Posted on 08/13/2005 3:56:15 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
Specialist Sheehan, the first sergeant called. No one answered.
First Sgt. Casey Carson, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, adjusts the dogtag of one of the fallen soldiers before the start of a memorial service Saturday for seven comrades killed in fighting in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad last Sunday. photo by Michael Abrams / S&S
Specialist Sheehan! the sergeant called again, louder this time.
Specialist Casey Sheehan! the sergeant cried out a third and final time.
As 500 soldiers listened, only the sound of the Apache helicopters overhead could be heard.
Like the six other soldiers memorialized Saturday under a blazing Baghdad sun, and whose names were called during the traditional roll call at the service, Sheehan was killed in a firefight April 4.
1st Cavalry Division soldiers salute during the playing of taps at a memorial service Saturday honoring seven comrades killed in fighting in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad last Sunday.Photo by Michael Abrams / S&S
Like the six others, all part of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, he was killed in a Shiite slum on the outskirts of Baghdad three weeks after getting off a troop plane from Fort Hood, Texas.
Lt. Col. Gary Voleski, commander, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, speaks at a memorial service for 1st Cav soldiers killed in Iraq. Photo by Michael Abrams / S&S
Like all eight soldiers killed that night Sgt. Michael W. Mitchell of the 1st Armored Division was memorialized earlier he was part of a quick response team that rushed out of Forward Operating Base Eagle to rescue a platoon pinned down by gunfire in Sadr City after what had been a routine patrol by four Humvees.
The others memorialized Saturday were Spc. Dustin Hiller, Cpl. Forest Jostes, Pfc. Robert Arsiaga, Spc. Ahmed Cason, Spc. Israel Garza and Sgt. Yihjyh Chen.
On FOB Eagle, less than a mile from where the soldiers were killed, each of the dead was remembered briefly. One was confident and well-liked, another was thought to be a little naive, with a good sense of humor. One was very generous, another was exceptionally strong, and after he was wounded, he gave the thumbs-up sign to say he was doing fine. Several were married and had children. One had four daughters and a son on the way.
They were all about 25 years old, except for Chen, who was in his 30s, had become a U.S. citizen while in the Army and spoke five languages.
Uncommon valor was common that day, Lt. Col. Gary Volesky, battalion commander and one of several speakers at the service, said of the battle in which they died. You know Im sad, but the memory of my soldiers lifts me up.
The battle was one of the worst single losses for U.S. soldiers since the fall of Baghdad a year before. The firefight lasted into the early morning of Monday, wounding some 50 soldiers who went out in waves to put down the attack by a militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Bradley fighting vehicles, tanks and air support finally put down the uprising, one of several in Iraq that day.
Capt. Brian OMalley, a 1st Cav spokesman, said the soldiers killed were riding in lightly armored tactical trucks. That taught a brutal lesson, he said. More armor. From now on, tanks and Bradleys will do rescues, he added.
The dead were remembered as brave soldiers, who went willingly to battle and whose finest hour came as they met their deaths for country and their fellow soldiers.
It is awesome, the devotion to the soldiers they have, said 1st Lt. Chris Cannon.
The same could be said of Cannon, who was among the wounded. Hed been gone from his soldiers for six days too long, he said. His wound was really nothing, he said, just the back of his calf, the bullet went in and out, he was barely limping. He could not wait to get back to the base, and back to the soldiers.
Cannon said he was trying not to second-guess things, to say if-only. But he couldnt help it.
There were spaces in the Bradley if theyd gotten in the Bradley. , he said.
As the ceremony continued, tears began to fall. Four of the guys were in my company, said 1st Lt. Chris Brautigam, 24. It was tough that night when I found out they werent coming back.
He said soldiers reacted differently to the terrible events of the day. Some people were quiet, he said. Some were itching to get back out.
Volesky mentioned those, the ones itching to get back out. He said he had asked some soldiers who had returned already to safety if they wanted to go back into the fray.
Sir, he said they replied, Were waiting on you.
Families of servicemembers killed in Iraq turned away at Pentagon
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, January 21, 2005
WASHINGTON Pentagon police on Wednesday turned away family members of troops killed in Iraq who wanted to confront Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the reasons for the war in Iraq.
The group of about 20 was stopped before entering Pentagon property by about a dozen officers, who told the protesters they did not have the proper permission to enter the building.
Organizers said they have been petitioning for the meeting for weeks, but department officials are ignoring their requests.
The man who was too busy to personally sign the Killed in Action letters these families received is apparently too busy to acknowledge the request of the Gold Star families for this meeting, Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, told reporters gathered for Wednesdays protest.
Five Gold Star families ones who have lost a son or daughter to fighting in Iraq brought pictures and letters to the event to present to the secretary, and asked police to pass the items along to illustrate their loss and grief.
Cindy Sheehan, a California resident whose son Casey was killed during a mission in Sadr City last April, sheltered a photo of her son from the snow with her arms as the group tried to convince police to let them by.
I wanted them to see my son, she said, weeping. I wanted them to see the consequences of his actions. ... I have the feeling they feel he was a dispensable asset to them.
Sheehan flew to Washington on Wednesday and planned to take part in the groups inauguration protests on Thursday.
Department of Defense officials did not return calls seeking comment. Police who confronted the families offered numbers where protesters could obtain permits and set up formal interviews, but said security concerns prohibited allowing any of the group onto Pentagon grounds.
Lessin, whose son recently returned from his overseas service, said the goal of both protests is to show the war in Iraq is a reckless military misadventure that never should have happened.
Shame on Secretary Rumsfeld for not recognizing these families, and shame on those who sent our children to war based on lies, she said.
Families said they also wanted Rumsfeld to explain why troops in many cases werent properly trained or equipped for the fighting, and when the other troops will be brought home.
Were here to try and bring the truth to the Pentagon, said Celeste Zappala, a Philadelphia resident whose son Sherwood was killed in Baghdad last April.
They are there to bring the truth to the Pentagon? What TRUTH?? No wonder those far left fringe groups have latched on to this gal.
PING!
Nice one FMC...ping for later!
PING
From the Stars and Stripes
Thanks for posting this.
PING
Read your remarks on another thread posted by Cincinatus' Wife and thought you might be interested to read what I found in the archives of the Stars and Stripes.
Glad you found it. Amazing what you can find if you check out the S&S.
Thank you.
I have pride in my heart and tears in my eyes for our troops.
I shed a tear for those who were killed and wounded that day. Casey's mom is wrong in what she is doing...dead wrong.
Not having had much time to research it, who and where is the father of this soldier?
Casey's Army Family is with him and the nation he defended all the way, even in death.
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