Families Speak

I found some articles and letters from soldier's families concerning the War on Iraq from "Military Families Speak Out" www.mfso.org

Here are some of their thoughts:

--"Joyce and Kevin Lucey are members of Military Families Speak Out and Gold Star Families for Peace. Their son, Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey, served in the Marine Reserves in Iraq in 2003. He came home neither safe nor sound. He suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and took his own life on June 22, 2004. His name is not in the Department of Defenses' roster of those who died in this war; yet Cpl. Lucey is a casualty of this war as much as any who has lost his or her life on the battlefield." This is their thoughts after watching President speak at Fort Bragg on June 28, 2005.......

-- Another Angry Mom --"I have been opposed to this war since the beginning, but as the mother of a soldier I was given no choice but to get on the roller coaster ride from HELL. As many times as I had wanted to voice my opinion, I held back because I felt I would be doing an injustice to my son and his courage, so I was torn between what was right, and the life I knew he was living. I knew that war was hell, but I never thought that hell could be made worse by the very people you are trying to protect".......

--"Yesterday afternoon I received a call from our daughter-in-law, Sarah, as I was finishing a meeting in New Hampshire. According to Sarah who had just talked to Ben, Ben and two other soldiers were manning a checkpoint, when Ben approached a white van to inspect it. Upon approaching it, a man jumped out of the van and started spraying the area with an AK-47. With bullets whining past his head, Ben had the presence of mind to grab his own revolver and shot the man. At that point, six others jumped out of the van, and a fire fight ensued. After it was over, Ben and his soldiers were OK except for helmets creased by bullets, a damaged 50mm machine gun, a burning white van, and violent shaking from the adrenaline and the stress of the fire fight. They had nearly been killed".......

---"Not long ago, $250,000 bought you a house, a car, started a college trust fund and still left you with enough for dinner at the Olive Garden. Today, $250,000 gets you a dead soldier".......

"My brother, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, was killed in action in Baghdad last month. Before he left, he took out the maximum Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance: $250,000. His wife gets that money and a folded flag. It should come with note: "Thanks for doing business with Uncle Sam. The medals are on us." What I'm left with is a dead brother, a fatherless nephew and a giant void where this giant man once stood".......

-- These are all very compelling stories, it doesn't really "hit home" to many of us because we may not have a loved one over in Iraq. Maybe these stories will actually have an effect people's thoughts of the war and acknowledge that there are people's sons, daughters, fathers, etc... serving our country.

My sympathy goes out to all who served and died over in Iraq and I support all of the troops still over there.