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Bravery in a time of war

Aug-24-2007 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

By Brian Zanzonico, Herald Community

They while away precious minutes in the unlikeliest of places, using the lavatory not for its intended purpose but rather as a miniature break room. Civilian workers back home have their own places to catch their breath and collect their thoughts while on the job - a cafeteria to relax in, a truck to lean against - and members of the U.S. Army's Alpha Troop of the 114th Cavalry have theirs.

This is the way it has been much of the time for Pfc. Brian Buith, a Franklin Square resident who graduated from Valley Stream North High School in 2004, since he arrived in Iraq in June 2006: End the day, retreat to the comforting four walls of the port-a-john, be grateful you've made it through and dream about home. The plastic box offers a chance to escape the life-or-death challenges he faces every day.

Since he first entered the war more than a year ago - he came home briefly for Christmas last year - Buith has stared adversity in the face several times, and hasn't blinked. Not when he was injured twice, and not when he held off an ambush in April and saved the members of his unit.
For his actions, Buith, 20, received the Army Commendation Medal on July 1.

In a series of e-mail exchanges with the Herald last weekend, Buith recounted what happened on April 7 in Diweneyah, a Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad that had not seen American forces since the war began in March 2003. Four days into a mission to clear out Muqtada Al Sadr's militia, Buith's unit met resistance.

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