KYLE M. JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER
Just recently, I found out that the mother of a girl I know died in a car accident. While the event in itself is devastating, I found something in the mother’s back story to be even more shocking: she was a cancer survivor.
After hearing about her death, I began to think about other people who have suffered similar fates—not necessarily cancer survivors who die in car accidents, but people who essentially survive something life threatening only to die in unexpected circumstances.
The first example that occurred to me was U.S. Marine Anthony Vargas who was stabbed and killed at a house party in the San Bernardino area in 2009. The incident was reported to have taken place just days before his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He survived one tour only to be killed in a home-setting where soldiers shouldn’t have to worry for their lives.
Another example that came to mind was the death of Ryan Dunn, star of the MTV television series and movie series “Jackass.” Dunn spent so much of his time on the show taking part in reckless stunts that ranged from seat-changing while speeding to chugging an entire bottle of tequila. It came as a surprise when news broke about his death in a car accident in 2011.
If you search “ironic deaths” online, you will be shown many lists that feature these types of deaths. Some ironic deaths mentioned are actually quite humorous because of how outrageous they are. However, there is a painful reality behind the three mentioned here.
Far too often, you will hear about soldiers who die while on leave, whether in a car accident or by murder. And thankfully, cancer survivors often live long enough to tell their story. But there’s a real tragedy taking place in all these instances, as well as many others that can tie into the similarity in the irony. Perhaps the devastation comes from the unexpected shock of the outcome of these events—the surprise, essentially.
While it is quite literal for the soldiers who share this fate, these individuals are all fighting one war and then dying in a completely unexpected one. The environment of the illusory war where they experience their tragic fate doesn’t resemble their real war whatsoever, leading to an untimely and startling outcome.