Death Of Mike Bell

M

munk

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Mar 22, 2002
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Who was Mike Bell? I don't know him. But I know him- I know what he was, I know what he did and tried to do, and I know what happened to him.

For a complete story, type in Billings Gazette and follow the links to the Bell story, as well as the numerous letters to the editor this tragedy brought forth in a wave.

Earlier this month a Navy SEAL by name of Mike Bell returned home to Wolf Point indian Reservation on Leave. He had done several tours in both Afganistan and Iraq. He was a well respected SEAL- he had security duty for the squad- being the sniper behind them with a rifle to watch their backs. Apparenty this is considered an honor amongst SEALS.

He returned to Wolf Point amidst the congratulations and friendship of the residents. He was well liked, loved, and looked up to. If you know Indian Reservations, you know role models are hard to find. Mike spent the evening in a local watering hole, apparently a very happy homecoming party. 20 minutes after closing time, he was dead, stabbed from behind. Two local Wolf Point Residents are being held by police.

I'm telling you this because it makes me angry, and I feel like crying. Ever heard of crabs in the bucket? One crab almost makes it out, but the other claws of numerous crabs drag him back down. They buried Mike Bell with full Military honors, two of his brother SEALS guarding the casket at all times. Fellow SEALS smashed their gold pins emblems into the wood- a tradition.

Here are two Wolf Point traditions: 1. violence in indian lands is three times higher than the national average for non indian lands. Booze, drugs, incest, murder- all very high and play a role
2. You've read in this forum before that NDN participation in the armed forces is among the highest, if not THE highest, of percentage relative to pop.

The entire state of Montana is outraged and hurt by this murder. Montana is a relative small state pop wise, and it is not surprising that a locale made good would get this reaction. The fact that it was a ndn, just makes it more heartbreaking. Why? Because when an individual overcomes bad odds and becomes a real human being, everyone cares.
This man by all private and public accounts was a true hero, and beloved. HE was an overacheiver- self proclaimed- who came from a place notorious for resistance to accomplishment. What's the Use? Is the undercurrent on most reservations.

There is something I've always known about fighting expertise- and that is anyone can be killed. Mike Bell was killed from behind, but is dead none the less.



munk
 
I don't know what to say... this hits below the belt in so many ways that I have nothing to add except my prayers for his loved ones, his brothers that fought with him, and perhaps most importantly, prayers for the little kids on that reservation that they look at him as a hero who was cut short, but still an example of what can be, instead of a reason to not bother...

Rest in peace Mike.
 
God bless Mike Bell. I am having difficulty writing this....I will retire for the evening to think about it. Good night, Mike.....
 
Sounds like the Teams lost a true Warrior.
Our Country has lost another fine man.
Go in Peace, SEAL
 
He did not live in vain, he did not die in vain.

tears from here, and prayers for his family.

Tom
 
Tragic, tragic and senseless. I had a boyhood friend named James Gilley. I say "had" 'cause Jim ain't around anymore. He joined the Army and proudly earned his green beret as an SF trooper. He was in Grenada, and he was in Panama, and he was in other places that don't seem to matter much anymore. While home on leave, Jim got shot down like a dog in his own driveway by an angry girlfriend. Tragic and senseless. Prayers for Mike's family.

Sarge
 
Your life is your only real possession, and it can be stolen, as Mike's was.

There's no crime greater than the theft of a life.

Care to hear about a 19-yr. old college girl that was raped by 5 guys, then thrown out a window? They didn't *quite* kill her. One of them threw her a subway token to get back out of the inner city neighborhood she went into accidently. That's the one I haven't been able to forget lately.

For all the good in people, there is all the bad. The ratio isn't what is should be.


Ad Astra
 
Just some terrible luck. Bad luck can kill you, it sure can, and there's nothing anyone or any amount of training can do.
It's really sad, but his accomplishments are still there, to be admired and emulated and used to teach and inspire.
Maybe this event will start a grassroots movement in the reservation, you never know.
I hope so.
 
They oughta take the guy(s) that killed him down to the local VFW, put'em on stage, explain what he/ they did to the vets and tell the vet's
" Do as ye like with 'em, No repurcussions from the law. Anything goes"
:thumbup: :thumbup: :mad:
 
I read the letters to the editor; at least the ones on the internet provided by the Billings Gazette. One woman from the Rez complained the Warriors were mocked and laughed at by some there. I haven't seen that on the Res I deal with. Soldiers are still respected.

But in the bar down the street after a fight, the perps missed running the fallen man's head over by an inch as they took off.

And a school kid was beated by other school kids and buried under a door and left for dead. Etc Etc.

It is considered fair sport by many of the 20 year olds to deflower the 12 to 14 year old girls.

It goes on and on.

It's a little unusual for one from the Rez to return. They often leave forever, leaving of course only the worst role models for the youth to follow.

Still, most of the letters to the editor reflect the outrage and pain that is natural and good. I wish a miracle could happen. I wish there didn't have to be New Orleans hurricane looters shooting at rescuers, I wish there were no slums or Rez's as they currently stand. I wish we had more Mike Bells. I think we do, but they are sometimes hard to see for all the pain and blind ignorance.




munk
 
I wish we had more Mike Bells. I think we do, but they are sometimes hard to see for all the pain and blind ignorance.
Click to expand...

Exactly. They *are* hard to see because of the pain, and for a related reason: the media (and our society who pays their bills by watching their shows and buying their newspapers) love nothing more than bad news--showing humankind at their basest level. We are left reeling from the onslaught of pain and despair that they serve to us on our tv trays.

The endless stream of crap that is shown to our kids becomes part of their/our culture. No, I don't believe that TV and movies are to blame for all our problems. But you must admit that kids absorb what is around them. Hollywood movies and the antics of the sports figures kids idolize certainly are part of the problem.

Bit by bit bad behavior IS becoming commonplace. They are desensitized by it. More and more "extreme" everything is happening: extreme sports, sex, violence, eating, drinking, driving, extreme behavior of all types.

A positive feedback loop is what we are in folks.

I actually replied to this to say that I DO believe that there are many, many, more good stories out there than bad. People who are sick of the direction things are going, people that are making a difference. But that isn't the news that puts butts in seats so to speak. Those are the boring time fillers that we see so rarely in our news broadcasts.

I really believe that if kids could see many more of these good stories they could latch onto one of them as a model for how they might want to act.
 
I do too. Rob. And I think someday, we will decide as a people whether Man is a good thing and should survive, or a bad thing to let go.




munk
 
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