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 |
Search GSFSO
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| ©2005-2009, 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
(JavaScript Error)
| 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. |
| GOLD STAR MOM SPEAKS OUT (blog) |
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
Sgt Patrick Ryan McCaffrey Foundation for War Veterans a 501c3 Nonprofit Corporation |
|
| 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. |
MYTHIC SOLDIERS OR PUBLICITY PAWNS (WATCH THE VIDEO) |
LAFAYETTE, CA MEMORIAL CROSSES a multimedia presentation David Mendelson © |
| 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 |
| DONATE |
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 |
February 28, 2009
February 27, 2009
| Pentagon Reviewing Coffin Photo Ban 2.15.2008 Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review Tuesday of a Pentagon policy banning media from taking pictures of flag-draped coffins of military dead, signaling he was open to overturning the policy to better honor fallen soldiers. At least two Democratic senators have called on President Barack Obama to let news photographers attend ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and other military facilities when military remains are returned to the United States. Obama told reporters Monday he was reviewing the ban. [more] |
| Grief for War Dead Shrouds Casket Photo Ban 2.17.2009 Military Families Want Sons' and Daughters' Stories Told -- but Privacy Respected Swept by a wave of national patriotism after Sept. 11, 2001, Patrick McCaffrey signed up for California's Army National Guard -- never dreaming that he would end up in Iraq. But in June 2004, just three months after the deployment of his unit, the 34-year-old father who had run two car repair shops was murdered at close range in Balad, Iraq, shot eight times in the chest. "His life was the American middle-class dream," said his mother, Nadia McCaffrey, 63, a veterans' rights activist who lives in the house her son left in Tracy, Calif. "He didn't realize war could happen." The family was besieged by the press nonstop for 10 days, and because they had so many unanswered questions about their son's death, they allowed the media to join them when Patrick's body arrived in Sacramento. [more] |
| Rep. Eshoo Statement on Reversal of Ban on Media Coverage of Soldiers’ Coffins 2.26.2008 Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) issued the following statement today after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced an end to the ban on media coverage of returning military coffins. “President Obama and Secretary Gates’ decision to reverse the ban on media coverage of the returning remains of our nation’s heroes is highly commendable and long overdue. Our remembrance of them should be made visible to every American. My friend and constituent Karen Meredith, a Gold Star Mother, has dedicated herself to reversing the ban in honor of her decorated son, First Lieutenant Kenneth Ballard, who was killed in Iraq in 2004.” |
| Moms Of Fallen Soldiers Discuss Coffin Photo Ban 2.25.2009 Tell Me More, NPR · Since 1991, with only a few exceptions, the media has been barred from filming or photographing the flag-draped coffins of service-members as they arrive back at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base from Iraq and Afghanistan. But the Obama administration is reviewing the practice to consider whether the media restrictions should be lifted. Karen Meredith and Merilee Carlson both lost children serving in the Iraq war —Meredith is the mother of Lt. Ken Ballard, who died in May 2004, and Carlson's son Sgt. Michael Carlson [more] |
| AP INVESTIGATION: Army charity hoards millions 2.23.2009 FORT BLISS, Texas (AP) — As soldiers stream home from Iraq and Afghanistan, the biggest charity inside the U.S. military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars meant to help put returning fighters back on their feet, an Associated Press investigation shows. Between 2003 and 2007 — as many military families dealt with long war deployments and increased numbers of home foreclosures — Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth. During those years, the charity packed away $117 million into its own reserves while spending just $64 million on direct aid, according to an AP analysis of its tax [more] |
| Mom Says Lift Dover Media Ban 2.19.2009 Tracy Miller didn't go to Dover Air Base to greet her son's casket, but she doesn't think the media should have been banned. Miller says she was surprised to hear that President Obama is reviewing the media ban, but is confident he will act in the best interest of families. Miller's son, Marine Corporal Nicholas Ziolkowski, was killed in Iraq. She says media coverage would honor what the troops have done and bring home the cost of war. Not everyone agrees though. Veterans at the American Legion Towson Post 22 worry the pictures will be used to try and sway public opinion. Paul Moran says the ban should remain in place out of respect to the families. |
| Govt to pay in case of Marine who committed suicide 1.15.2009 (John Moroney, NECN) - A first of its kind settlement stemming from the suicide of an Iraq war veteran. The government is paying $350,000 to the parents of a Massachusetts Marine. It is still a very difficult subject for Kevin and Joyce Lucey. They say their lawsuit has never been about money. They just want to make sure their son Jeffrey did not die in vain. Jeffrey Lucey, a 23-year-old former Marine corporal from Belchertown, hanged himself in his parents' home in 2004, two weeks after he was released from the Northampton Veterans Medical Center. Kevin and Joyce Lucey filed suit against the VA in federal court in Springfield in 2007, alleging negligence. In the complaint, they alleged that VA personnel released their son after saying they could not make an assessment of his post-traumatic stress disorder until he was alcohol free. A few days later, the Luceys said they took their son back to the center, but the staff turned him away. [more] |
| GOLD STAR OPINION- TO THE GOLD STARS- AMY BRANHAM 1.19.09 Tomorrow, January 20, 2009, we will watch as a new President takes the Oath of Office and begins leading our nation. This is a monumental occasion in the history of our nation, a nation that we all love and whose values we all hold near and dear to our hearts. It is a nation to which all of us have given that which we hold most dear and precious – one of our children or family members. Tomorrow we will see the leadership of one President end and the leadership of a new President begin. I want to tell you, if you have not already come to the realization for yourselves, that you had a part in this. Every single one of us who has fought against the war in Iraq, every single one of us who has marched, written, given speeches, done interviews, traveled across the country and many other things have worked for this very moment. Every single one of us has put something more on the line and questioned the decisions of George W. Bush and his administration not only for the lead up to the war in Iraq, but also for the lackluster way in which this war has been managed. [more] |
| Army apologizes for "Dear John Doe" letters 1.7.09 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army apologized on Wednesday for sending 7,000 letters addressed to "Dear John Doe" to the relatives of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The letters, printed by a contractor and mailed in December, were intended to inform family members about private organizations that offer assistance to those who have lost relatives in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The Army said the letters should have contained specific salutations and addresses, instead of the anonymous greeting. It blamed a printing error for the mix-up. [more] |
| Dr Phil- Failed by the VA- 12.19.08 "When you look at the pictures from when [Jeffrey] came back, that smile didn’t encompass Jeffrey as a whole," says Joyce of her son. "You would look at him and say, ‘Is this my son?’" "The first real indication of a problem occurred on Christmas Eve. [Our daughter] Debbie found Jeff in the kitchen. He had been drinking, and he was crying," recalls Jeff's dad, Kevin. "He threw two dog tags at me and said, ‘Don’t you understand? Your brother is a murderer,'" Debbie remembers. [more] |
| In Their Boots- The War Within- 12/3/08 Jeffrey Lucey joined the US Marine Corps Reserves in December 1999 while attending Holyoke Community College. He was 18 years old. Three years later he was driving a convoy through the desert during the initial invasion of Iraq. While he returned home physically unscathed, Jeff was mortally wounded, suffering from PTSD/combat operational stress. "Jeffrey slept little, ate little, was restless, hyper-vigilant, confused, angry, and frustrated," say his parents, Kevin and Joyce Lucey. "[He was] isolated in his mind, wracked with guilt, sadness, depression, rage; he was panicked, desperate, hopeless, overwhelmed, and full of rage, wanting to talk and yet at the same time wanting to be silent." Jeffrey went to the VA twice for help, but didn't get the care he needed. On June 22, 2004, 23-year-old Jeffrey Lucey decided he could no longer live with himself and took his own life. While his struggle has ended, his family's is far from over. |
| Thanks Brother, Today and Every Day- 11.11.08 HUFFINGTON POST Thanks, Sher. It's Veterans Day, big guy, I'm sure you know that. Today we are asked to remember and thank you, but you know this is every day for me. I've been thanking you since we were simply brothers coming up together. And I've been remembering you every day since your tragic death 4 years ago in the Baghdad streets. Wanted to let you know--it ain't gonna stop. I was thankful when you were finishing my fights and starting your own, all in the name of protecting me, your hopeless little brother. Our parents thank you for having been such a great son. Ironic, isn't it, that you came to them by nothing more than God's Grace and fate on Veterans Day in 1974 and they never let you go. 34 years later, I can tell you with conviction that they count it as one of the happiest days of their lives. I remember, even as kids, the difficulty of our situation, but you let them love you, and you multiplied that love countless times over back to them. Your son; Jesus, your son, Sherwood, he is thankful. He has your laugh, your big feet, your innocence. And he didn't get your demons, I'm sure you can see that. [more] |
| GOLD STAR OPINION- An Open Letter to Cindy McCain From a Gold Star Mom- Diane Santoriello 10.15.09 I am really upset over your statement about how you felt about Sen. Obama's refusal to vote for war funding. Usually, I am loath to criticize any blue or gold star parent for their political views, but I must speak to your incendiary comments. As the mother of a fallen solider, I feel betrayed by your husband. Senator McCain not only backed this unjust misbegotten war; he wanted it. Where was Senator McCain when there were not enough troops and not enough equipment? Why didn't he push for no-bid contracts on IED jammers? Why didn't he demand an articulated exit strategy? My son was killed on Aug. 13, 2004. With a knock on the door, my world as I knew it ended. Prior to his death, I publicly checked my feelings about the mishandling of the war so as not to damage his career. Still wallowing in grief I forced myself to speak out about a month after his death. Too much was at stake; there was an election coming, so I started speaking out first in an op-ed then in public speeches calling for a change in strategy and the resignation of Rumsfeld. The night George Bush was reelected I cried myself to sleep. I felt that I had failed my dead son and his men. The next morning once again, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and stepped back into the fray. [more] |
| GOLD STAR OPINION- OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR BIDEN & GOVERNOR PALIN- KAREN MEREDITH, 10.1.08 Dear Governor Palin & Senator Biden- I know you are busy getting ready for the first and only vice-presidential debate of the 2008 presidential campaign. I'm sure you've both been practicing your debate skills, figuring out what temperament to show, running through the issues in your mind hoping to remember that factoid that will be the perfect comeback, the line that will go viral. I'm sure Gwen Ifil will ask questions about the economy, foreign policy, health care, maybe climate change, maybe energy, maybe choice, maybe event lipsticks or pigs. All those subjects, except pigs & lipstick, are important to let people get to know how you feel about those subjects, and as Vice President, how you would deal with them once in office. I'm guessing January is looming pretty large; the challenges, the opportunities to put your special mark on the fabric of our country. [more] |
March 1, 2009
| A family asks: How many more war dead? 3.08.09 Celeste Zappala and Dante Zappala are the mother and brother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guard member killed in the war in Iraq On a warm Sunday afternoon in March 2004, our family tearfully held Sherwood in our arms for the last time and said goodbye to him as he left for Iraq. We could not have predicted what would happen to him. We had only our worst fears tempered by our faith in God. Sherwood deployed with his Pennsylvania National Guard unit and went to Baghdad, where he provided security for the Iraq Survey Group as it looked for the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. He was killed in an explosion six weeks after his arrival. Before and after that tragic day, we have protested and spoken out against this unjust war. We have raised our voices with crowds of half a million people marching past the White House. We have stood alone in the rain on the concrete partition of North Broad Street. Holding our signs and holding our truth that invading and occupying Iraq was a betrayal of a sacred trust, we have said: "End this war." [more] |