Canton, Ohio
ON MAY 5, 2004, Peggy Buryj, got the worst news a mother can get. Her son, Jesse, had been killed in Iraq. Jesse was manning the turret of a Humvee at a checkpoint in Karbala, south of Baghdad, when he noticed a dump truck racing towards his vehicle. Despite warnings, the driver did not stop. Jesse fired more than 400 rounds at the truck, killing the driver. But the truck didn’t stop. It rammed his Humvee, tipping it over. Jesse suffered massive internal injuries and later died on the operating table.
Jesse’s funeral got significant media attention in Canton. The military told Mrs. Buryj (pronounced “boo-dee”) that her son’s action saved the lives of at least three soldiers. “My son was a big hero in these parts,” she says. “Canton really turned out for my son’s funeral.”
