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War Even Uglier When Children Are the Enemy

Tuesday, April 8, 2003
(5:41 AM ET)
Matthew Cox
USA TODAY Writer

The soldiers saw an Iraqi man sprint for cover with an RPG in his arms. From a few hundred feet away, the Americans opened fire and cut him down. Suddenly, two boys no older than 10 darted from an alley.



''I got my gun up. I had my sights on'' the RPG said Boggs, who was armed with a machine gun that spits out 600 rounds a minute. ''I didn't shoot. I didn't shoot,'' Boggs said.

Then the child reached down and grabbed the RPG.

''That's when I took him out,'' Boggs said. ''I laid down quite a few bursts.''



KARBALA, Iraq -- USAT
This isn't a story about glory or honor or heroism under fire here in Iraq.

It's a story about the ugliest side of war, a story of a 21-year-old soldier from Petersburg, Alaska, forced to make the toughest decision of his life.

Infantrymen often view a confirmed kill as a rite of passage, a way of proving their worth as a soldier.

''I used to think the same way,'' said Pfc. Nick Boggs, sitting in the courtyard of a damaged school compound.

''You've got to get a kill to be in combat. But it's all about what you have to do to get out of there alive and accomplish your mission.''
(More: Yahoo! News)
2003 © USA TODAY

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