By Any Name

Bruce Sydow

Iwo Jima, 1945, World War II

Pacific Fleet Command directed us
to call it a “booby trap.”

Quang Nam Province, 1969, Vietnam War

Military Assistance Command directed us
to call it a “surprise firing device.”

Anbar Province, 2004, Iraq War

U. S. Central Command directed us
to call it an “improvised explosive device.”

Nangarhar Province, 2010, Afghanistan War

Task Force Command directed us
to call it an “explosively formed penetrator.”

Minneapolis, 2026, Operation Metro Surge

Department of Homeland Security directed us to
to call it a “use-of-force incident.”

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BRUCE SYDOW is the recipient of the Sexual Assault Prevention Center’s Gold Star Award and the Tacoma Community College Board of Trustees’ Faculty Excellence Award. A combat-decorated Marine, Bruce was a 19-year-old helicopter door gunner in Vietnam. A Pushcart Prize-nominated poet living on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.