Posted on 08/17/2005 4:58:22 PM PDT by NathanBookman
WEST CHESTER, Ohio - The mother of a Marine killed in Iraq urged mourners Wednesday not to let their anger and sadness turn them against the U.S. fight in Iraq.
"Honor me in this way," Kathy Dyer said during a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale.
At the funeral at Tri-County Baptist Church, Kathy Dyer delivered what she believed would have been her son's own message: "It has been with the greatest pride I have served ... fighting to preserve freedom."
She said he would want mourners to continue supporting the troops in the war against terrorism.
...
At Dyer's funeral, about 1,000 mourners were told about the kindness and drive of the college-bound honor student who had a lifelong interest in the military. Relatives said he chose the Marines as a way to serve his country and challenge himself.
"He saw this as just another way to measure himself, another test," said his father, John Dyer. "Chris didn't want to be less than the best at anything."
Janet Hertlein, whose son Michael grew up with Dyer, said Dyer loved the Marines.
"Chris and all those over there are fighting for all of us," Hertlein said.
Article is an excerpt...I forgot to check box. (didn't know AP was ok will full copy).
Yes, God bless her and grant her peace.
Who is a "pos"? And what is a "womyn"?
Not to be rude, but are you sure you are posting to the thread to which you thought you were posting?
Maybe he/she saw the words "Cindy Sheehan" and just had a jerk reaction (so to speak).
Thanks for the hint.
Perhaps, or was FReeping on different threads with more than one browser window open. Mistakes do happen.
I think I posted on the wrong thread. Thanks.
she should go with this mom to Texas!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1465354/posts
Mother of fallen SEAL says she still supports the war
The Union Leader ^ | August 16, 2005 | SCOTT BROOKS
Posted on 08/17/2005 1:56:34 PM PDT by Kaslin
Natalie Healy made a decision this summer after losing her son in war-torn Afghanistan.
"I can't go to those mountains and climb them and I can't shoot a gun," she said. "But I can do everything I can to make sure we stay the course, and if that means speaking out, then that's what I want to do."
Less than two months after the death of her son, Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Healy, the Exeter mother and small business owner is following through on her word.
Healy is making her feelings known in response to the nation's interest in a California mother who has camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch to protest the war in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan's 24-year-old son was killed in Iraq last year.
Healy said she initially sympathized with the grief-stricken mom. Now, however, as Sheehan's message continues to fill the airwaves, Healy said she fears a backlash against the war on terrorism.
"It's sort of like a tidal wave," Healy said. "And it's gaining and gaining and gaining. And I'm not sure what will stop it, to tell you the truth.
"My big concern is that the enemy will use Cindy Sheehan to their benefit. They will point to her and say, 'See? See how this American is calling the President a murderer? See how they're going to start weakening from within?'"
Healy said she was booked to speak on MSNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Matthews last night. The interview got bumped just a few hours before the show, she said.
But Healy said spreading her voice to support the war effort is her "new mission in life."
"I'm hoping, by having another mother who's lost a son speaking out loudly and strongly, that the troops will hear it and be heartened by it," she said. "Because we all know how they're always shocked when they get home and they find out what has been reported."
Several national polls show that a majority of Americans now consider the decision to invade Iraq a mistake. Healy herself said she initially had doubts about the war. She is now convinced the United States cannot leave Iraq just yet.
"The fact of the matter is, at this stage in the game, we're over there," she said. "We have to complete the mission."
Healy said she doubted Sheehan's son, Casey, would support his mother's mission.
Rather, she said, "I think my son would be happy that I was trying to remind people that we have to stay the course. We have to, without a doubt. And I know he'd be saying, 'OK, mom. Good. Good, mom.'"
Healy recognized the public's opinion of the Iraqi conflict is not the same as its opinion of the war in Afghanistan, where her son died June 28. Daniel Healy, a 36-year-old father of four, was one of 16 soldiers killed when insurgents shot down their helicopter.
But Healy said the two conflicts are part of the same war on terrorism, and it's a war the U.S. must continue to fight.
"I think fighting for freedom in Iraq and fighting for freedom in Afghanistan is one and the same," she said.
Healy is hopeful that the public will hear both sides in the debate over pulling U.S. troops from Iraq. It would be harmful, she said, if Sheehan's voice carried the day.
"I just don't want it to be the only story," Healy said. "I want the other voices to be heard so that the young men that fought with my son — that were broken-hearted from all their buddies getting killed — will know somebody else is speaking out for them. And maybe they won't be heard as much as Cindy Sheehan, but there's somebody trying, anyway."
It's sad that these parents who lost children in the war, who would prefer to grieve in peace, now feel like they are forced to speak publicly because of Cindy Sheehan.
agreed
And let me add that these parents appear rationale and are able to get their point across without sounding like raving lunatics making ridiculous claims like Cindy Sheehan. There is nothing wrong with a parent saying they are against the war (even if there children knew they were fighting for a good cause), but what Cindy is doing is disgusting.
Ohio has been hard hit and yet they understand. I pray for them all.
As much as my 2 cents are worth about returning servicemen and women, 99% have the same feeling as the one who had the guts be interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today's lies this AM.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1464981/posts
"Well sir, I'd tell you, if I got my news from the newspapers I'd be pretty depressed as well!"
How true.
I wonder why Chris Matthews bumped her interview?
bttt
The MSM and the left CANNOT handle the truth......
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