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'I do talk to him every night'

Nov-15-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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By Chris Barron, Sun Staff

Eight months after she buried her husband, Michele Bunda stood at Fort Lewis two weeks ago watching the happy reunions of soldiers and their families.

The Army Stryker brigade that her husband served in returned after a year in Iraq. And although happy to see her husband's buddies, she never felt more alone.

"I was just watching other people hug their husbands and kids and I was just standing there," said Michele, 28, of Bremerton, who attended the homecoming at the request of her husband's friend. "I just was standing there and I had no one. It was hard. I cried."

Michele, the mother of 7-year-old daughter Chrizchele and 4-year-old son C.J., received news Jan. 25 that her husband, Staff Sgt. Christopher Bunda, was missing. To the family's dismay, his body wasn't recovered until nearly three weeks later.

He drowned after his boat capsized and he tried to save an Iraqi policeman, the Army told her. [...]

She said Chris' belongings from Iraq remain unopened in the garage. And the family videos of Chris remain unplayed since the funeral.

"I guess I'm not ready yet," said Michele, a medical assistant at a North Mason clinic. "It's just too painful. I just don't want to watch it."

It's likely Michele's closure might not come until if and when she actually goes to Iraq and visits the site where Chris perished. She asked the Army to go there after the funeral, but was denied. However, she hopes that she can visit Mosul one day because of her many unanswered questions.

"It's probably just for peace of mind," she said. "I just want to actually be there where it happened. I want to swim in that river. I just want to be where he died and where they found him. I just want to feel the water."


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