Text 14659, 131 rader
Skriven 2005-08-18 12:36:08 av John Hull (1:123/789.0)
Ärende: National Media Picks Up On Backlash to Sheehan
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CAMPED OUT IN CRAWFORD
Backlash! War moms attack Cindy Sheehan
Parents of American fighters in Iraq say protester doesn't speak for them

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Posted: August 17, 2005
11:45 p.m. Eastern


By Joe Kovacs
(c) 2005 WorldNetDaily.com



(Picture: Marine Cpl. Matthew Matula, killed in Iraq April 9, 2004)

The continued focus by the nation's media on Cindy Sheehan, the so-called
"Peace Mom" who's demanding a second meeting with President Bush in the wake of
her son's death, is sparking a backlash from parents of other American
servicemen and women in Iraq.

One Texas family of a fallen Marine became so enraged with Sheehan's use of
their son's name on a protest cross, they drove from the town of Spicewood to
Crawford to remove it.


"I went there and had Matthew's name taken off of there," said Matt Matula,
whose son, a 20-year-old Marine, was killed by hostile fire last year. "It's
fine for people to grieve their own way. It aggravates me to see them using
other people's names to further their cause."

"He's not a victim, he's a hero," he told KXAN-TV, "and I think that everybody
that's serving our country [are] heroes."

Cpl. Matthew Matula, whose wife, Julie, was pregnant when he was killed in
action, had planned on bringing his wife and baby back from his base in
Southern California to Texas to get a ranch and build a house.


(Picture: Stephanie Williams, 11, Karina Lopez, 9, and Brittney Conrad, 10, pay
tribute at a 2004 candlelight vigil in Murrieta, Calif., to Cpl. Matt Matula
(photo: Mike Norkin/for the Californian))

He earned a host of decorations, including the Purple Heart, Combat Action
Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, Armed
Forces Expeditionary Medal, Operation Iraqi Freedom Expeditionary Medal, Global
War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. His younger
brother youngest son just recently joined the military and is also heading to
Iraq.

"Matthew was very proud of being a Marine and proud of his unit and what they
were doing," his mother, Toni, said.

Her feelings are echoed by another war mom, Debbie from Indianapolis, who
called radio host Rush Limbaugh today to say her own son was wounded in Iraq
when his vehicle ran over a land mine twice in one day, and he's now serving
his second tour of duty.

"I would never dishonor his actions by doing what this woman is doing," she
tearfully said, referring to Cindy Sheehan. "What she's doing is not only
dishonoring her son, she's dishonoring mine. ... [Casey Sheehan] didn't die for
nothing, he died in the United States Armed Forces.There's nothing more
honorable than that. These kids volunteered, they were not yanked from their
cradle by an evil government to send them someplace they didn't want to go ...
My son knew what was in store for him, and my son stepped up to the plate."

Lee Miller, who has a long list of family members in the service, wrote the
China Daily newspaper to blast Mrs. Sheehan, while at the same time heaping
praise on her son, Casey.

"He is a better person then you will ever be. So go home and honor his name
instead of dragging it in the dirt. Make a difference instead of trying to be
in the limelight. You're making an a-- out of yourself. I know your pain. I
have been down that path - it hurts, but don't blame someone for a choice a
person makes when it doesn't work out. Build a bridge and get over it. Your son
was proud of what he did, so be proud of him."


The backlash has led to the creation of the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy"
tour, a caravan of military family members who plan to converge on Crawford for
a rally Aug. 27.

The event is being promoted by MoveAmericaForward, and is led by Deborah Johns
of Northern California Marine Moms, whose son, William, is a Marine serving in
Iraq.


(Picture: Deborah Johns of Roseville, Calif., stars in commercial supporting
her son and others fighting for freedom in Iraq)

"I am deeply sorry for Ms. Sheehan's loss; however, Ms. Sheehan's actions are
only causing pain to those of us who have loved ones serving in the war against
terrorism," Johns said. "We understand the need to fight the terrorists
overseas rather than face attack here at home. We understand that it was the
terrorists led by al-Qaida in Iraq who are responsible for the deaths of U.S.
service members, including Casey Sheehan."

Johns is now starring in a new television commercial she produced.

"William is helping to bring about freedom, and people are realizing that
freedom is a gift," she says in the spot. "He supports what we're doing over
there."

The backlash is not going unnoticed by Cindy Sheehan.


(Picture: Cindy Sheehan)

"The right wingers are e-mailing me and spewing filth about me on the radio and
on the television saying that I am dishonoring my son's memory," she writes.
"The right wingers are really having a field day with me. It hurts me really
badly, but I am willing to put up with the cr--, if it ends the war a minute
sooner than it would have."

She's also disputes allegations her anti-war protest is all about her.

"I was just the spark the universe chose for some reason to spark this off,
because, like I said, the movement was already there."


(Picture: President Bush kissing Cindy Sheehan in family photo dated June 18,
2004)

As WorldNetDaily previously reported, Sheehan met with President Bush in June
of last year, and even posted a photo of herself being kissed by the commander
in chief on her website designed to honor her son. The photos of Bush have
since been surgically removed from the site.

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