Very good article.

Tom Gator 851.

Great essay....Notice that the Socialist Worker Newspaper is now
carrying
the rantings of Ms Sheehan. Hardly leaves any doubt about her politics
and
personal agenda.
****

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 7:23 AM
Subject: : OpinionJournal Article: She Does Not Speak for Me

> Wall Street Journal
> REVIEW & OUTLOOK
> She Does Not Speak for Me
>
> My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.
>
> BY RONALD R. GRIFFIN
>
> I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.
>
> I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure
of
> the
> agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his service
and
> sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and those who
would
> cast
> her as the symbol for parents of our fallen soldiers.
>
> The fallen heroes, until now, have enjoyed virtually no individuality.
> They
> have been treated as a monolith, a mere number. Now Mrs. Sheehan, with
> adept
> public relations tactics, has succeeded in elevating herself above the
> rest
> of us. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida declared that Mrs. Sheehan is now
the
> symbol for all parents who have lost children in Iraq. Sorry, senator.
Not
> for me.
>
> <http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/081505sheehan.jpg> Maureen Dowd
of
> the New York Times portrays Mrs. Sheehan as a distraught mom standing
> heroically outside the guarded gates of the most powerful and inhumane
man
> on earth, President Bush. Ms. Dowd is so moved by Mrs. Sheehan's
plight
> that
> she bestowed upon her and all grieving parents the title of "absolute
> moral
> authority." That characterization epitomizes the arrogance and
> condescension
> of anyone who would presume to understand and speak for all of us. How
can
> we all possess "absolute moral authority" when we hold so many
different
> perspectives?
>
> I don't want that title. I haven't earned that title.
>
> <http://opinionjournal.com/images/storyend_dingbat.gif>
>
> Although we all walk the same sad road of sorrow and agony, we walk it
as
> individuals with all the refreshing uniqueness of our own thoughts
shaped
> in
> large measure by the life and death of our own fallen hero. Over the
past
> few days I have reached out to other parents and loved ones of fallen
> heroes
> in an attempt to find out their reactions to all the attention Mrs.
> Sheehan
> has attracted. What emerges from those conversations is an empathy for
> Mrs.
> Sheehan's suffering but a fundamental disagreement with her politics.
>
> Ann and Dale Hampton lost their only child, Capt. Kimberly Hampton, on
> Jan.
> 2, 2004, while she was flying her Kiowa helicopter. She was a member
of
> the
> 82nd Airborne and the company commander. She had already served in
> Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq. Ann Hampton wrote, "My
grief
> sometimes seems unbearable, but I cannot add the additional baggage of
> anger. Mrs. Sheehan has every right to protest . . . but I cannot do
that.
> I
> would be protesting the very thing that Kimberly believed in and died
> for."
>
> Marine Capt. Benjamin Sammis was Stacey Sammis's husband. Ben died on
> April
> 4, 2003, while flying his Super Cobra helicopter. Listen to Stacey and
she
> will tell you that she is just beginning to understand the
enormousness of
> the character of soldiers who knowingly put their lives at risk to
defend
> our country. She will tell you that one of her deepest regrets is that
the
> world did not have the honor of experiencing for a much longer time
this
> outstanding Marine she so deeply loved.
>
> Speak to Joan Curtin, whose son, Cpl. Michael Curtin, was an
infantryman
> with the 2-7th 3rd ID, and her words are passionately ambivalent. She
says
> she has no room for bitterness. She has a life to lead and a family to
> nurture. She spoke of that part of her that never heals, for that is
where
> Michael resides. She can go on, always knowing there will be that
pain.
>
> Karen Long is the mother of Spc. Zachariah Long, who died with my son
Kyle
> on May 30, 2003. Zack and Kyle were inseparable friends as only
soldiers
> can
> be, and Karen and I have become inseparable friends since their
deaths.
> Karen's view is that what Mrs. Sheehan is doing she has every right to
do,
> but she is dishonoring all soldiers, including Karen's son, Zack.
Karen
> cannot comprehend why Mrs. Sheehan cannot seem to come to grips with
the
> idea that her own son, Casey, was a soldier like Zack who had a
mission to
> complete. Karen will tell you over and over again that Zack is not
here
> and
> no one, but no one will dishonor her son.
>
> My wife, Robin, has a different take on Mrs. Sheehan. She told me, "I
> don't
> care what she says or does. She is no more important than any other
> mother."
>
> <http://opinionjournal.com/images/storyend_dingbat.gif>
>
> By all accounts Spc. Casey Sheehan, Mrs. Sheehan's son, was a soldier
by
> choice and by the strength of his character. I did not have the honor
of
> knowing him, but I have read that he attended community college for
three
> years and then chose to join the Army. In August 2003, five months
into
> Operation Iraqi Freedom and after three years of service, Casey
Sheehan
> re-enlisted in the Army with the full knowledge there was a war going
on,
> and with the high probability he would be assigned to a combat area.
Mrs.
> Sheehan frequently speaks of her son in religious terms, even saying
that
> she thought that some day Casey would be a priest. Like so many of the
> individuals who have given their lives in service to our country,
Casey
> was
> a very special young man. How do you decry that which someone has
chosen
> to
> do with his life? How does a mother dishonor the sacrifice of her own
son?
>
> Mrs. Sheehan has become the poster child for all the negativity
> surrounding
> the war in Iraq. In a way it heartens me to have all this attention
paid
> to
> her, because that means others in her position now have the chance to
be
> heard. Give equal time to other loved ones of fallen heroes. Feel the
> intensity of their love, their pride and the sorrow.
>
> To many loved ones, there are few if any "what ifs." They, like their
> fallen
> heroes before them, live in the world as it is and not what it was or
> could
> have been. Think of the sacrifices that have brought us to this day.
We as
> a
> country made a collective decision. We must now live up to our
decision
> and
> not deviate until the mission is complete.
>
> Thirty-five years ago, a president faced a similar dilemma in Vietnam.
He
> gave in and we got "peace with honor." To this day, I am still
searching
> for
> that honor. Today, those who defend our freedom every day do so as
> volunteers with a clear and certain purpose. Today, they have in their
> commander in chief someone who will not allow us to sink into
self-pity. I
> will not allow him to. The amazing part about talking to the people
left
> behind is that I did not want them to stop. After speaking to so many
I
> have
> come away with the certainty of their conviction that in a large
measure
> it's because of the deeds and sacrifices of their fallen heroes that
this
> is
> a better and safer world we now live in.
>
> Those who lost their lives believed in the mission. To honor their
memory,
> and because it's right, we must believe in the mission, too.
>
> We refuse to allow Cindy Sheehan to speak for all of us. Instead, we
ask
> you
> to learn the individual stories. They are glorious. Honor their
memories.
>
> Honor their service. Never dishonor them by giving in. They never did.
>
> Mr. Griffin is the father of Spc. Kyle Andrew Griffin, a recipient of
the
> Army Commendation Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze
> Star,
> who was killed in a truck accident on a road between Mosul and Tikrit
on
> May
> 30, 2003.