Among the many family members of U.
S. soldiers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan,
or both, who e-mailed comments to
msnbc.com’s Gut Check America
project, many said they feel that the
American public is not interested or
invested in the conflicts in which their
loved ones are risking their lives.

One such submission led us to a
support group formed with the help of
the Veterans Education Project in
Amherst, Mass., which allows military
family members to share their anxiety
and experiences with others in the
same situation. Click
here to hear
some of their stories.







GSFSO is a chapter of MFSO
MFSO  is a 501(c)3
organization.
All contributions are tax
deductible.








Robert Cray features
the AFSC exhibit,  Eyes
Wide Open in his video
"Twenty" View it
here
WELCOME TO GSFSO, a chapter of the MFSO family
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©2005-2008, Gold Star Families Speak Out, gsfso.org, Gold Stars Speak  All rights reserved ©
Formed in 2005, Gold Star Families Speak Out is a chapter of Military Families Speak Out and is a peace based organization for
relatives of members of the military who have been killed or lost their life during the period including the build-up to the war in Iraq
(fall, 2002) to the present.
We believe the best way to support our troops is to bring them home now and take care of them when they get here.
Contact us at
gsfso@gsfso.org
Our parent organization, MFSO is a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax deductible.
Cost of the War in Iraq
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Gold Star Families Speak Out is a chapter of Military Families Speak Out, is comprised of members whose loved ones served in the military
during the period including the build-up to the war in Iraq (fall, 2002) to the present, and have been killed or have died.   We believe the best way to
support our troops is to BRING THEM HOME NOW and to take good care of them when they get here.  
MFSO/ GSFSO
Oregon is pleased to
announce a new

video, entitled

“Military Families
Speak Out: Oregon”.

THE YOUNG
DEAD SOLDIERS
by Archibald MacLeish

The Young dead
soldiers do not speak.

Nevertheless, they
are heard in the still
houses: who has not
heard them?
They have a silence
that speaks for them
at night and when the
clock counts.
They say: We were
young. We have died.
Remember us.
They say: We have
done what we could
but until it is finished
it is not done.
They say: We have
given our lives but
until it is finished no
one can know what
our lives  gave.
They say: Our deaths
are not ours; they are
yours; they will mean
what you make them.
They say: Whether
our lives and our
deaths were for
peace and a new
hope or for
nothing we cannot
say; it is you who
must say this.
They say: We leave
you our deaths. Give
them their meaning.
We were young, they
say. We have died.
Remember us.















Sgt  Patrick Ryan
McCaffrey
Foundation for War
Veterans

a 501c3 Nonprofit
Corporation
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SPECIAL NEWSWEEK ISSUE
THE WAR IN THE WORDS
OF THE DEAD
What do they have to say
to us?
This special issue of
NEWSWEEK is an attempt
to answer that question.
We have collected the
correspondence of
American soldiers at war in
Iraq, accounts written not
for the public but for those
they loved—wives,
husbands, children,
parents, siblings. Each of
the warriors whose words
are excerpted here died in
the line of duty.

LAFAYETTE, CA
MEMORIAL CROSSES
a multimedia presentation
David Mendelson ©
Please join Gold Star Families Speak Out and endorse the Iraq Moratorium

The Iraq Moratorium will be an escalating, monthly series of actions demanding an end to the war.
Join us Friday, S
eptember 19th and continuing the Third Friday of every month thereafter, we will
make a break with business as usual.
www.iraqmoratorium.org
Heroes at Home
The stories of two remarkable
women and how they are
dealing with the realities of
lives changed forever by war
because loved ones were
killed or injured fighting in Iraq.
(
watch video)
Gut Check America - The war at
home

Military Families Reflect on
their children's service at war
VETERAN SUICIDE EPIDEMIC- CBS EVENING NEWS 11.13.2007

(CBS) They are the casualties of wars you don’t often hear about - soldiers who die of self-inflicted wounds.
Little is known about the true scope of suicides among those who have served in the military.

But a five-month CBS News investigation discovered data that shows a startling rate of suicide, what some call
a hidden epidemic, Chief Investigative Reporter Armen Keteyian reports exclusively.

“I just felt like this silent scream inside of me,” said Jessica Harrell, the sister of a soldier who took his own
life. "I opened up the door and there he was," recalled Mike Bowman, the father of an Army reservist. "I saw
the hose double looped around his neck,” said Kevin Lucey, another military father.  "He was gone,” said Mia
Sagahon, whose soldier boyfriend committed suicide.
[more]

Watch the video, and here
Another name added to Tracy War Memorial 11.13.07

Tracy observed another solemn Veterans Day at the city’s war memorial today as a sixth name was added under Operation Iraqi Freedom

Sgt. 1st Class Tung Nguyen’s name was carved into the stone monument last week and was unveiled as more than 200 people showed up in
respect of military veterans. “It’s an honor,” said James Cracraft, Nguyen’s foster brother, who represented the family during the unveiling.

Nguyen came to the U.S. from Vietnam at age 15 and joined the U.S. Army right after he graduated from Tracy High School in 1986. He made the
Army his career and was a member of the elite Green Berets. [
more]
COMMENTARY- The Disgraceful Treatment of Our Veterans 12.14.07

As you do your holiday shopping this year and think about a big turkey dinner and piles of gifts and the good life that most Americans enjoy, please
spare a thought for those who made it all possible: Those who serve in our military and the veterans who've worn the uniform.

There are some new statistics that give us reason to be ashamed for the way that our country has treated those who've served and sacrificed for
us.

Those statistics damn the politicians who start every speech by thanking the troops and veterans and blessing them. They indict our national
leaders who turn up at military bases and the annual conventions of veteran's organizations and use troops and veterans as a backdrop for their
photo-ops. [
more]
Democrats Protest Smith 12.06.07

A small contingent of dedicated Democrats protested late Wednesday morning against Oregon Republican Sen. Gordon Smith and his stance on
the Iraq war. Local activist Ben Talley led Pendletonians Peter Walters and Barbara Wright, who at times lofted signs saying "Stop Gordon Smith."

A couple of others later joined the hardy band that was part of a statewide action the Democratic Party of Oregon organized to send a message to
Smith and voters. The protest lasted from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Smith's offices in Portland, Medford, Eugene, Bend and downtown Pendleton.
[
more]
Once Again, Military Families Urge Congress to Stop Funding Military Occupation of Iraq- 12.14.07

As Budget Deal Approaches, Families of Servicemen and Women Voice Disapproval of “Spineless” Congress

WASHINGTON - December 14 -- Just before Congress recesses for the year, and days before funding for the federal government is set to run out,
Congress is on the verge of making a deal that will involve funding a limited number of domestic issues in exchange for the inclusion of funds
President Bush has been seeking to continue the war in Iraq.

Members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) are outraged with those in Congress who profess to be against the war in Iraq, yet help broker
and support a budget deal that continues to fund it.

“Congress will once again be complicit in permitting an illegal and immoral war to continue unchecked. They continue to buy this war, and now
they own it lock stock and barrel,” said Nancy Lessin, co-founder of MFSO. She added, “Military and Gold Star families who have been speaking
out against the war in Iraq are not fooled by Members of Congress who plan to vote against the budget package they have just brokered or
allowed to happen. They continue to betray our troops, their families and this nation by facilitating the funding of a war based on lies.” [
more]
Dad's plea for mental health care: 'Make VA go to the soldier' 12.12.07

At the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, there was an eruption of emotion on Capitol Hill for 23-year-old Army Specialist Tim Bowman -- an
Illinois National Guardsman who completed a combat tour in Iraq, came home and killed himself

Funding for veterans' mental health services is up, with more than $1 billion added to the budget since 2001.

His father, Mike, spoke of the agony. "As my family was preparing for a 2005 Thanksgiving meal, our son Timothy was lying on the floor, slowly
bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His war was now over, his demons were gone."

His parents Mike and Kim are on Capitol Hill to talk about what they believe is a crisis in mental health care for troubled veterans.

"When these veterans come home, they find an understaffed, under-funded, under-equipped VA mental health system that has so many
challenges to get through it that many just give up trying," said Mike Bowman. [
more]
Watch Mike Bowman's testimony
DONATE
GOLD STAR OPINION 3900 DEAD US SOLDIERS- KAREN MEREDITH 12.27.07

On January 1st, 2007 we marked the 3000th dead US soldier in Iraq. Nearly one year later, we mark the death of the 3900th dead US
soldiers. 900 young men and women never coming home, 900 families torn apart, turned upside down in 2007.

Did you hear this sad statistic on your local news? Unlikely. The AP published a very short story, Forbes picked it up. Not one of the
network news affiliates in the San Francisco Bay area covered the story on their websites, not yahoo.com, not cnn.com. Nothing, nada, zip
and zero.

We did hear about the first families holiday celebration at Camp David; the president gave his wife a silver tray and purse and she gave
him a new coat [
more]
GOLD STAR OPINION- A GOLD STAR FAMILY HOLIDAY  Amy Branham 12.17.07

A Gold Star Family is a family who has had a member of their immediate family killed in the line of duty during a time of war.  At the time of this writing,
there were 3,892 Gold Star Families just since the beginning of the war (or occupation) of Iraq.  In my group, Gold Star Families Speak Out, we also include
the families of those men and women who have taken their own lives.

So, just how does a Gold Star Family celebrate the holidays?  The answer is most of us do not.  At least not for the first couple of years. [
more]
Bush loses ground with Military Families- 12.7.07 Times Bloomberg Poll

A majority disapprove of the president's handling of the war in Iraq and are more in line with the views of the general public.

WASHINGTON -- Families with ties to the military, long a reliable source of support for wartime presidents, disapprove of President Bush and his
handling of the war in Iraq, with a majority concluding the invasion was not worth it, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

The views of the military community, which includes active-duty service members, veterans and their family members, mirror those of the overall
adult population, a sign that the strong military endorsement that the administration often pointed to has dwindled in the war's fifth year. [
more]
GOLD STAR OPINION- WHAT WILL YOU DO IN 2008? KAREN MEREDITH 1.1.2008

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the
voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. (Haile Selassi)

I'm not sure there are many, including members of the 110th Congress themselves, who are particularly happy with what was accomplished in
Washington DC in 2007. There was much hope after the November 2006 election that we would see real changes in the direction our country was
headed; there was hope, finally, for a beginning to the end of the occupation in Iraq. Sadly, we are no closer to getting our military out of Iraq now than in
November 2006 or even March 2003. We hear that the presidential candidates are either planning to leave troops in Iraq for decades, as we have in
Korea, or increase the number of troops there to restore order
. [more]
Wayne farmer drawn into war debate after son's death 1/08/2008

“The people of Iraq are no threat to our freedom,” he said. “Those people are poor. Those people are just so poor they couldn’t afford a bus ticket to the
filling station."

NORMAN, Okla. — John Scripsick would rather have been farming.
Scripsick, who owns land near Wayne, said he really didn’t want to attend Monday’s political forum at the University of Oklahoma.
If he had his choice, he said, he would have been home “working cattle.”

But Scripsick didn’t work cattle Monday.

Instead, he stood quietly at the intersection of Boyd Street and Elm Avenue on the OU campus, just outside the Catlett Music Center. Scripsick was
there with a handful of peace activists calling for an end of the Iraq war. [
more]
Gold Star Fathers to Demonstrate for End of Iraq War at Bloomberg Forum

Two Oklahoma Fathers who have lost their sons in the Iraq war are leading a demonstration on Monday, January 7th, during the Bloomberg Bipartisan
Forum taking place on the OU Campus.  Warren Henthorn, of Choctaw, OK, along with John Scripsick, of Wayne, OK, are both determined to remind the
country's elected officials that the majority of Americans want the war to end and the troops to come home now.  Henthorn and Scripsick with gather
at 10 am with others, on the east side of Elm Street, across from the Catlett Music Center where the Bloomberg event is scheduled to begin at 11 am.

Warren Henthorn, whose son Army Spc. Jeffrey Henthorn was killed in Iraq in 2005, said there is no end in sight for the war. Though some were
surprised when he first started speaking out,  Henthorn said more people have moved to his side as the war continues.  "The main purpose of
speaking out is to stop the war to spare other families from going through what mine has,” he said. [
more]
Orange Hold Vigils for Fallen Soldiers

Military families are honoring the fallen and
calling for an end to the Iraq War
Vickie Castro
VIDEO
Bay Area remembers fallen soldiers 3.24.08

The war in Iraq has killed 4,000 Americans after five years of fighting. Every one of those war
deaths is a blow to the heart of family members.

In Benicia, the gold star in an apartment window has faded, a bit, during the past three years,
unlike the love of a mother who still mourns her lost son.

"I see his picture every morning and every night when I go to bed. He is still with me," said gold
star mother Shamma Shumney. .
[more] VIDEO

March 19th, 2008

Celeste Zappala has been outspoken against the war since her son died serving in Iraq back in 2004

March 19th, 2008

CNN Headline News- 5th Anniversary of the War- Karen Meredith

Oklahoma City Vigil 3.19.08

Gold Star Fathers
Warren Henthorn &  John Scripsick

VIDEO

March 19th, 2008

We need our Troops Home
Tracy Miller

WALK FOR PEACE 3.15.08

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
Warren Henthorn

VIDEO
Gold Star Mother
Nadia McCaffrey
talks about her son, Sgt Patrick McCaffrey
Nadia McCaffrey speaks about her son Sgt Patrick McCaffrey




Group housing for vets raises concerns
Fear, misconceptions raise concerns about transitional housing for vets with
PTSD 3.19.08

Merry Lane, a cul-de-sac shaded by redwoods in Sonoma County wine country, would seem a
pleasant place to recover from the psychic wounds of war. Nadia McCaffrey's dream is to set up
a group home there for veterans plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder.

But she is running into stiff resistance from the neighbors. They not only object to the brand-new
structure itself, which looks like a four-story apartment house wedged amid their cabins, they are
also worried that deranged veterans will move in.[
more]
Local Grannies Protest Iraq War 3.19.08

The call themselves the Granny Peace Brigade and on Wednesday, the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War, they used clothes pins and "dirty laundry"
to send the message that the war should be washed out. [
more]
5 years

5 years ago, we didn’t know

The sorrow the pain

Tears falling like rain

The heartache and sadness

Rips through us like a bullet

We only have to remember 5 years ago

When you where still here

At the time it seemed clear

The scars of war are sometimes hard to see

No one knows what goes on inside of me

Honor and courage, heroes indeed

My brother, son, daughter, nephew…

People we need!

Connie Green

In honor of my Brother

SSG Jamie Huggins

KIA 10.26.2003 “for you I carry on”
GOLD STAR OPINION- EASTER 2008 KEVIN & JOYCE LUCEY 3.23.08

On this day as we celebrate Life and the Resurrection, there are so many of us bearing the
burdens of loss, grief and bewilderment - and some of us who even struggle the struggles with
faith and hope.

The timing of this year's Easter coincided with the fifth anniversary of the war; our son's 27th
birthday and with the rapidly approaching formal 4000th casualty of this war - the true number of
casualties being so much more than the " formal " numbers indicate

The timing also collided with Bush's ineffective reasoning and rationales for the war which
appear to be forever changing - but finally appearing to be finally reflecting with our son's opinion
for their launching this war ... the oil ...and Cheney's disdain for the American people [more]

From the March 14, 2008 "Crisis in Veteran's Healthcare" panel. Joyce and Kevin Lucey are
the parents of Corporal Jeffrey Lucey, who killed himself on June 22nd, 2003 after returning
from a tour in Iraq. Joyce and Kevin Lucey are currently suing the Department of Veterans
affairs arguing the VA was negligent in caring for their son. A VA Inspector General’s Report
notes VA officials turned Jeffrey Lucey a few days before he took his own life.

           JOYCE LUCEY             Testimony
          KEVIN LUCEY            Testimony
For Inland military families, fifth anniversary of Iraq war has different meanings 3.18.08e

As the United States observes the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq today, the date means many things to those in the Inland area, a region that
has lost more than 70 military personnel in Middle East battles.

Residents of Twentynine Palms, where about 160 Marines returned from Iraq on Tuesday, said the war in Iraq has left them frustrated, tired, a little weary.
The faith in their sons and husbands and loved ones remains as strong as it did when the first shots were fired on March 20, 2003.

For Vickie Castro, of Corona, the date has been hijacked from one of happiness -- she was married on March 19, 1983 -- to one of sadness and
frustration. Her 21-year-old son, Jonathan, died days before Christmas 2004 at a mess hall in Mosul, Iraq. [
more]

March 19th, 2008

Vickie Castro asks George Bush "What are you willing to sacrifice?"

Tallying up the human costs of war
3.19.2008

It’s been five years since the United States
began war in Iraq and seven years in
Afghanistan. Yet according to a survey recently
released by the Pew Research Center, more
than one-quarter of the American public — 28
percent, to be exact — is unaware that nearly
4,000 U.S. troops have died in Iraq over the
past five years.

No matter what the reason, there is a
disconnect among the people of the United
States and the impact of the wars our nation is
waging, both here and abroad.  [
more]

August 15th, 2008

In Memoriam, Al Zappala

IN MEMORIAM
Alfred M. Zappala, 68, from Philadelphia, PA.   
died on August 14, 2008 after a courageous battle with cancer.


Al was the father of  
Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who was killed in action in Baghdad, Iraq on April 26,
2004.  Al was a founding member of Gold Star Families Speak Out and a tireless witness and
advocate for peace & justice.   Al was a devoted husband (Joan Kosloff), father (Dante & Raphael
Zappala), grandfather of 9 & friend to many.
Al will be deeply missed by his many friends, family and Gold Star Families Speak Out.
Services will be held September 13 in Philadelphia, PA
view sign his guest book