By Brian Zanzonico
While most 17-year-olds dream about living on their own at college and what subjects they'll focus on, Buith, of Franklin Square, thought about boot camp and taking orders from a major.
A year after he graduated from North in 2004, Buith enlisted in the US Army. He completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. in January and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash. until recently. Two weeks ago, as a member of the US Army's 14th Calvary, the 19-year-old was deployed to Iraq.
"From the time he was a junior, he wanted to be a soldier," Buith's mother, Anne, said. "My husband [Bill] and I said, 'What about the Coast Guard or the Navy?' He said, 'No. I want to be a soldier.'"
Joining the Navy would've been a natural for Buith. Anne Buith's father, a Navy man, served in World War II and Korea. But her son wanted his boots on the ground, not aboard a destroyer or aircraft carrier.
"He kept insisting this is what he wanted to do," Anne Buith said, noting he "wanted to help" after the events of 9/11.
Buith was ready to enlist as a junior, but his parents refused to sign the papers granting him permission. After he graduated from high school, they urged him to attend Nassau Community College, which he did. Midway through his freshman year, he told his parents he wanted to drop out and join the Army. They persuaded him to stay until the end of the school year, but after that, he made his own decision and enlisted.
The middle child of three boys - he has an older brother, Billy, and a younger brother, Bobby - Buith loves getting his hands dirty and always had his head buried under the hood of his car. As a child, when he wasn't playing soccer in the Valley Stream Club, he loved to tinker with his bicycle.
Buith is scheduled to do a yearlong tour in Iraq. His parents bought him a laptop computer so they can keep in touch with him via e-mail, but he warned them that trying to get in contact with him would be extremely difficult. Though nervous that their son is off to war, his parents said they are pleased with his decision.
"I'm proud of his unselfish commitment," Bill Buith said.
"I'm just very proud of him," added Anne Buith.
Buith called his mother from Kuwait a day after he left for the Middle East, which eased her mind. He called her at 4 a.m. Kuwait time, and it was already 105 degrees over there.
Like any mother of a soldier, Anne Buith has one simple wish: "I'd love for the war to end and for him to come home," she said.
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