Posted on 08/07/2005 8:17:19 AM PDT by tgslTakoma
Since learning in April that their son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, had been killed in Iraq, life has been everything but normal for the Sheehan family of Vacaville. Casey's parents, Cindy and Patrick, as well as their three children, have attended event after event honoring the soldier both locally and abroad, received countless letters of support and fielded questions from reporters across the country.
"That's the way our whole lives have been since April 4," Patrick said. "It's been surreal."
But none of that prepared the family for the message left on their answering machine last week, inviting them to have a face-to-face meeting with President George W. Bush at Fort Lewis near Seattle.
Surreal soon seemed like an understatement, as the Sheehans - one of 17 families who met Thursday with Bush - were whisked in a matter of days to the Army post and given the VIP treatment from the military. But as their meeting with the president approached, the family was faced with a dilemma as to what to say when faced with Casey's commander-in-chief.
"We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled," Cindy said. "The president has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached."
The 10 minutes of face time with the president could have given the family a chance to vent their frustrations or ask Bush some of the difficult questions they have been asking themselves, such as whether Casey's sacrifice would make the world a safer place.
But in the end, the family decided against such talk, deferring to how they believed Casey would have wanted them to act. In addition, Pat noted that Bush wasn't stumping for votes or trying to gain a political edge for the upcoming election.
"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us," Pat said.
Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.
"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."
The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.
While meeting with Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was an honor, it was almost a tangent benefit of the trip. The Sheehans said they enjoyed meeting the other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support.
For some, grief was still visceral and raw, while for others it had melted into the background of their lives, the pain as common as breathing. Cindy said she saw her reflection in the troubled eyes of each.
"It's hard to lose a son," she said. "But we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."
The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.
For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.
For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.
"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Cindy said.
There is nothing more painful or more heart breaking than a parent losing a child. ... No one should have to experience such pain..
I hate to break it to her, but the only parents who don't experience the death of a child are those who manage to die before them. Because EVERYBODY dies. And MANY of them die unexpectedly and often quickly.
In fact, at least as a mother of a son who was in a war zone, she had to have some knowledge that this could happen, moreso than the parent who sends her kid to horse camp only to hear that the child fell off the horse and is dead. Or that the child was hit by a drunk driver. Or the latest on my mind, the mother whose daughter simply died while swimming at a waterpark.
And there is much more support for parents who lose their children as soldiers. It is considered honorable, and they are revered and receive much more praise and sympathy.
And a 24-year-old is not really a child. It is great that mothers will always love their children, but he might have gone skydiving and had his parachute fail, he's a grown-up and had his own life.
Of course, these were just words to exploit the death of a fine young man for partisan political gain. So maybe we were not supposed to take them seriously.
Ray McGovern works with Larry Johnson in the following groups:
Larry Johnson's Group (VIPS) Called On CIA Employees To Leak Secrets To Hurt Bush
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1450548/posts
Larry Johnson, Daniel Ellsberg & The Truth Telling Project --Pleading For Intel Leaks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1451334/posts
Source: http://www.militarycity.com/valor/257123.html
Vacaville eulogizes soldier from Iraq
Associated Press
VACAVILLE, Calif. — Hundreds of mourners came out Tuesday to remember Army Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan as an honor student who was quick to help out others.
The 24-year-old Sheehan died in Iraq last week, bringing the war closer to this town located between San Francisco and Sacramento.
“His life has brought new meaning to our community,” said Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine, who declared April 13, 2004 as Casey Austin Sheehan Memorial Day. “He made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Nearly 1,000 people filled St. Mary’s Church to bid farewell to Sheehan, who had been in Iraq only two weeks before he was killed in a battle with Shiite militia outside Baghdad.
“Casey was such a special man — the perfect son,” said longtime family friend Estella Tucker.
Sheehan was a member of the 82nd Field Artillery of the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.
Army Maj. Gen. Rodney Kobayashi was on hand to present Sheehan’s family with the Purple Heart and Bronze Star and thank them for a fine soldier, “a soldier’s soldier.”
The Army is still investigating the circumstances surrounding Sheehan’s death. The Pentagon believes Sheehan and seven soldiers were killed when their units were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire south of Baghdad.
In addition to his parents, Patrick and Cindy, Sheehan is survived by his brother, Andy, and sisters, Carly and Jane.
Sheehan was killed Sunday in a fire-fight outside Baghdad. Sheehan’s family members said his sergeant told them he and another soldier, Cpl. Forest J. Jostes, volunteered to be part of a quick response team when rioting started in Baghdad.
“He didn’t have to go,” said Sheehan’s 23-year-old sister, Carly. “He would do anything for anybody. He’d give you the shirt off his back. He was just a loving and caring person.”
Carly Sheehan said her brother was active in his Catholic church, spending 10 years as an altar server and serving in the youth ministry.
“That’s all he wanted to do was serve God and his country his whole life,” Carly Sheehan said. “He was a boy scout from age 6 or 7 and an Eagle Scout. It was kind of a natural progression to go into the military from that. He said he was enjoying the military because it was just like the boy scouts but they got guns.”
— Associated Press
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/20/INGIGBNC46129.DTL
MISSING CASEY
When a soldier dies, nothing back home is ever the same
The family Spc. Casey Sheehan left behind reminds us that war creates intensely human consequences. Sometimes we become numb to the pain.
For two years now, a new vocabulary has invaded the nightly news shows. We hear the words so often they aren't so jarring anymore. "Another four U.S. soldiers ..." "Two more Marines ..." There's really no need to complete the sentences. They end the same way: "... died in Iraq."
Some nights, the stock market, traffic tie-ups, even the weather get more attention than American casualties in Iraq. Is it war fatigue that diminishes the impact of this death count? The total is now 1,519. On average, two U.S. service members a day have died since the Iraq war began two years ago this weekend.
Numbers are inadequate in any case. Without a name, without a face, without a personal history, the lives of these fallen men and women are anonymous. The same is true for the estimated 16,000 Iraqi civilians who have died since the war's start on March 20, 2003 (Iraq time).
In the streets of Baghdad, in the corridors of Washington where pundits and politicians meet for conversation, there's still no agreement on whether the conflict has been worth it. The question is academic for most people, including politicians. For those who've lost a family member in Iraq, it's almost cruel. Some of them respond, "yes, the war was necessary," and some say, "no, it wasn't," but they all feel the pain of personal loss.
Reminders are everywhere. Sometimes, people in Vacaville walk up to Casey Sheehan's family and ask how he's doing. They haven't seen Casey in a while --
some of them aren't even aware he joined the Army -- and they want to know if he still lives in town, still enjoys acting, is still religious.
It's always an awkward moment. The family explains that Casey was recruited to join the U.S. Army before the Sept. 11 attacks. They explain that Casey was convinced that while in uniform he could help people, that Casey wanted to be a chaplain's assistant and perhaps make a career out of the Army.
The family then must say that on April 4, 2004, Casey was killed in a Baghdad slum. He died in an ambush while trying to rescue other soldiers who were under attack. Seven other soldiers perished with Casey that day. The newscasts made passing note of their deaths.
Casey was 24. He's survived by his mother, Cindy; his father, Pat; his younger brother, Andy; and younger sisters, Carly and Jane. Each has reacted differently to Casey's death. Together, they are indicative of the human burden that countries exact when they go to war. More than the monuments that get erected, it's the actions of those left behind and the feelings they carry inside that testify to a war's lasting influence.
CINDY SHEEHAN
In the years before April 4, Cindy Sheehan's life revolved around her family and a series of full-time jobs, including one as a youth minister at a Vacaville church. Three months after Casey's death, Cindy Sheehan, 47, became a full-time antiwar activist. She travels around the country to speak, letting others know there are military families who believe the Iraq war was a mistake.
The group Sheehan founded in January, Gold Star Families for Peace, has members across the United States. Sheehan is its best-known face because of her many appearances at demonstrations and because of TV ads broadcast during last year's presidential campaign.
In one ad, Sheehan spoke directly to President Bush, saying about Casey, "He died in his best friend's arms in Iraq. I imagined it would hurt if one of my kids was killed, but I never thought it would hurt this bad. Especially someone so honest and brave as Casey, my son, when you haven't been honest with us, Mr. Bush. When you and your advisers rushed us into this war. How do you think we felt when we heard the Senate report that said there was no link between Iraq and 9/11?"
Sheehan cried in the ad, just as she cries today when she speaks about her elder son. She takes his picture wherever she goes. She carried it to Washington in January when she tried to meet with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Security guards prevented her and other members of Gold Star Families for Peace from entering the doors of the Pentagon.
She met Bush once, during his visit to Fort Lewis, Wash. She says she tried to show the president photos of Casey, but he wouldn't look at them. She says she asked him, "Mr. President, what did my son die for?" and he said, "I believe every person deserves to be free."
She says Casey's death is "compelling me to fight for peace. ... This is what gets me out of bed in the morning -- that and my other three kids."
PAT SHEEHAN
Casey's dad is a sales representative whose territory is Northern California and Northern Nevada. Pat Sheehan, 51, says his son's death changed the way he deals with people. Before April 4, Pat Sheehan would never talk to clients about issues like Iraq.
"Before, I didn't ever bring politics into the equation during my work," he says. "I learned early on not to discuss politics or religion with business associates, but I've become more outspoken and a little more stubborn about the way I feel, even though it's important to be professional in my business. I think it's important to let people know the truth. I'm still very cautious, but I'm quicker to speak out than I was before."
Pat couldn't bear having Casey's things at home, so he rented a storage locker. Visiting it, as he did recently to retrieve Casey's uniform, is exceptionally difficult for him.
To help him cope with his loss, Pat Sheehan bought a 1969 VW Bug convertible last month. He says working on the car takes his mind off Casey's death and the political issues he is focused on. "Andy and I work on it together," says Pat. "Casey used to help me a bit with other cars."
ANDY SHEEHAN
Pat and Cindy Sheehan's only surviving son moved back home after his brother died. He works as a surveyor apprentice, a job he started just three months after Casey's death.
In his room, Andy has posters that once belonged to his brother, including one featuring cheerleaders from Texas, where Casey was stationed before going to Iraq. Andy, who is 21, was always close to his brother, who was four years older. Every day, Andy wears a spare set of Casey's military dog tags.
"We were inseparable before he left for the military," Andy says. "We did everything together, just like brothers."
Two months after Casey's death, Andy had a large tattoo created on his back. It features a cross, a rose, and a band that reads "79-04" -- the years of Casey's birth and death.
"I have three other tattoos. It seemed like a good idea to get one in memory of him," Andy says.
Casey's death has prompted changes in Andy. "I'm not saying (Casey's death) benefited me, but it made me more of a man," Andy says. "I just felt I should be closer to my sisters and be more of a big brother now that we've lost our big brother."
CARLY SHEEHAN
Carly, 24, works as a waitress at a local restaurant and goes to Solano Community College. She wrote a poem about her brother's death:
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done.
They call him a hero, you should be glad that he's one,
but have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
He must be brave because his boy died for another man's lies.
The only grief he allows himself are long, deep sighs.
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
They say that he died so that the flag will continue to wave,
but I believe he died because they had oil to save.
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
Have you ever heard the sound of a nation being rocked to sleep?
The leaders want to keep you numb so the pain won't be so deep,
but if we the people let them continue, another mother will weep.
Have you ever heard the sound of a nation being rocked to sleep?
She says the pain of Casey's death has eased a bit in the past few months, but "Every once in a while, I'll just be doing normal things and, all of a sudden, I feel like I get smacked in the face or punched in the gut. I'll think, 'Oh my God, my brother is dead.' It's hard."
JANE SHEEHAN
The youngest of Casey's siblings, Jane Sheehan, is 19. She has a hard time talking about her brother's death, and she didn't want to speak for this article. She was certainly in Casey's thoughts during his brief time in Iraq. In a letter Casey wrote on March 31 (but never mailed home -- commanders found it after his death), Casey wrote, "How is everyone doing? I wish I could be home for Jane's graduation."
The letter is difficult to read. In it, Casey reassures his family that he should be safe, that "we should be looking at a pretty smooth year. The unit we're replacing had only two deaths during their time here."
Four days later, Casey was dead. It has been almost a year now. The anniversary is coming up in two weeks.
To mark the second anniversary of the war, Cindy Sheehan was scheduled to be in Fayetteville, N.C., speaking at an antiwar rally in a city that's home to Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base.
Fayetteville is a long way from Vacaville and a long way from Iraq. Cindy Sheehan says she and her family will go as far as it takes to keep Casey's memory alive.
Casey's last letters home
These letters to Casey Sheehan's family were never sent. Military personnel gave them to the family after his death.
March 13-14, 2004
"The Beginning"
It was a long ordeal starting out at 1100 Saturday morning. We arrived at the back dock to find out we weren't leaving until 2:30 that afternoon. And so began a lot of waiting around. The married soldiers had their families to see them off, and all I had was a call home the night before. Mom cried her eyes out over the phone, not the first time it happened either.
From the back dock we loaded onto a bus that took us to the iron horse gym, where we did some more waiting and the families had one more chance to say good bye. From there we took another bus to Abrams gym, where we actually did some manifest processing for the flight.
They had a nice setup for us, too. Phones, Internet, video games, food, free stuff and music were all provided prior to the next bus ride to the plane. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, they formed us up and herded us onto the bus for the plane.
As we loaded the plane, the flight attendants proceeded to tell us we were making a stop in Ireland before we got to Kuwait. Unfortunately for us, we have to stay on the plane while the crew changes and the plane is refueled. We will be landing in Ireland shortly, then on to Kuwait.
We stayed in Ireland for about 4 hours. While we were here, there was also a National Guard unit from Sacramento. I spoke with the sergeant major of that unit and let him know I was from Vacaville.
I also spoke with one of the airport employees. She told me about the country and the different things to do. She also informed me that my family name is well known here. Shortly after that, we boarded the plane for Kuwait which we were informed will take 6 hours and 4 minutes to get there..
March 31, 2004
Hey Family:
I've finally made to Iraq. Luckily for us, there was no threat to our convoy.
How is everyone doing? I wish I could be home for Jane's graduation.
We should be looking at a pretty smooth year. The unit we are replacing had only two deaths during its time here. Anyway, I didn't think Mom needed to know that. She's already too worried about me being here.
I'm glad I finally got to write. They didn't give us the address until we got to our camp. I'm also glad I got to talk to Mom for a bit about a week ago. She probably doesn't remember because I woke her up.
I had an interesting flight. We flew from Fort Hood to Ireland. We had had 3 1/2-hour layover there. I spent $1.30 for a coke out of a soda machine and got 70 cents back in Eurocoins. I got to speak to one of the employees at the airport. She told me about the country and said that our last name is very well known.
After Ireland we landed in Kuwait ...
E-mail Jonathan Curiel at jcuriel@sfchronicle.com.
Another site also put the piece up.
Unless I read the two articles on her meeting with the President wrong - one article says she met with the President at Ft. Lewis, WA and the other says she met with the President in D.C. Huh?
"..BLITZER: All right. So tell us a little bit about what you're doing now. You had a chance to meet with the president, we're told, last summer. Is that right?
SHEEHAN: I met with him, I think, about June 17th last year. It was about two and a half months after Casey had died. And it was me...
BLITZER: Was that a private meeting, just you and the president?
SHEEHAN: It was me and my family, my other three children and my husband.
BLITZER: What did you say... SHEEHAN: And we met with about 15 other -- about 15 other families were there also. But we got to -- he came in individually and met with each one of us individually.
BLITZER: And so, what did you say to him then?
SHEEHAN: It was -- you know, there was a lot of things said. We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity. And we wanted him to look at the pictures of Casey.
He wouldn't look at the pictures of Casey. He didn't even know Casey's name. He came in the room and the very first thing he said is, "So who are we honoring here?" He didn't even know Casey's name. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything about Casey. He wouldn't even call him "him" or "he." He called him "your loved one."
Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject. And he acted like it was a party.
BLITZER: Like a party? I mean...
SHEEHAN: Yes, he came in very jovial, and like we should be happy that he, our son, died for his misguided policies. He didn't even pretend like somebody...
BLITZER: So now you're trying to meet with him again. What's the point? What are you trying to achieve?
SHEEHAN: This week we had a terrible loss of life in Iraq. Everybody knows about the National Guard unit of Marines from Ohio. And that enough saddened me and broke my heart because I know what those families are going through. And it also broke my heart because I've been working very hard for a year to end the war in Iraq. And every day that another soldier, another Iraqi person gets killed just rips my heart open. But then George Bush, in a luncheon he was giving a talk at or something, he said that the families can rest assured that their children died for a noble cause. And he also said that we have to honor the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers by continuing the mission, by staying the mission in Iraq.
And I have said this so many times: I do not want him to use my son's name to continue the killing. It's bad enough that my son is dead, and I'm a mother whose heart was ripped out on April 4, 2004. Why would I want one more mother, either Iraqi or American, to go through what I'm going through?
I don't want him to justify my son's honorable sacrifice to continue his murderous killing policies.
BLITZER: The president did allow his national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, and other top White House aides to go out yesterday where you are, outside the ranch in Crawford, Texas, and meet with you.
How did that meeting go? .."
True, but the Vacavilla article - which started this thread - speaks of a meeting in Ft. Lewis, WA and Post #7 tells about a meeting in June 2004 in Washington D.C.
Which article is correct? Did Mrs. Sheehan change the location to suit her politics? And, if so, why did Blitzer let her get away with it, or was it because he didn't do any reserach.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=1919
Thank you. Apparently she met with Bush in Seattle, WA in June of 2004 and the meeting location in Post No. 7 is in error.
I wonder where her husband is. No doubt, hiding out and ashamed of her silly accusations!
See my post #75. I asked the same question you did. Still no response. It sure is curious.
I guess they missed the AGAIN part.
Could happen to anyone. </sarcasm>
As a matter of fact the White House angle on the post 7 piece was probably pulled straight out of the imagination of its author, Greg Szymanski. Google his name and you will see what type of material he writes.
Mom, Who Lost Son In Iraq, Talks About 'Disgusting' White House Private Meeting With Bush
All my sympathy for her has drained.
Thanks bud, I've emailed this story to a bunch...also the Code PinkO loooosers asking for clarification of who's lyin' now???
I don't expect an answer from Wolfie either...
The mainstream media = Al Jazeera
I for one don't want to give her the benifit of the doubt. So I don't think she is being exploited but is doing it with full knowledge.
Her son fought for her right to utter nonsence. she can spout till she spits and we wont make her stop, but we know what her handlers motives are.
Similar to Anita Hill. After her testimony, 24 percent of Americans believed her. A year later, after tons of favorable media coverage to her, the media assault on Clarence Thomas and Sens. Simpson and Spector, and the latter pair's unwarranted apologies to her, 74 percent of Americans believed her.
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