Petty Officer Kirby�s ear. Petty Officer Kirby listened to his mother and replied by writing notes, which his brother-in-law read aloud.

 

�He told me, �Don�t cry, Mama,� � Ms. Kirby said by telephone. �I said, �I have to. I�m a mom. That�s what moms do.� �...The National Envelope Corporation, of Austell, Ga., where Petty Officer Kirby�s father is a janitor, is taking donations to help his family.

 

Kathleen Childs, an executive assistant at the company...said collections began when it was uncertain whether the family could afford to visit Petty Officer Kirby from the moment he arrived in the United States. Even before Gail Kirby arranged a plane ticket, Ms. Childs said, it was clear she was headed to his bedside, whether she had the money or not. "His mother said there was no way she was going to stay at home while her boy was that close,� Ms. Childs said. �She was going to start out on foot and walk.�

 

 

Dad's a janitor. Mom doesn't know whether she can afford to go see her boy, who was a life-saving hero even before he was wounded. I called the National Envelope Corporation, both to see about writing a story about Kirby and to see how they were handling donations. The government will pick up the tab for Kirby's wife (they were married just before he shipped out in July) to travel to Bethesda to be at his side, but not for his parents. If you want to help, you can send a donation to:

 

Dustin E. Kirby Medical Fund

c/o National Envelope Corporation

2989 Humphries Hill Rd

Austell, GA 30106

 

The company will deposit any checks into a Bank of America fund that's being set up nationwide.