Free Republic

Mexico City -- Fernando Suarez del Solar feels a sense of urgency about the war in Iraq -- and not just because he lost his only son there two years ago. It is his duty, he says, to warn young Latinos about the perils of joining the U.S. military and becoming, like his son, a "green card Marine," lured by promises of a college education, post-service career and fast-track citizenship. Three years ago, President Bush offered accelerated citizenship to any green card holder who has served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001. Instead, the bereaved father tells would-be recruits,...

MEXICO CITY – The father of a Mexican-born U.S. Marine slain in Iraq came back to his native Mexico on Tuesday to convince young Mexicans not to immigrate to the United States or allow themselves to be recruited into the U.S. armed services. Fears abound here that Mexican youths may see service as a fast-track to citizenship, although the U.S. military does not recruit in Mexico. A minor violation of that recruitment rule occurred in 2003, when a U.S. Army recruiter went to the border city of Tijuana looking for two youths he had first contacted in the United States....

SAN DIEGO ---- With a picture of his dead Marine son behind him and a table covered with medical supplies in front of him, Escondido anti-war activist Fernando Suarez del Solar told reporters Tuesday that he will spend this Christmas returning to Iraq to bring aid to children made refugees by the war. Suarez, who described himself as a former "newspaper deliveryman and 7-Eleven cashier," has become a tireless peace activist since his 20-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Jesus del Solar, was killed March 27, 2003. He said he and his wife, Rosa, planned to arrive in Jordan the day after...

he night before her son left for Kuwait, Ruth Aitken argued with him on the telephone for nearly three hours. From her living room in State College, Pa., she told him that a war with Iraq made no sense, that it was really a scuffle over oil. Her son, an Army captain based at Fort Stewart, Ga., countered that America needed to be protected from terrorists. "Mother," he finally told her, "it's my job." The argument — a "major confrontation" in Ms. Aitken's memory — was by no means their first debate over the war, but it was their last....

Miyuki Cawley, the wife of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt James Cawley, holds the flag from her husband's casket in her lap during graveside services at the Roy City Cemetery Thursday, April 10, 2003 in Roy, Utah. Cawley died March 29, 2003 while serving in Iraq and also was a member of the Salt Lake City police force. Bishop Jaime Soto is shown Friday, April 11, 2003, at St. Joaquim Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, Calif., at the funeral of U.S. Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, shown in foreground. Garibay was killed March 23, 2003, after encountering Iraqi troops near...

Before I became a radio talk show host and television news commentator, I was a talk show guest. Once, while on a top rated talk show, the show host blithely insulted me with a question "super Americans" always ask of people born outside the United States but, of course, forget to ask the Timothy McVeighs of the country. It is a question no one asks of Irish or Italian or British or Canadian Americans. It seems the question is reserved for Hispanics and people who might have some affinity for Israel. "If Mexico (the country of my birth) and the...

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Relatives of U.S. service members said they were nervous but hopeful Saturday as they embarked on a private peace mission to Iraq, where they will bring their message of friendship and doubts about the war. The leader of the 10-member group, Fernando Suarez del Solar, said it is important for Iraqis to realize that not all Americans support the U.S. military presence in Iraq. His son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus Suarez del Solar, 20, was killed in Iraq eight months ago when he stepped on an unexploded American cluster bomb. "The regular Americans like peace,"...

Pentagon warned families not to go ESCONDIDO, CA – An Escondido man who lost his only son during the invasion of Iraq is leading a delegation of U.S. military families there this weekend despite warnings from the Pentagon not to go because of escalating violence. Fernando Suarez del Solar said yesterday that nothing would stop him from going to Iraq and spreading his message of peace. If any of the 10 delegates traveling to Iraq are hurt, Suarez del Solar said, he will hold the Bush administration and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the senior U.S. military commander in Iraq, accountable....

Dorothy Oxendine presides over American Gold Star Mothers Inc., a national organization of women whose sons and daughters have died in military service to the nation. (Photo by Mark Abraham) AMERICAN IDENTITY With the Iraq War, a New Generation of Gold Star Mothers BY DELIA M. RIOS More stories by Delia M. Rios WASHINGTON -- As Dorothy Oxendine knows, the most dreaded words a parent can hear are "We regret to inform you ..." She lost her only son, Pfc. Willie F. Oxendine III, to a land mine in Vietnam on May 30, 1968. His death at age 21...

Names of the four US Marines who died in yesterday's helicopter crash: Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, of Waterville, Maine Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, of Bloomington, Ill. Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, of Houston, Texas Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Watersbey, 29, of Baltimore, Md. The Pentagon has just released the names of two more US Marines who were killed in Iraq. I'll post as soon as I find that.