Soldier loses an eye, gets sent back to Iraq

Return to Iraq came as a surprise
Cavazos was badly wounded in previous tour of duty.


Jay Price, Staff Writer
Raleigh (NC) News and Observer
24 December 2005

When Sgt. 1st Class Santos Cavazos of the 82nd Airborne Division told his wife, Deborah, and four young daughters this fall that he'd be shipping out to provide security for the Iraqi elections this month, they were shocked.

It wasn't because it would his third deployment to Iraq. Nor was it because it would be the second straight Christmas with him gone.

Instead, it was the way he returned last time: on a medical evacuation flight. While on patrol in Mosul, he was shot in the head by a sniper and lost his right eye.

Perhaps they shouldn't have been surprised. Last spring, before the wound was healed over his new titanium cheek, Cavazos was teaching himself to shoot with his left eye."He's like, 'I'm going, it's my job, and no one is going to take it away from me,' " said Deborah Cavazos, 33. "He's dedicated, and you've just got to support him."

So she had to deal with the usual deployment issues, such as taking care of all the bills and household work, as well as the seasonal chores he normally handles. Instead of his reading " 'Twas the night before Christmas" on Christmas Eve, she'll do it. Putting up the Christmas lights on the house? Her job, too.

Last Christmas, they simply endured his absence, making sure to take lots of pictures to send him.

This time, though, news from Iraq has changed everything. He won't be home for Christmas but could be back just a few days later, and they can spread out the holiday to take him in.

The four Cavazos girls, ages 7 through 16, will open one present each on Christmas Day, then save the rest until he's back. There will be lots of pizza, one thing he has said he misses. And the girls all pitched in to clean his car.

Still, Deborah Cavazos is hoping the family will hear from him on the 25th. If he can phone, it probably will be for just 20 minutes. "Everybody gets, like, five minutes," she said. "You learn to talk fast."


http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/381542.html

"He's like, 'I'm going, it's my job, and no one is going to take it away from me,' " said Deborah Cavazos, 33. "He's dedicated, and you've just got to support him."

Sounds like he wanted to go. It's not like they forced him and he's resisting.

he may be longing for death.

:tinfoilhat:

What about his current condition would make him long for death? Having only one eye? Sort of hyperdramatic, don't you think? My brother-in-law has sight in only one eye, and it hasn't caused him a second thought.

If service personnel who have been wounded or who develop disabilities in other ways can continue to do their jobs, they should do them. If they can't do the exact same job, perhaps they can be reassigned to less physically demanding tasks. In fact, I can't see why the military shouldn't recruit people with quadraplegia for data analysis or decryption or whatever if they are qualified to do so. The number of people who can perform such complex jobs exceeds the number of such people who can do those things and also lift 200 lbs. or shoot worth a damn. I've known so many people who intended to make the military their career who are in constant fear that their next physical will send them packing with a medical discharge, even though what ails them (and which they dare not complain about) does not interfere with their duties. So, here's to one-eyed sharpshooters and amputee mechanics.

.

up to some type of sensor that they would shoot when anything came within a certain range. Save of food. Not sure about pay though. Congress can work that out.

That's one dedicated guy! I really admire his bravery, loyalty, and strength of purpose. His familiy sounds like they really DO support him--it's hard to get kids to wait like that. He can be very proud of them, and America can be very proud of him!

He sounds like our 'greatest generation'!

are frighteningly effective...