August 21, 2005

"... they here gave the last full measure of devotion."

I find it interesting that the news releases from the Department of Defense state that "terrorists" kill the coalition forces in Iraq. So, in accord with President Bush's war on the truth and consistent with the propaganda being disseminated to support that war, the government's semantic games now try to link the war in Iraq to the war on terror.

Obfuscation is the real name of the game.

Instead off raising a couple million bucks at a Republican neighbor's dinner party while relaxing down at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, President Bush could have attended quite a few funerals up here in Cleveland and around the Philadelphia area, but I guess he is afraid of encountering some major hostility. Killed in Iraq in July and August, where major hostilities were concluded over two years ago, as announced by our President:

Spc. Michael J. Stokely, Spc. Joshua P. Dingler, Spc. Jose L. Ruiz, Sgt. Paul A. Saylor, Sgt. Thomas J. Strickland, Spc. Toccara R. Green, Staff Sgt. Asbury F. Hawn II, Spc. Gary L. Reese Jr., Sgt. Shannon D. Taylor, Spc. Brian K. Derks, Spc. Rusty W. Bell, 1st Lt. David L. Giaimo, Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Benson, Lance Cpl. Evenor C. Herrera, Spc. Miguel Carrasquillo, Pfc. Nathaniel E. Detample, Spc. John Kulick, Staff Sgt. Ryan S. Ostrom, Spc. Gennaro Pellegrini Jr., Sgt. Francis J. Straub Jr., Staff Sgt. Ramon E. Gonzales-Cordova, Spc. Anthony N. Kalladeen, Pfc. Hernando Rios, Pfc. Seferino J. Reyna, Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, Sgt. Brahim J. Jeffcoat, Spc. Kurt E. Krout, Gunnery Sgt. Terry W. Ball Jr., Sgt. 1st Class Robert V. Derenda, Sgt. 1st Class Brett E. Walden, Staff Sgt. Chad J. Simon, Pfc. Nils G. Thompson, Lance Cpl. Timothy M. Bell Jr., Lance Cpl. Eric J. Bernholtz, Lance Cpl. Nicholas William B. Bloem, Lance Cpl. Michael J. Cifuentes, Lance Cpl. Grant B. Fraser, Spc. Jerry L. Ganey Jr., Spc. Mathew V. Gibbs, Sgt. Bradley J. Harper, Sgt. Justin F. Hoffman, Cpl. David Kenneth J. Kreuter, Lance Cpl. Edward A. Schroeder II, Lance Cpl. Aaron H. Reed,Cpl. David S. Stewart, Lance Cpl. Kevin G. Waruinge, Sgt. 1st Class Charles H. Warren, Lance Cpl. William B. Wightman, Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas C. Hull, Staff Sgt. James D. McNaughton, Cpl. Jeffrey A. Boskovitch, Lance Cpl. Roger D. Castleberry, Jr., Sgt. David J. Coullard, Lance Cpl. Daniel N. Deyarmin Jr., Sgt. James R. Graham III, Lance Cpl. Brian P. Montgomery, Sgt. Nathaniel S. Rock, Spc. James D. Carroll, Sgt. 1st Class Victor A. Anderson, Sgt. Jonathon C. Haggin, Staff Sgt. David R. Jones Sr., Pfc. Jason D. Scheuerman, Sgt. Ronnie L. Shelley Sr., Pfc. Robert A. Swaney, Lance Cpl. Christopher P. Lyons, Cpl. Andre L. Williams, Spc. Adrian J. Butler, Capt. Benjamin D. Jansky, Spc. Edward L. Myers, Spc. John O. Tollefson, Spc. Adam J. Harting, Spc. Jacques E. Brunson, Spc. Ernest W. Dallas Jr,Staff Sgt. Carl R. Fuller, Sgt. James O. Kinlow, Staff Sgt. Jason W. Montefering, Sgt. Milton M. Monzon Jr., Sgt. John F. Thomas, Sgt. Christopher J. Taylor, Pfc. Ramon A. Villatoro Jr., Sgt. Bryan J. Opskar, Cpl. Steven P. Gill, Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis L. Youngblood, Staff Sgt. Jefferey J. Farrow, Pvt. Lavena L. Johnson, Sgt. Arthur R. McGill, Lance Cpl. Efrain Sanchez Jr., Staff Sgt. Frank Tiai, Spc. Ronnie D. Williams, Staff Sgt. Travis S. Cooper, Pvt. Phillip Hewett, Staff Sgt. Jorge L. Pena-Romero, 2nd Lt. Richard Shearer, Pvt. Leon Spicer, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald T. Wood, Spc. Jared D. Hartley, Sgt. Davide Casagrande, Pfc. Timothy J. Hines Jr., Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson, Cpl. Clifton B. Mounce, Cpl. Christopher D. Winchester, Spc. Benyahmin B. Yahudah, Sgt. Timothy J. Sutton, Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Goodrich Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek, Spc. Hoby F. Bradfield Jr., Pfc. Eric P. Woods, Staff Sgt. Scottie L. Bright, Cpl. Lyle J. Cambridge, Sgt. Deyson K. Cariaga, Spc. Christopher W. Dickison, Pvt. Anthony M. Mazzarella, Staff Sgt. Jeremy A. Brown, Spc. Ryan J. Montgomery

Killed in the war in Afghanistan, that goes on and on, in July and August, except for the four more Americans killed today:

Sgt. Robert G. Davis, 1st Lt. Laura M. Walker, Cpl. Daniel Abreu Fernandez, Pvt. Isaac Calvo Pineiro, Pvt. Jesus Casal Rivera, Pvt. Gonzalo Casalderrey Nazara, Pvt. Pedro Fajardo Cabeza, Sgt. Alfredo Francisco Jodar, Sgt. Jose Gonzalez Bernardino, Pvt. Diego Gonzalez Blanco, Lt. Javier Gonzalez Hernandez, Capt. David Guitar Fernandez, Pvt. Pablo Iglesias Sanchez, Pvt. Jose A. Martinez Parada, Brigade Juan Morales Parra, Pvt. Jose M. Moreno Enriquez, Pvt. Diego Prado Lopez, Pvt. Pedro San Marin de Veira, Pvt. Ivan Vazquez Nunez, Capt. Jeremy A. Chandler, Sgt. Edward R. Heselton, Spc. Christopher M. Katzenberger, Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Falkel, Gunnery Sgt. Theodore Clark Jr., Pvt. 1st Class Damian J. Garza, Pvt. John M. Henderson Jr., Staff Sgt. Michael W. Schafer, Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz, Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

I feel the same way I was feeling back in the Viet Nam War days. The government is out of touch with the American public. Oh, well ... lessons of history not learned.

Posted by Bill at August 21, 2005 07:12 PM
Comments

The English news mentioned this morning that some of the US troops will be in Iraq for another four years. I hope it's not true.

Posted by: Anji at August 22, 2005 02:52 AM

God Bless the soldiers.

Thank God for a President that is willing to defend the country against terrorism. Thank God the majority of Americans see this and elected the President for another term. He appears to be very in touch with the American public.

Posted by: Mike Smith at August 25, 2005 02:13 PM

dude. way to let your freak flag fly with that fake e-mail address.

one thing i agree with is "god bless the troops." that's who WE support and pray for.

get it or not. we don't care.

reminder: no more comments with fake e-mail addresses. you had something important to say, dude. you didn't have to hide. i'm letting it slide. just this once. i'm assuming you didn't read the rules. ignorance is no excuse.

Posted by: stacey at August 26, 2005 10:30 AM

Thank you for listing these troops. One of them, Sgt. Edward Heselton, was my friend. Eddie is greatly missed and would probably hate that he's getting so much attention, but I'm glad you've mentioned his name here. Thank you again.

Posted by: Carri Burgess at August 30, 2005 05:39 PM

How dare you include Eddie's name in this list to support your non-support for our country and our President. Eddie never complained about doing his duty. He loved his country, he loved his Army, and he left behind 190 other Soldiers who don't want to be told that they are there for a pointless reason or that Eddie died for nothing. They are bringing the people of Afghanistan infrastructure, roads, freedom to walk in their yards and not step on landmines, freedom to vote for whom they want because there are no warlords with bombs threatening their vote. Maybe the we shouldn't be the ones making their lives better, but who else will? Each Soldier has commented on the children, the people who appreciate their presence and they are humbled by what they see. Don't use their names to support YOUR cause. Their names support the cause of the United States of America who has determined that their duty in Afghanistan is required! Don't insult our Soldiers. They CHOSE to be Soldiers and swore an oath to follow their orders. They are respectable, intelligent Americans and they don't need you to fight the fight for them. They have spoken loud and clear through the mighty actions they have performed. I respect each of them who is so much stronger and braver than I, who is willing to give up the comforts of home to make the life of someone else as good as mine here at home.

Posted by: PROUD Army WIFE! at September 9, 2005 07:13 PM

Please remove the previous comment I made - I made a mistake writing what I wrote. There are decent sites supporting our troops - this post doesn't show that this is one of them. Thank you.

Posted by: Carri Burgess at September 14, 2005 04:23 PM