Sgt. Raymond J. Plouhar, 30, died in a
roadside bombing in Iraq "while conducting combat operations" in Iraq's volatile Anbar province, according to a Defense Department announcement yesterday.
From the Yahoo news story:
Plouhar, who was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., had taken four years off from active duty to serve as a recruiter in Flint after donating one of his kidneys to his uncle. He is seen in the 2004 film [Fahrenheit 9/11] approaching prospective recruits in a mall parking lot.
"It's better to get them when they're in ones and twos and work on them that way," he says in the film.
Plouhar is survived by his wife and two children, age 5 and 9, who live in Arizona.
Plouhar — who grew up in Lake Orion, about 30 miles north of Detroit — seems to have been filmed by Michael Moore without knowing the nature of the documentary.
Although Plouhar willingly appeared in the movie, which is critical of the Bush administration's actions after Sept. 11, his father said Plouhar didn't realize it would criticize the war.
"I'm proud that my son wanted to protect the freedom of this country whether we all agree with the war or not," he said.
This certainly gives a new layer of meaning to the film, and it will be interesting to read the Kossack reaction. I know we we are united in our condolences for the Plouhar family.
UPDATE from the AP story:
The 10-year Marine's sister and grandfather served in the Army. He had only 38 days left in Iraq and had been there a little more than four months during his most recent tour, his family said.
"I'm devastated, sad and proud," Plouhar said of his only son. "This just makes me devoted even more to his belief that people need help in Iraq, and he felt that he was helping."
Plouhar's father said that his own views of the war remained unchanged:
"We need to resolve the war," he said. "If we walk out now, my son died for nothing and that will make me mad."