Spc. Casey Sheehan, 24, was killed in Baghdad on April 4, 2004, five days after he arrived in Iraq. He had a gentle but firm commitment to family, church and country, re-enlisting after the war started and volunteering for the rescue mission in which he and six others were killed last year. Now you may be like me, you might not know who that is except for his "famous" last name....Sheehan....as in son of Cindy Sheehan. Funny, with all media coverage she gets, I never knew her son's rank or first name and I could not have picked his photo out of a line-up, oh but I know her name and face.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/12/peacemom.soldier.ap/
You can click the link above and read a little more about Casey for yourself but I would like to cut and paste this article by Cindy Sheehan, PLEASE read it...she was on Nightline in Jan, but after another show interviewing military families aired, she felt the need to write this:
"I was on the Night Line Townhall Meeting in Washington, DC on 01/27/05. After I spoke (which I think was a fluke), Ted Koppel dismissed me as being "emotional." First of all, how can I approach this discussion without emotions, MY SON WAS KILLED, AND KILLED FOR LIES? Second of all, that show was not fair and balanced and I think the conclusion "Should we stay" was foregone.
The show last night was also not fair and balanced. To see all the wives being interviewed who had not lost their husbands and to hear what "hard work" it is to be left behind when their husbands are at war.
How hard do you think it is to have a child killed in an illegal and immoral war? In this "wonderful" group of families left behind, we had exactly ONE of the wives call us..she is Diane Rose who was my son's Colonel, Frank Rose's wife. The last time we heard from Diane was in October and we feel we have been left behind by anyone connected to the 2-5 Cavalry. Is support only given if your loved one stays alive? One wife was quoted as saying that Sundays were the hardest for the families left behind. My son was killed on Palm Sunday last year..how does anybody think Sundays are for my family?
Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full-well that my son, my family, this nation, and this world were betrayed by a George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agenda after 9/11. We were told that we were attacked on 9/11 because the terrorists hate our freedoms and democracy...not for the real reason, becuase the Arab-Muslims who attacked us hate our middle-eastern foreign policy. That hasn't changed since America invaded and occupied Iraq...in fact it has gotten worse.
It would be so amazing if your show would put me, or another parent who lost their child on who disagrees with the war and this administration: to have just an entire show..without presenting the false side of the debate. That would take a lot of courage and integrity. I hope your program will exhibit these qualities.
I also think that Mr. Koppel owes me an apology for the rude way I was treated on his show. After I expressed myself about the war being based on lies and that the troops should be brought home immediately because the war was based on lies, I was not thanked for my comments, or my son's sacrifice. He just said to keep the discussion away from emotions. Then, the wife of a soldier who was killed was allowed to speak and she praised the policies of this deplorable and despicable administration, and she was thanked and praised by the panel."
I not only think that Sheehan is insane, I think she betrays her son by making his service and sacrifice meaningless....it is sad. When Lee was in Iraq he told me his wishes for what I should say if he didn't come home, and there were days when he thought he wouldn't. He would never have wanted me to act the way she is. That would have made his death (and life) seem for nothing. I cannot begin to understand her grief but to make everyone else's worries and hardships seem insignificant is selfish and wrong.
I saw her on TV the other night stating that she is a pacifist and against all wars......then how did your son raised in your home get the "crazy" idea to join the military? Did someone drag him out of his bed to go to Iraq????? NO, You have to VOLUNTEER for the military, and while each joins for his own reasons, it is his/her own choice!!!
She goes on and on in different interviews about the lack of concern and support for her after her son's death.....well, change it. Cindy Sheehan, let that be your mission in life instead of constantly making your son's life meaningless by your rants against George Bush. Support other families who lose or have lost loved ones. How many families did you call to offer condolences to before your son got killed? If I am wrong, I will apologize, but I bet the answer is none.
As the wife of a soldier who was in Iraq for almost 15 months, I am highly offended by the use of quotation marks around "hard work" and "wonderful" when referring to some military families on the show.....Who does she think she is??? Is she questioning the hard work & struggles when your husband is gone off to war and then also hinting that these families aren't "wonderful"? Why, because they happened to get lucky and got their loved ones home safe and sound?
I feel sorry for Casey... none of us love war but if his own mother speaks so freely and strongly against military action to the media and anyone else who will listen, I can't imagine what she must have written or said to her son in his last days about his role in this one.
I would like to post today in honor of SPC Casey Sheehan and all others who have given their lives.....thank you for your selfless service and your sacrifice.
"He stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die
That freedom may live, and grow, and increase it's blessings.
Freedom lives, and through it, he lives--
In a way that humbles the undertakings of most men."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460787/posts
6 comments:
again I will say that I cannot begin to understand her grief...but I just don't think this is honoring the memory of her son, my opinion is that it is political and selfish.
just had to get it off my chest.
Maybe she just wants answers to questions that a lot of people want as well. She has not gone about trying to get the answers in the way most people would, but having never lost a child and gone through that, we don't know how we would react. As some one that totally supports the military and the families of military personnel, I still question the initial reasoning behind being there in the first place. I think in her grief she is just looking for all the answers. Even when a family member dies in a car accident people tend to retrace every last second before the accident to cope with the grief and also in an attempt to blame someone. When someone is murdered and the killer is caught, normally the family gets a day in court to yell, scream and have the killer see and hear their anquish. She will never be able to face the actual killer, but possibly looking to the government as a subsitute. I am not trying to defend Ms. Sheehan or her actions, just thinking of things from a different angle.
My husband got letters in Iraq from family stating, "I don't really support the war, oh but I support you and wear my yellow ribbon everyday"...well you can't really have it both ways when talking to a soldier. When the media trashes the mission, they turn around and say they support the troops. Huh? The troops are carrying out the mission, so it is personal to them, they are the mission, it is life or death.
With satellite TV, phones & computers, the media is everywhere. So one minute troops are handing out food and coloring books to children, helping build a school, or even protecting a weapons cache and they turn on tv and get told how many innocents were killed. But what about the good stuff?
So the sad thing for our troops in Iraq today is that unlike the Vietnam vets, they don't have to wait til they get home....they get that famous spit on their face while they are still in the war zone...
It would make more sense to me if her son had been drafted, but he wasn't. No-one is. He joined. He didn't get killed in a car accident, he died in Iraq. He was brave, he volunteered for a rescue mission, and she makes him seem like a poor little boy who was forced to go to Iraq.
Good point Amy, I also don't understand that if she feels so strongly against all military actions, how did it come about that her son joined? Why should I listen to her rants if her own son didn't....maybe she should look for the answer to that.
Whoever killed Casey Sheehan in Iraq would have rather have killed some innocent American sitting in their home, questioning why we are in Iraq in the first place. It was just a little easier for them to attack the US soldier than try to enter the US.
I have two children in the military, one Army and one Air Force, a boy and a girl.
I have lost a cild, I do know the grief... Cindy Sheehan is a
"Looney Toon" She was a Looney Toon before her son died in combat.
I have recieved an email from her sister, and her sister is also Looney.
I'm not being sarcastic, she is suffering from a personality disorder.
Pray for her.
Pebble
You're right Pebble, we do need to pray for her. I will pray for myself too because I find myself getting really upset when I see her lately :)
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