A symbolic death in the line of duty

LATIN AMERICA A symbolic death in the line of duty
PAUL KNOX
04/26/1988
The Globe and Mail
Page A8
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PAUL KNOX IN NICARAGUA
MANAGUA
"I NEVER told my kids not to do something," David Linder was saying the other day, remembering his son Ben and the choices he made. ''I always told them to set their own sights and then go for them.
''And I still say it - although I gulp when I do."
Ben Linder set his sights high, and for a while he soared. But a year ago this week, by a mountain stream in northern Nicaragua, he died along with two Nicaraguan friends in a bloody ambush by contra guerrillas.
It's not clear whether he was killed by a Reagan Administration bullet, or fragments of a Reagan Administration grenade. What is certain is that he is the only U.S. citizen to die at the hands of the U.S.-financed contras in their seven-year war against Nicaragua's Sandinista Government.
His death strongly underscored the depth of opposition to U.S. contra aid. Not because he was just one more American who didn't agree with his government, but because he carried his nonconformity to such lengths. More than 1,000 Americans work in Nicaragua on community development projects, or directly aiding the Government. But Ben Linder was one of a very few to live in a war zone.
A 27-year-old mechanical engineer, he had overseen the building of a small hydro-electric plant in the village of El Cua, 160 kilometres north of Managua. He and six Nicaraguan peasants were ambushed while taking water-flow measurements for a similar project in nearby San Jose de Bocay. Two of the Nicaraguans also were killed.
Nicaraguans working on remote co-operatives and development projects routinely carry weapons, since the rebels have frequently attacked them. Ben had brought an automatic rifle to the stream site, but he wasn't carrying it during the ambush.
His parents, who have filed a $50-million lawsuit against contra leaders in a U.S. court, spoke in about the danger to which Ben exposed himself. Parental misgivings they admit to - but not regrets.
''He had three good years in Nicaragua, and a satisfaction with life that most people don't have," said his mother, Elizabeth, who is a court worker in Portland, Ore., where the Linders live. ''I've always been more concerned about my kids' mental health than their physical health. And his mental health was great."
Ever so slightly, Ben's father - a retired hospital pathologist - demurred. ''I was worried about his physical health. After his last phone call, I had the feeling he was returning to a dangerous situation."
U.S. officials say Ben Linder made himself a target by wandering around a war zone carrying a gun. His family insists that, since he was clearly a noncombatant, the issue of the weapon is irrelevant to whether his death was right or wrong.
Americans living in Nicaragua remember Ben as a slightly eccentric, high-spirited sort who shunned the privileges available to foreigners. An accomplished circus clown, he used to juggle and perform on a unicycle for the children of El Cua.
His death reinforced the commitment of many Americans who live and work here. It also brought the Linders a little nearer the pain of millions whose lives are throttled by Third World wars. ''We used to have opinions about world affairs," said Ben's older brother, John. ''Now we have mood swings."
But it will never be quite the same. ''It makes us feel close, and yet still different," said his mother. ''Ben didn't have to be here. He chose to be here. They (Nicaraguans) have no choices."
On Thursday, the anniversary of Ben's death, contra leaders will arrive in Managua to resume talks with the Government aimed at turning a temporary truce into a permanent ceasefire. Both sides profess optimism, and there is a widespread feeling that they have come too far to turn back now.
'It's a major sadness that Ben didn't live to see it," Elizabeth Linder said. ''But the extension of that is: if indeed there is peace, indeed there will not be other Bens."