HT on story to Laurie Byrd from
Polipundit.com ... her story got the dicing blades going...it is also blogged on Michelle Malkin...
AP Posted the following story...
Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the slogan-like operation names the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts. Families of fallen soldiers and Marines are being told they have the option to have the government-furnished headstones engraved with "Operation Enduring Freedom" or "Operation Iraqi Freedom" at no extra charge, whether they are buried in Arlington or elsewhere. A mock-up shown to many families includes the operation names.
The vast majority of military gravestones from other eras are inscribed with just the basic, required information: name, rank, military branch, date of death and, if applicable, the war and foreign country in which the person served.
Families are supposed to have final approval over what goes on the tombstones. That hasn't always happened.
Nadia and Robert McCaffrey, whose son Patrick was killed in Iraq in June 2004, said "Operation Iraqi Freedom" ended up on his government-supplied headstone in Oceanside, Calif., without family approval.
"I was a little taken aback," Robert McCaffrey said, describing his reaction when he first saw the operation name on Patrick's tombstone. "They certainly didn't ask my wife; they didn't ask me." He said Patrick's widow told him she had not been asked either.
"In one way, I feel it's taking advantage to a small degree," McCaffrey said. "Patrick did not want to be there, that is a definite fact."
Now do the following:
Google Nadia McCaffreyIs it coincidence that AP chose to cover this story and refer to this family? I think not. It is another case, my opinion, of AP publishing an Op / Ed piece under the guise of a news story. This family is suffering a great loss and my heart goes out to them. But they are using this loss for political capital. That is where my sympathy for this greiving family ends.
Nadia McCaffery is interviewed
here (from KTVU website) talking about her intent to join Cindy Sheehan in Crawford for the "protest"... She is also a member of the
GSFP, a "non-profit" organization that is acting more like a political group, which might be in violation of its non-profit status from the IRS. Gold Star Families for Peace is a front group founded by Cindy Sheehan to achieve a political means to ending the war.
I fully support the President and his administration in the prosecution for the war on terror. I make no bones about it. It is such a shame that Nadia, Cindy and a few others are using the names and memories of the loved ones, ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice, for political means. I grieve for their loss and am grateful for the gift of freedom that their loved ones, along with so many others throughout history have given so that we all can have the freedom to debate the GWOT.
If it wasn't for the sacrifice, none of us would be able to have that ability. What say you?
Links:
Michelle MalkinNational Review OnlinePolipundit
