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.
Cindy and her gang could be more angry at the 90,000 rapes and 18,000 murders in this country last year...
seems like to me that this country's military is actually a safer place for our young men to be, these days...
-Anti-war Non-Governmental Organization founded in 1985
-In the 1980's, supported the Marxist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua
-In 1992, sent a delegation to Cuba to meet with veterans of Cuba's war in Angola
-In 2000, aided Saddam Hussein and condemned American-led U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi government
-In 2001, held a "Korean War Tribunal," which condemned the U.S. for alleged atrocities against Korea
Why didn't the journalists investigate Sheehan? ...Because they already know Bush is evil and her story confirms their own beliefs. Why should they question her?
Everyday another story cements the MSMs irrelevancy.
Yeah, it can be. That was where I first came across it via Google. I followed the link to the source.
I think what happened here is that the anti-war activists have been working this family over, using their grief to alter their perceptions and to turn them against the stance their loved one stood for.
The anti-war activists have no shame. They have forgiven Saddam Hussein of his mass murder, convinced themselves that the terrorists are misunderstood, and that America is more evil than Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia.
They have gone so far in their desire for peace that they would sacrifice every liberty, every dream, every truth for the day that there would be no more war; and the world they'd find themselves living in would make Hitler and Stalin jealous. It would be a world of totalitarian oppression and poverty, but at least there'd be no more war.
Bleh, well - I hope this woman and her family find peace. There son, at least, has.
'Here's a partial list of her political history, alnick. She's not being used. She's an active pro-terrorist leftist.......
-Anti-war Non-Governmental Organization founded in 1985
-In the 1980's, supported the Marxist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua
-In 1992, sent a delegation to Cuba to meet with veterans of Cuba's war in Angola
-In 2000, aided Saddam Hussein and condemned American-led U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi government
-In 2001, held a "Korean War Tribunal," which condemned the U.S. for alleged atrocities against Korea'
~~~~~~~~~
Ohio, this is the Mother Sheehan's background info? OMG, that is incredible that no one has found this yet...
Thanks. That's interesting.
thanks for finding and posting this ... without your efforts most of us would NEVER know.
But I am not convinced the left is using her. I get the feeling she's just an unreconstructed hippie who missed out on the 60's action. But she is dishonoring her son's memory and the cause he died for, in the process making an ass of herself.
check this article she wrote june 6.. in it she calls US (Americans) the terrorist.
We MUST expose this person for who she is.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0606-29.htm
Boy she sounds like a snot.
This about you?
No. Just some selfish broad who lost her son.
" -In 1992, sent a delegation to Cuba to meet with veterans of Cuba's war in Angola"
What a "peace activist" she is.
"Why didn't the journalists investigate Sheehan?"
Why didn't the journalists investigate Bill Burkett?
Why didn't the journalists investigate Joe Wilson?
Why didn't the journalists investigate Larry Johnson?
Why didn't the journalists investigate Ray McGovern?
As you know, it's because they are saying what the journalists want said. It doesn't matter whether it is true or not. Or whether the people are liars or even insane.
Bill Burkett had been institutionalized for mental illness. Yet the "media" thought he was credible enough to use to try throw an election.
Wolfie, what wolfie?
Wolf Blitzer, CNN liberal.
Both myself and another FReeper have asked the question and received no answer: How many meetings were there with Bush? One story has the meeting taking place at Fort Lewis, WA, and another at the WH. Huge, huge discrepancy.
Sorry, other Wolfie
A sentiment that bears repeating.
And her latest bizarre account of the meeting with GW Bush just doesn't match up with every account of his personality I've ever read or seen.
A man who nearly cries in public when hugging the daughter of a 9/11 victim wouldn't act like that.
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