Um, who is Casey Sheehan?

A Soldier’s Sacrifice
By Joseph Walther



His name was Casey Sheehan. He was a 24-year old Army Specialist attached to the 1st. Cavalry. Casey enlisted in the regular Army (as opposed to the National Guard or Army Reserve) in 2000. He re-enlisted in 2003, knowing all the while that his unit was going to Iraq. Casey volunteered for a rescue mission five days after landing in Iraq. He, as did several others, lost his life in that rescue attempt. The Army awarded him a Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously. If this young man’s last name rings a bell for you, it is most likely because of his mother, Cindy Sheehan.

Cindy’s name has been all over the news for several weeks now. She camped outside of George Bush’s ranch in Texas to protest the war. Her aim has been to get a one-on-one with the President. Mr. Bush has told her through intermediaries that her son died for a noble cause. She wants the president to explain to her what the noble cause is.

I swore to myself that I would not get into this. I lied to myself. I cannot keep my mouth shut about it any longer. My perspective, however, is a different one; or at least it differs from the ones I have seen in the press and on television. Bear with me. You may agree. On the other hand, maybe you won’t.

Precious few things could knock me to my knees and potentially keep me there. Losing one of my children via death leads the pack by a long shot. The sense of loss would be overwhelming…my hands are shaking even as I type this. The loss would be devastating because I love my children more than I love myself. Loving parents throughout the world know what I am saying. Imagine, if possible, the worst of Dante’s Inferno and you have insight into what Mrs. Sheehan is going though.

Mrs. Sheehan, if I could speak to you directly, I would tell you that my heart and thoughts are with you in your loss. The hearts and thoughts of all caring people are with you. Your son lost his life serving his country. His brave attempt to rescue some of his fellow soldiers was indicative of how devoutly he believed in his mission. While you will never forget Casey, the passing of time will teach you to live without him.

I would also tell you that your stance on the war does not make you a piranha. Your son’s oath of service implied a willingness on his part to die in defense of your right to take such a stand, not just your right, Mrs. Sheehan, but everyone’s right. He took that oath willingly and he meant every word of it. I took the same oath many years ago and went through Viet Nam, as did my son during the Bosnia/Kosovo mess several years ago.

Mrs. Sheehan, I had no problems with my son joining the Army Reserves. He wanted to do it. He believed in what he was doing and followed the dictates of his beliefs. He understood the risks and willingly took his chances. The Army activated his unit and sent the troops to Bosnia. I was more scared than he was. Towards the end of his tour, the Army surrounded Kosovo with the Tenth Mountain Division in one of those John Wayne style “dare ya to step over the line” moves. I went from scared to terrified. Throughout the entire ordeal, however, his steadfast belief in his mission never wavered. I was lucky. He came home alive and in one piece.

You were not so lucky, Mrs. Sheehan. Your son, however, remained true to his oath of service. His belief in his mission and purpose never wavered, even in the face of certain death in his case. Whatever the rest of us think about the Iraq war is immaterial. Your son believed in the Army’s mission in Iraq. Almost two thousand others, with similar beliefs, have given the same measure of sacrifice for what they considered a righteous cause. That counts for something, even though the media never mentions it.

Please do not let your displeasure with George Bush sully the sacrifice that your son and thousands of others have made. None of them wanted to die, but they did. You are not alone in questioning the underlying motivations for going to war in the first place. I have no doubts that the world is better off without the likes of Saddam Hussein. I am just not as cock-sure as many of the Conservative chest thumpers that we had to sacrifice two thousand lives to accomplish it. Moreover, even if we did have to, I am convinced that George Bush has botched the war’s execution from day one.

Knowing the way my own son would react if I were in your shoes, I would find another way to protest. Do you believe that Casey would be proud of the way you are going about your protest or would he be embarrassed? Would you be doing this if he were still alive? My son would be embarrassed beyond description if either of his parents undertook to protest the way you are doing it.

I don’t think that George Bush should meet with you one-on-one. No president can afford to do this. It sends the erroneous perception that an individual’s loss is greater than all of the others are. That, even though it’s not true, would be unfair to all of the others who have lost family members to this war. Also, while you are entitled to your belief that this war is not all that honorable, a significant number of people believe that it is.

During a time long ago, another President, Abraham Lincoln, had to fight a war, a terrible war that put brother against brother. Its death toll was staggering and the dead from both sides lived in the same country. Both sides claimed God as its guiding force. Mr Lincoln wrote a lot of letters to the families of the dead. But one mother, Mrs. Bixby of Boston, Massachusetts, endured a particularly horrendous sacrifice. Here is the letter that the President sent to her.

“Dear Madam,—I have been shown, in the files of the War Department, a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln”

This was a beautifully written and heart felt letter from one of the humblest people ever to grace this planet. It was a well-deserved recognition to a devastated mother. But still, Mr. Lincoln did not meet with her one-on-one to explain the noble cause. We were a country divided by a virtual chasm of social division. Love or hate George Bush, but he is still the elected President of the United States.

I know you don’t want to demean your son’s sacrifice. The media, print and electronic, don’t give a hoot about you. They are only interested in the controversy your method creates. It sells newspapers and boosts television ratings. It creates controversy, pitting the left and right wing whackos against each other. It makes for both television and radio talk show fodder. Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC all love you. In the meantime, the essence of your son’s ultimate sacrifice for following what he believed is being lost because these people cannot write or speak a sentence containing your name without reminding everyone of your son’s death in action. Like it or not, it sends a message that the only reason you are doing this is that you lost a son to the war.

Protesting things is a time-honored tradition in America, Mrs. Sheehan. Grow your movement. Sacrificing our children on the altar of freedom is something us parents have to do when some other country threatens it. However, the threat has to be one that we all see as a threat. Americans do not shrink from this kind of resolve.

I have said this before in this column. A lack of collective resolve will not be our downfall in Iraq. If we fail, it will be the result of a headstrong ignorance on the part of our President and his continued knack for not communicating the facts to the American people. If this is the essence of your protest, Mrs. Sheehan, I both salute and support you. I’d just rather not see our soldiers’ ultimate sacrifices take a back seat to the media’s lust for political controversy.

That’s it for this week. Next week, I’d like to delve into the world of bureaucracy and tell you of some of my recent experiences in dealing with the Social Security Administration. Bureaucrats and rules can be such a hoot if you take the bastards seriously.

Joseph Walther is a freelance writer and publisher of The True Facts. Send email to: TheTrueFacts@comcast.net