Free Republic

Gentlemen...

Thank you so much for the validation of everything I have to say. If I had not spoken the truth, if I had not hit a nerve, then you would not feel the need to attack me so viciously. I am just a mom...that's all, but you have come after me like pirhana. That's ok though. I am not offended. I am, after all, not just a mom, but the mom of a Marine, and he taught me well what that means, as I am sure you all have done with your moms.

Stop emoting? I'm a mom...I'm supposed to emote.

As for Mr. Schultz...I would say "Better his kid than mine", but it is too late for that. Now, all I can say is "If it's good enough for my kid, it is certainly good enough for his..and for him". Hop aboard mister, and enjoy the ride.

A recruiter who covered all the bases? Goody for you. We were not so fortunate. My son was just a kid, and if the recruiter had told him he was going to be used for an experiment and would not be coming home alive, body parts missing, he would not have gone. Use your head. While you speak so viciously, deep down inside there is a human part of you. Nobody would be that ignorant.

You are lining up just waiting to get on an Osprey? That's great. At least you have the option to make that decision. It lightens my heart to know that, because of you, a unsuspecting Marine's life is saved and their family has been spared the worst kind of pain. Just make sure that each day, you tell your family members how much you love them, because after you are gone, they will be devastated. I don't know anyone who was so glad of the sacrifice made by their loved one that they held a ticker tape parade.

And Smedly...how pathetic that you are so intimidated by a mom that you had to go and round up a few of your pals to come to this site and try to wreak havoc. It just goes to show the mentality of those who work so hard to push something so worthless. Oh..and in case you could not find the info...the lead aircraft landed 420 feet Northwest of the MA, then continued to skid 330 feet. Not only that, but if you had seen the video of the crash, you would know that there was a huge explosion with lots of fire. Nothing sitting that close would have survived. Obviously, that plane did not land there. Maybe you didn't hear me the first time...I got back what was LEFT of my son...because after the resulting fire, his body was destroyed. Stop emoting??? Whoever said that is an idiot. Unless you have walked in my shoes, unless you were out there that night, ready to do whatever you could to save one of these men, then I really don't care what you have to say. I have read, I have spoken to someone close to an investigation regarding the crash, I have asked lots of questions and sadly, had them answered...and I have buried my child. If you can't say the same, then what are you doing here?

Now, I take my leave from this group. I have other things to do that are more important than argue this issue with you all. Thank you again, for the validation. I offer it up to all those guys who died so needlessly.

Bobsat...you are awesome.

I am indeed the person I say I am...and how dare you? What kind of disgusting human being would send a grieving mother a picture of the mangled plane where the charred remains of her precious child lay for five days while the site was investigated? It just shows how truly desperate you are. You should be ashamed of yourself. I don't have to defend one thing to you - I live with the hell that the Osprey leaves in its wake every single day of my life. I owe you nothing, as I have already paid the heaviest price. None of you who push this piece of crap could ever repay me, or the other families who have had to pay so dearly themselves, so those like you can fill their pockets with the spoils that come from shoving the Osprey Death Program down the throats of anyone who will listen. You aren't a general by any chance are you? Otherwise, you must own stock in the program.

Moreover, how dare you smear the name of someone who is dead and not able to give his side of what happened? It is glaringly obvious that you were not sitting next to him, so you really have no first hand knowledge of what happened in the aircraft that night. But, let's pretend Maj. Brow did make a mistake - perhaps a horrible error in judgement that caused the April crash. How do you explain the other crashes? I suppose they were Maj. Brow's fault too. He was "The Best of the Best", but not really that good? I suppose all those pilots had no idea what they were doing - that darn plane is just too complicated for their simple minds??? It seems that anyone who was within shouting distance had something to do with the April crash. No way could it be that the aircraft itself was at fault because it is a piece of junk. If the Osprey is so wonderful, why are officers having to run around covering up for the mechanical issues? Why are they "adjusting" the true test results? In another article I hold in my hand, it discusses the very topic of safety and potential cover up. It states that "The V-22 that crashed last April in Arizona, killing all 19 Marines on board, makes that all too clear. That craft had spent only 135 hours in the air since the Marines took delivery of it three months earlier. Yet it had required 600 repairs while the Marines had it...one repair for every 15 minutes it was flying." Since you think so highly of this piece of trash, I suggest you sign yourself - better yet, YOUR child, up as test pilot, passenger and then cadaver...I dare you. Put your life where your mouth is.

If you are calling yourself a Marine, you should hang up your uniform as your very essence disgraces the title. Instead of being vindictive and offensive, you should be thanking me on your knees for giving up a young man who was so dedicated to his country that he gave his life training to fight for the very freedom that allows you to be hateful to his grieving family and not be punished for it. My son, and the others who were sacrificed with him were not drones. They were young men who had their whole lives ahead of them until someone like you stole it away. How you live with yourself is a mystery to me. It has been my belief that a Marine watches out for his Brothers, he does not lead them to slaughter. Thank God one Marine had the courage to say "enough is enough" and revealed what was really going on with the program. He is a hero to us, and he personifies Semper Fidelis. His courage is beyond measure. Again, if you are a Marine you must remember what that is, because it is obvious you have lost it somewhere along the way. He is living proof that not all are excited to get that aircraft going.

As for the report, do your homework, just like I had to do when I chose to learn all I could about my son's death. I will correct one part of my statement, however. According to the report I hold in my lap, the lead aircraft skidded 330 feet. I did not say it exploded...I said "Thank God it did not explode". I have had the great honor and privilege to speak with wives/mothers of Marines who were on the lead aircraft. What they say coincides with the report...so once again, I do not care what someone who was not there has to say. Some of these kids suffer still from what happened that night. You don't watch your Brothers burn to death, look death in the eye yourself, , and not have it affect you. I think the words spoken by a Commanding Officer to a Marine mom I know sums it all up perfectly..."The MV-22 Osprey is a black mark on the history of the Marine Corps." A simple statement to be sure, but more truthful than anything else I have heard. I could not have said it better myself.

Now...go away...and let me do what I have to do...that being, protect others from the likes of you. If I save one family from having to senselessly and needlessly visit the graveyard to be with their dead child, then I have accomplished something with what is left of my life.

And to those of you who fight the fight...I cannot thank you enough. Your efforts are well noted. I have no doubt you will stand before these Marines one day in heaven, and you will do it with honor, which is more than I can say for some. Carry on!

I have read everything I can get my hands on about the MV-22 Osprey aircraft. Why would I, a Marine mom, read everything I can get my hands on about the Osprey aircraft? I read about it, and learn what I can about it, because I now live a nightmare because of it. While the more techincal things often go over my head, there are some things I understand very clearly. I know that the slightest mistake kills, and even the "best of the best" cannot keep it in the air.

On April 8, 2000, 19 Marines were killed, many of them just kids. One of those Marines on board that night was my son. Just a month before the April crash, some of those very kids were on a training mission in an Osprey that almost crashed, but was saved at the last minute. When given the choice to fly back or hike out 25 miles, the kids chose to hike out. That aircraft did not crash, so it was not considered an incident and was not reported as such. Some of the families follow the progress of this aircraft, and too many times we hear of near misses. It is just a matter of time before another goes down, taking someone else's kids to their graves. I find it interesting that there has been very little said of the the lead plane that night in April. It also hit the ground very hard, skidded 450 feet, finally landing in a ravine. By the grace of God, it did not explode as my son's plane did. Instead, those Marines were evacuated and stood by to watch my son's plane burn out of control, knowing there was nothing they could do to save anyone on board.

One of the young men who died with my son told his mother to start planning his funeral because he was going to die, and he was going to die in an Osprey. He had been in the plane that had a close call the month before. This mom told her son to stop being silly...then a month later buried him. Almost every family has a story just like that one. Our kids were scared, they did not want to go on that aircraft, but they are Marines and they followed orders. Now, they are dead. What so many fail to realize is that this "thing" has destroyed lives. It has brought too many to the brink of suicide. The powers that be don't care about these young Marines who have to fly in Ospreys, or the families left behind in agonizing grief when they die. Why should they care? It's not their loved ones being forced to board this death trap. As it has proven all too well, when it crashes, there is no hope for survival. While those who push for the Osprey sit around their holiday tables, or share in various family celebrations, we, the victims of their greed, sit at a gravesite weeping, being forced to share the same memories discussed over and over these last 3 years and knowing there will never be new stories. I know what happens when one of these things crashes. I held my son, or rather, what was left of him, in my arms before he was buried, sobbing tears of agony because knew I would never hold him again. His precious body was destroyed.... there was almost nothing left. I wish that when Col. Schultz shares in his next family celebration that he is aware of those of us whose lives are left shattered. If he would not put his child on an MV-22 Osprey and send that child through the same maneuvers that my son and the others went through, then he should never put someone else's child in that same danger. My son did not sign up with the Corps to be dead in 14 months. He did not say to me, "Can't wait to fall out of the sky, all in the name of money and greed." What he said to me was that he wanted to be a Marine so we could continue to live in freedom, and he would make sure no harm came to us on his watch. How painful it is for my family to know we were not able to keep him from harm. When the recruiter came to my house to talk to me about my son going to boot camp early, I voiced to him my concerns about my son's safety. He said, "Ma'am, we would never put your son in harms way". He was either an incredible liar, or he is a very foolish man.

As you banter back and forth, please remember those of us who live with this nightmare every single second of every single day. I know there are some family members, and it is only a couple of them, who will not speak badly of the Osprey because they do not want their loved one's deaths to be in vain. My response to them is, "Too stinking late". When another aircraft flies with troops in it, all those who lost their lives will have done so for nothing. No lessons have been learned, and our grief is meaningless. God help those whose kids are signing up with the Corps today who have no idea about the MV-22 Osprey. Their kids are the next guinea pigs.