Military Families Speak Out

In service to our country

Fri, 14 Jan 2005

By Susan Livingston. "I would like to thank you for your service to our country. You are at your post, day and night, I assume doing your best. My brother, SPC Joseph Bickenstaff, was also at his post doing his best. He drown, December 8, 2003, when his Stryker rolled into an irrigation canal."

Upset Girlfriend lets Rumsfeld know

Tue, 11 Jan 2005

By Alison. "I�m grateful of the steak and eggs breakfast afforded every soldier prior to departing on that flight today, since realistically, it might be the last meal they can enjoy safely. It might as well be a memorable one. Very magnanimous, that. Until now, they�ve been limited to one �breakfast meat� in the mess hall in the morning�.God forbid we give our soldiers a sausage patty AND a rasher of bacon�.so I�m sure they�ll remember this breakfast a while. Juice. I hope there was at least juice."

Letter from a widow

Mon, 10 Jan 2005

By Angela Blickenstaff. "I am a member of the WA Army National Guard, a member of Military Families Speak Out, and of a more personal nature, a widow as a result of the war in Iraq."

Another request to meet

By Nancy Lessin and Charley Richardson. "We are writing in support of the request you received from military families whose loved ones were killed in Iraq to meet with you in Washington D.C. sometime during the period January 19-21, 2005."

"He will never be counted as a casualty of this war"

By Joyce and Kevin Lucey. "It was his spirit that was mortally wounded on the battlefield but it was his body that died in the cellar of our home by his own hand this past June 22nd. He will never be counted as a casualty of this war in a formal count or be recognized as such yet to all who hear his story - we know."

Another requeset from a mother for a meeting

By Celeste Zappala. "I am requesting a meeting with you during the period of January 19 to 21.I, along with Cindy Sheehan and other family members of fallen soldiers, would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you about our grief of having lost our children, and our efforts to prevent this same tragedy happening to others."

Another letter from a mother who lost her son

By Sue Sapir Niederer. "My son Lt. Seth J. Dvorin was killed in Iraq on 2/3/04, and to this date my family has not received the reasons as to why he died. All we know is that he was sent on a suicide mission, to be a sitting duck. His mission was not what he was trained in nor did he have the proper equipment."

Letter from an angered Aunt

By Annette Pritchard. "It is hard to believe that it has been almost one year since my nephew, Pfc. William Ramirez, was killed in Baghdad while on night patrol in his unarmored Humvee. The improvised explosive device that killed him and Sgt. Patrick Tainsh last February 11th is still the weapon of choice for the Iraqis who oppose our occupation of their country."

Second Letter to Rumsfeld

By Bill Mitchell. "As I awoke this morning on the eve on my second trip to Washington, D.C., I re-read the letter that I had sent to you from Germany on May 4, 2004 (see attached). I was there in Germany with my son�s fianc�e, Bianca. I mailed that letter on the one month anniversary of my son�s death. Just so you know, SSG Michael William Mitchell was killed in action on 04-04-04 in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq on the first day of the Shiite uprising."

"My sister Susan sent you a very kind letter."

By Eric Blickenstaff. " To the Secretary of Defense and his lackey boss; My sister Susan sent you a very kind letter. You sir are a fake. You sent my family a fake letter after my brother died. Your boss george W for WAR CRIMES, sent my family a fake letter too. Please tell him what a phony he is. How can he support you for not signing your letters when he doesn�t sign his? "

Cindy Sheehan has written to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld asking for a meeting

By Cindy Sheehan. "My son, Spc Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq on 04/04/04. I am very concerned because he was killed due to lack of training, planning, equipment, armor, etc."

Letter to Rumsfeld

By Laura Linger. "Every day my heart breaks with the news that more American lives have been lost for such a pointless endeavor. Every single one of the troops we have lost was someone�s child, someone�s sibling, someone�s parent, someone�s sweetheart, someone�s friend."

Letter to Sec. Rumsfeld, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

By A Concerned Citizen. "I am writing you because right now someone I love very much is in Iraq. We aren't married, but only because the government you are a part of keeps trying to make it illegal. We wear rings, own a house together, plan on having children someday. It's almost like a real marriage that straight people get to enjoy."

An MFSO Member Writes to Donald Rumsfeld

By Kathryn Struck. "No, No, No, Mr. Rumsfeld. We do not go to war with the army we HAVE. We go to war with the army we BUILD--and we build BEFORE we go. This is what happens when we have a man as Secretary of Defense who had no real knowledge of the military. "