In 2001, a group of football fans and myself—who did our drinking and hollering at Lumpy's private club on Highland Drive—made our way to Portland, Oregon, for a game between our Utes and the Oregon Ducks. The University of Oregon is 100 miles away in Eugene, but who wants to stay in Eugene? I remember the year because we returned home just before 9/11 so that weekend is connected to both crazy fun and damning tragedy.
One night, we were invited to a party, so off we went. We piled into a cab with me in the front. Hanging from the mirror was a giant Christian cross that I recognized as the type worn by Russian Orthodox followers.
Thus began a short conversation between two of the Earth's 260 million members of the Eastern Orthodoxy. I was making a friend. However, my companions became anxious, so they told me to shut up and let the driver know where we were headed.
We hadn't gone 100 yards when I finally got the name of the place right and told the driver. Bang! He hit the brakes and proclaimed in that stereotypical Russian growl, "Get out! I don't go there. Get out!" The guys I was with got pissy, fast, and wanted to know why. The driver told me, and I told them, "Well, he says he's a good Christian, and he's not going to take us to that club."
That's when my buddy, Joe Caputo, sitting right behind the driver, said very loudly, "Listen, Boris, you stupid bastard, I killed commies like you in Vietnam, and I'll kill your ass right now if you don't start driving."
Silence. We didn't know to laugh or be scared, but the driver got the message and drove off. When we arrived at the appointed location, we went inside, but we couldn't find Joe. When he finally joined us, he said simply, "Don't worry about the driver. I took care of him," which wasn't comforting.
We left a couple hours later, and the driver was waiting for us in the parking lot. Joe laughed and said, "I told you I took care of him." We rumbled back into the cab for the return to our hotel. Joe never told us exactly how he convinced the driver that it was better for him to put his religion down and do his job. All these years later, I still don't know. And I never will.
At 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1, Joe Caputo—the wild fighter from both South and West high schools, the ballplayer, father and grandfather, the most dedicated Ute fan ever and a proud U.S. Marine who pounded the Vietnam jungles in 1965 and 1966—died in his sleep. He had been plenty ill, but still, Joe was a strong guy. Not long after our almost-9/11 trip to Oregon, Joe called the Marines to see if he could go to war with them. He was in his 50s. Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Joe had little use for politicians of any stripe, cab drivers of any religion or BYU anything. If Joe could, he'd try to hitch a ride to Kyiv to take up arms against the Russians attacking Ukraine. They may not be of the commie variety who supplied arms to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese who once tried to kill him, but that wouldn't matter. Joe would side with the Ukrainians, a people to which he'd certainly find commonality with. For starters, Joe was brave. He didn't win every fight, but let's just say he had a pretty good winning percentage. I never saw him back down to anyone.
Ukraine citizens and leaders are world heroes now. Mythic. Their character is so different from our politicians, especially of the current GOP stripe who spent four years coddling a serial draft dodger and Putin enabler in Donald Trump. During Trump's ride, too many Americans began equating mask wearing with freedoms lost and honking in hateful flag-waving caravans as freedom won.
Ukraine produces men like Volodymir Zelenskyy—who didn't succumb to the Trump administration attempts at blackmail, either—while we produce pasty politicians like Mike Lee, Chris Stewart, Marco Rubio and snowstorm scarecrow, Ted Cruz. They are loudmouths who get you into fights but don't fight them.
Ukraine has one less fighter on their side this week. It's going to be terribly tough for them in the coming weeks and years, but Russia will never conquer Ukraine, with or without a massive arms advantage, with or without Putin. Whatever happens now will be undone. Ukraine is free and will remain free. The children of Ukraine witnessing this will pass stories for generations.
I grew up hearing similar stories from my immigrant grandfather who often reminded me it took 400 years to repel the Ottomans from his beloved Crete. In the minds of free people, 400 years is just a receipt. Russia will be evicted in time. Slava Ukraini!
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