Free Republic

Celeste Zappala always believed her son Sherwood Baker was headed for great things. But he never made it past age 30. On April 26, 2004, the sergeant with the 109th Field Artillery was killed by an explosion in Baghdad, leaving a wife and then-9-year-old son behind in Plymouth Borough. "You live with it. But there's no way to make it right. I miss him every day," Zappala said, growing choked up. "We live in another universe now. I can see what the old universe looks like, but we are in another universe. "No more blood," she said, and started to...

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...

Families of U.S. troops have long adhered to a clan code that prohibits speaking out against a war. Now some are going public over Iraq.PHILADELPHIA — In Love Plaza, about 75 people mingled in bright sunshine, chatting noisily while one speaker after another droned on at a campaign rally. Vendors hawked T-shirts, and children frolicked in a fountain opposite ornate City Hall. Then Celeste Zappala stepped onstage. Standing between columns of red, white and blue balloons, she held up the Purple Heart awarded posthumously to her oldest son. The plaza fell silent. In calm, measured tones, Zappala talked about her...