Atheist group fights Camp Pendleton Cross

Three Marines climbed a hill one day carrying a cross as a memorial to fallen Marines, and then died in service to this country. This very country where the freedom of the people to worship as they choose has been protected because people like these Marines were willing to defend them. Now their right to put a cross on a hill is being challenged?

It has stunned me since this became an issue that some people feel threatened by a cross. It is not as if they are being forced to go and kneel at the cross. All this really means is they have to look at it if they are in the area but are still free to turn away from it.

I have defended atheists before since God gave all mankind the right to worship of their own freewill. They have the same rights everyone else in this country has but they should not have the right to stop someone else from enjoying that same right. I do not believe in any military group or brass telling the men and women serving they have to attend religious events or convert in order to receive spiritual help. I do not believe in forcing anyone to do anything and this includes people wanting to put up a symbol of sacrifice, that has always been allowed in this country, being forced to take it down.

They were willing to die for the sake of others. In this case, three of the Marines responsible for putting up the cross, did die. How does a cross harm atheists? Is there a sign on it that says they are not welcome there or that it is for Christians only? Does it really harm them to know the cross is there? Wouldn't they have to show how they have been harmed to have this cross there? What is wrong with them? If they cannot acknowledge the fact that other people find comfort looking at a cross then what does this say about them? Why would anyone want to take away someone else's right at the same time they claim to be fighting for their own?

Marines fight to protect crosses at Camp Pendleton as atheist groups seek removal
By Adam Housley
Published April 12, 2012
FoxNews.com

Planted atop a remote hill in the middle of California's Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base rests two 13-foot crosses.

Originally erected back in 2003 by seven Marines grieving over lives lost in the war on terror, this site originally established for reflection has now become grounds for controversy.

“It's not a religious spot at all, it's a place for the Marines to grieve and to grow to let go of their burdens of what they had in their soul, so they can go back down that hill and back into battle and put their own lives on the line,” says Marine widow Karen Mendoza.

Her husband Ray was one of those original seven who climbed the hill that day, three of whom have since been killed in action, including Ray.

“It's a symbol of sacrifice regardless of what you think, pray, like or don't like,” says Karen.
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Mortician involved in sawing off Tampa area Marine's arm resigns

Mortician involved in sawing off Tampa area Marine's arm resigns
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 02, 2012

TAMPA --
The resignation of a Dover Port Mortuary supervisor who ordered their dead son's arm sawed off so it could fit into his Marine uniform is bringing little solace to a Thonotosassa couple.

The Air Force should have fired Quinton Keel immediately after learning that Keel ordered Sgt. Daniel Angus's arm sawed off over the objections of embalmers and without the family's permission, said Mark O'Brien, an attorney representing Kathy and William Angus.

The Air Force acknowledged Keel's resignation in a one-sentence statement this afternoon, but did not say when he resigned or why.

Sgt. Daniel Angus, 28, died in January 2010, after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Helmand province in Afghanistan. The next month, as the body was being prepared for a funeral, Keel ordered the removal of Angus' left arm bone after employees had difficulty placing the arm in the uniform.
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Video of Sgt. Rafael Peralta pulling grenade under his body being reviewed for Medal of Honor

Calif. lawmakers say fallen Marine deserved military’s highest honor for valor

By Associated Press, Published: March 1

(U.S. Marines, File/Associated Press) - FILE - This undated photo released by the U.S. Marines, shows Sgt. Rafael Peralta, 25. Federal lawmakers announced Thursday March 1, 2012, they have obtained evidence previously unavailable to military investigators that proves the Navy should not have disqualified Peralta, a San Diego Marine from being posthumously awarded America’s highest military honor.

SAN DIEGO — Federal lawmakers announced Thursday they have obtained information previously unavailable to military investigators that proves the Navy should not have disqualified a San Diego Marine from being posthumously awarded America’s highest military honor.

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter said his office sent a formal request from the area’s congressional delegation to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus urging him to reconsider Sgt. Rafael Peralta for the Medal of Honor in a last-ditch effort before the deadline ends. Four other San Diego-area representatives and California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer also signed the letter.

After a scientific panel examined the forensic evidence at the time, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates decided to award Peralta the Navy Cross instead of the Medal of Honor based on the conclusion that the Marine who suffered a head wound was not conscious when his body smothered a grenade in Iraq in 2004, saving other Marines.

Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper said the congressman has obtained a video of the battle action and a newly released report by a forensic pathologist that proves Peralta was conscious and intentionally pulled the grenade under his body.
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Mother Of Fallen Marine Offended By Half-Staff Flag For Whitney Houston

Mother Of Fallen Marine Offended By Half-Staff Flag For Houston
February 15, 2012
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – Flags will be lowered in New Jersey Saturday, the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. But a Marine mom in Arlington says it’s an honor Houston doesn’t deserve.

When Phyllis McGeath heard Gov. Chris Christie had ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Houston, she said she felt a pain deep inside her.

“I was hurt and offended. Disappointed. Saddened,” she said. “I felt like the honor that was given to my son was tarnished.”

McGeath had three sons who were active duty Marines.

Her oldest, Philip, was killed by a suicide bomber just four weeks ago in Afghanistan. He was 25.

“They killed my son.They took his body away from me,” she said, overcome by emotion.

Arizona, the McGeath’s former home state, lowered their flags in his honor.
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Man planted a 17-foot white cross on property he owns for fallen memorial

MILITARY: Man seeks network of crosses to honor veterans

By RICK ROGERS For the North County Times
Posted: Friday, February 3, 2012

Don Vierstra of Murrieta stands next to a cross he erected on his own land near Interstate 15. Photo by Rick Rogers

Don Vierstra is an affable guy.

But the smile slides from his face when talking about the Camp Pendleton cross and efforts to remove it for arguably not squaring with the Constitutional separation of church and state.

"I just couldn't believe what they want to do," said Vierstra, 76, a Murrieta resident whose nephew survived a bomb attack while serving in Iraq. "Why would somebody not like it?"

The Pendleton cross rose on Veterans Day in tribute to those wounded or killed in combat. The site has since become a shrine and reports are that another cross might have been added.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, along with the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, wants it removed.

This troubled Vierstra and roused him to action.

"When I see something wrong, I think, 'What can I do?'"

Last week, Vierstra planted a 17-foot white cross on property he owns along the west side of Interstate 15 in Murrieta, near the I-215 split.
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Fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey's last letter, "it was all worth it"

This is what makes them so different from the rest of us. This last letter to Sgt. Stacey's family tells them that for all the talk for and against what he was doing, he believed he was making a difference in this world. He didn't serve to do anything other than do some good for someone. We can talk about everything else but in the end, this is what it all comes down to. They are willing to die for each other, surrender whatever comforts they have at home to travel around the world but once they do, most of the country moves on, forgetting about them.

Fallen Marine’s letter: 'it was all worth it'
February 2, 2012
Tony Perry in San Diego

A flag-draped casket containing the remains of Sgt. William Stacey, a Marine from Camp Pendleton who was killed this week in Afghanistan, arrived Thursday at the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Stacey, 23, a member of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, was killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb while on a walking patrol in Now Zad, a onetime Taliban stronghold in Helmand province.

Like many military members deployed to a warzone, Stacey, whose parents are history professors at the University of Washington, left a letter to be read in the event of his death. The Seattle Times published the letter, with the family’s permission. It read, in part:

"My death did not change the world; it may be tough for you to justify its meaning at all. But there is a greater meaning to it. Perhaps I did not change the world. Perhaps there is still injustice in the world. But there will be a child who will live because men left the security they enjoyed in their home country to come to his.
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UPDATE

Fallen Seattle Marine's letter brings comfort, inspiration
By JOHN DONOVAN, KOMO-TV
Published 10:52 a.m., Saturday, February 4, 2012
In a letter left behind for his family, a Seattle Marine who was recently killed in the line of duty is providing inspiration to all of us.

Sgt. William Stacey was on foot patrol Tuesday in Afghanistan when an enemy bomb went off, killing the 23-year-old.

Though he is now gone, Stacey is still speaking through a letter he left his parents to open in case he didn't make it home from the war.

"My death did not change the world," he begins, but where he goes next is startling in its optimism.

This son of teachers who never loved school but in the Marines he thrived, was just weeks away from coming home after five deployments.

His letter was weighing what would make dying worth it.

"...there is a greater meaning to it," he writes. And obviously he has seen a lot of kids during his time in the Marines, because he then says: "there will be a child who will live."
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More than 500 people wait on tarmac for fallen Marine to come home

Hundreds salute fallen Pendleton Marine

A member of the Patriot Guard dabs his eyes as the body of Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Singer returns to Southern California in what is called a Hero Mission ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
REED SAXON, AP

Jan. 31, 2012

Family members weep over the casket as the body of Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Singer returns to Southern California in what is called a Hero Mission ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Singer, 23, died in combat in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 21.
REED SAXON, AP

By ERIKA I. RITCHIE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LAKE FOREST - Hundreds of firefighters and law enforcement officers on Tuesday waved flags from freeway bridges from Los Alamitos to Laguna Hills saluting a procession carrying the remains of Cpl. Christopher G. Singer, a Marine killed in Afghanistan on Jan. 21.

The procession of more than 200 vehicles followed a Hero Mission – a ceremony that marks the return of an American service member killed in action – at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos.

Singer's family – including his wife, Brooke, 21, his father, Greg Singer, and his mother, Marlene Shaw – was escorted to the plane as the coffin was lowered.

More than 500 people stood on the tarmac and paid their respects. Honoring Our Fallen, a nonprofit group, will give Singer's 2-year-old daughter, Briyana, birthday and Christmas gifts until she is 18, said founder Laura Herzog.

Singer, 23, was killed while conducting operations in the Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms-based 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, an element of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division. Singer was born in San Diego and grew up in Lake Forest and Temecula.
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Wilder Marine killed in Afghanistan returned to Idaho

Wilder Marine killed in Afghanistan returned to Idaho
by Justin Corr

KTVB.COM
Posted on January 28, 2012 at 4:47 PM
Updated yesterday at 5:08 PM

BOISE -- After making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, the remains of a Marine from Wilder are back in Idaho.

Lance Corporal Kenneth Cochran was killed in combat on January 15 -- he was just 20 years old.
Cochran always wanted to be a Marine.

"We grew up hearing stories about my dad, and his time in the service," said Michael Cochran, Kenneth's sister. "So, it was kind of ingrained in us to be awesome and go for your dreams. And Kenny's dream was to become a Marine."
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Comrades will honor fallen Marine Sgt. Daniel J. Patron

Comrades will honor fallen Perry Marine
By Matthew Rink
IndeOnline.com staff writer
Posted Jan 16, 2012

There’s a young man that Kathy and Frank Patron have never met or spoken with, and yet he was standing 20 feet away from their son when he died.

His name is Sgt. Jason R. Slattery and he was Sgt. Daniel J. Patron’s partner on an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit when Patron was killed Aug. 6, 2011, in Sangin, Afghanistan. Though Patron’s family, friends and community formally honored Patron more than five months ago, there is a group of men and women who have not yet had the chance.

Slattery is among them.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Marine Corps will hold a special memorial service at Camp LeJeune, N.C., so Marines like Slattery, who returned home for the first time in November, finally have the chance to say goodbye to their fallen comrade.

“None of them were home when this happened,” mother Kathy Patron said. “This is it. None of the EOD guys have had any recognition for Danny. This one, of all of the services and memorials we’ve been invited to, this is the one I’m most nervous about because we will meet Jason Slattery.

“He was there,” she said. “He was 20 feet from the blast. He saw it. I’m really, really nervous about this one.”

Patron, 26, was killed while trying to defuse a roadside bomb. He was a member of the 2nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Co.
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Here's a way to show support for Marines Camp Pendleton Cross

Camp Pendleton Cross Up Close [Poll]
The newly-erected cross on Camp Pendleton has become a source of much controversy.
By Daniel Woolfolk

Since Veterans Day, a 13-foot cross has stood atop a San Onofre Mountain peak overlooking Camp Horno. At its base are rocks painted with messages, dog tags and offerings of whiskey for fallen Marines.

Last month, a group of Marines and civilians carried the fire retardant cross up a steep and slippery climb and erected it as a memorial to four Marines who died in Iraq. However, they did so without permission from Camp Pendleton officials.

Members of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers quickly demanded it be taken down. An opinion piece in The Huffington Post by Chris Rodda, senior research director of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, countered arguments by supporters of the cross.

This was the count after I voted.

Should the Camp Pendleton cross be kept up or taken down?
Keep it up

578 (59%)
Take it down

390 (40%)
Other

5 (0%)
Total votes: 973 This is not a scientific poll

read and vote more here

1,150 Fallen Marines and Sailors sent Christmas ornaments?

Marine Corps apologizes for Purple Heart Christmas mixup
December 13, 2011

The Marine Corps apologized Tuesday for mistakenly sending Purple Heart Christmas ornaments to the families of 1,150 deceased Marines and sailors.

"There are no words to express how very sorry we are for the hurt such a mistake has caused the families of our fallen warriors," said Col. John L. Mayer, commanding officer of the Wounded Warrior Regiment.

The ornaments were supposed to be sent only to living recipients of the Purple Heart, a medal bestowed on those wounded in combat. The goal was to thank the recipients for their service.

The ornaments are gold with an image of the Purple Heart. They came in envelopes addressed to the deceased service personnel, with a letter of thanks and information about a physical conditioning program.
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Funeral for fallen Danville Marine draws nearly 1,800 mourners

When I tell a young veteran that people do really care about them, they are shocked. After all, they never see their stories on cable news. They hardly ever see anything about them. It's one of the reasons this blog is here. Their stories come out across the country but usually on local news stations and in their newspapers.

When they ship out, spend their days in Iraq or Afghanistan, they wonder if anyone really cares about what they are doing other than their own families. When they come home they wonder even more when no one wants to talk to them about anything. When they are wounded and have to fight for benefits, face financial hardships because they can't work, they stop wondering and start believing no one really gives a damn.

Wounded Marine Reenlists from stretcher

Yet they still do things like reenlist. They still want to serve. Even when they can't stay in the military anymore, they end up joining groups giving back to others.

Well, here's a story about a Marine dying in Afghanistan at the age of 19. This story shows that the men and women serving today are not only dedicated, but they are appreciated. 1,800 people showed up for the funeral of Lance Cpl. Joshua "Chachi" Corral. If you know a veteran or someone deployed right now thinking no one cares, pass this onto them so they will know while they never see their stories on major news stations or read about them in big newspapers, most people have not forgotten about them.

Funeral for fallen Danville Marine draws nearly 1,800 mourners

By Paul Thissen
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 11/30/2011

DANVILLE -- It was barely two months after he arrived in Afghanistan and just a few weeks before his 20th birthday. Lance Cpl. Joshua "Chachi" Corral died a Marine; it was what he had long dreamed of becoming.

He excelled at it. At the Marine boot camp, he got a perfect score on his physical fitness test and ran the fastest time among 300 recruits -- despite having a stress fracture.

When he got to the Helmand Province, one of Afghanistan's most volatile, Corral was a "sweeper," a Marine who walked in front of his squad, looking for improvised explosive devices or other trouble.

He died while conducting combat operations, according to the Defense Department.
Nearly 1,800 mourners packed every available seat at the East Bay Fellowship on Wednesday for his funeral.

"Chachi was the name of a real-life hero," said Don Busboom in his tearful eulogy, using the nickname bestowed by Corral's older brother, when he was too young to correctly pronounce Joshua.

"By living for others, Chachi lived well, because he lived for something bigger than himself," said Busboom, a teacher at San Ramon Valley High School, where Corral graduated in 2010.

He wore his Marine uniform proudly, and he showed his faith in God with the ink under that uniform.
"He was tatted up," Busboom said.
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Lynne Griffey painting to help fund Wreaths Across America

'Wreaths Across America' to benefit from sale of Clarksville artist's painting
Nov. 25, 2011
Written by
Philip Grey
The Leaf-Chronicle
The subject is beautiful in its simplicity — rows of standard military tombstones rising above a blanket of fresh snow at Kentucky West Veterans Cemetery, with only the green and red of Christmas wreaths to mark the stones and keep them from fading into obscurity.

The subject of the painting is perfectly aligned with the artist’s cause — to keep America’s deceased veterans from being forgotten.

The painting has been donated by well-known local artist Lynne Griffey for the purpose of furthering the “Wreaths Across America” program, an effort that is backed in this area by the local Gold Star Wives Eagles chapter, together with the American Legion.
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Some of the war's battles are fought at home

Some of the war's battles are fought at home
Families left behind when loved ones are deployed have found deepening support at Camp Pendleton.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
November 25, 2011

Marines and family members pay their respects at a Camp Pendleton ceremony for 17 Marines killed in action in Afghanistan. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times / November 4, 2011)

Reporting from Camp Pendleton— Six-year-old Keegan Ramirez knows that his father, Marine Sgt. Rafael Ramirez, is in Afghanistan.

But there is nothing unusual about that. The Ramirez family lives in base housing, where nearly all the fathers and some of the mothers leave home regularly for seven to 12 months at a stretch.

Sgt. Ramirez, 27, is with an artillery battalion in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand province. He has made three other deployments to Iraq to the insurgent-battleground of Anbar province.

Recently, Keegan has come to understand an inescapable fact about his father's chosen profession: Not everyone comes home alive or uninjured.

"We hadn't heard from his father in a couple of days," said Keegan's mother, Emma Ramirez, "and Keegan came to me one night and asked, 'Did daddy die?' It broke my heart."

Children have had to grow up quickly in the last decade at Camp Pendleton.
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Marines erect cross on Veterans Day to honor fallen comrades

Marines erect cross on Veterans Day to honor fallen comrades
November 11, 2011

To honor the memory of four Marine comrades killed in Iraq and to show respect for all military personnel sent to foreign lands, a small but determined group trudged up a steep hill at Camp Pendleton on Friday morning as the nation observed Veterans Day.

At precisely the date and time when World War I officially ended, giving rise to Armistice Day -- the forerunner to Veterans Day -- the group erected a 13-foot cross. The cross replaced one put on the hill in 2003 by the Marines before they deployed to Iraq. It was destroyed by a brush fire.

The four Marines were part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The 2/1 was a lead element in the battle of Fallouja in early 2004.

“We wanted them all to know that they’ll always be in our hearts, that they’ll never be forgotten,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Rettenberger. He was also with the 2/1 and will deploy soon for his second tour to Afghanistan with a different battalion. He was wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan but insisted on reenlisting.
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Military mortuary flap stirs emotions

Military mortuary flap stirs emotions
By Chad Livengood and Nicole Gaudiano, Gannett
WILMINGTON, Del. – Following disclosure Tuesday that Dover mortuary employees sawed off the arm of a Marine without family permission, parents of other servicemembers who have died were split on the emotional issue of what measures are appropriate to memorialize their children.

When Chris Smith's son arrived at Dover Air Force Base in a flag-draped case, the Hornell, N.Y., man was told Marine Lance Cpl. Zachary Smith's body was not viewable. The Marine, 19, was killed Jan. 24, 2010, by a bomb in Afghanistan, which blew off one leg and badly mangled the other.

To the surprise of his grieving parents, base mortuary employees were able to make the body presentable for an open-casket funeral. "We got to observe him after being told there was nothing to observe," Chris Smith said. "You don't know how grateful I was to see my boy."


Melinda Kane, of Cherry Hill, N.J., whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane, died Jan. 23, 2010, in an Afghan suicide bombing, said that in the case of the Marine whose limb was dismembered the family should have been informed first.

"It had to be horrible for that family to find out that their wanting to view the body ends up doing more damage," Kane said.
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Darkhorse:A Marine's Death, And The Family He Left Behind

A Marine's Death, And The Family He Left Behind
by TOM BOWMAN

November 3, 2011
A year ago, nearly 1,000 U.S. Marine officers and enlisted men of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment deployed to restive Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. By the time their tour ended in April 2011, the Marines of the 3/5 — known as "Darkhorse" — suffered the highest casualty rate of any Marine unit during the past 10 years of war. This week, NPR tells the story of this unit's seven long months at war — both in Afghanistan and back home.

Last year, on Dec. 6, Kait Wyatt was up early, making breakfast, when the doorbell rang at her home on the Camp Pendleton Marine base.

She opened the door. Two Marines stood there.

"I wanted it to be them telling me that he was OK, that he was hurt or something along those lines. But I knew," Kait recalls.

"I automatically knew Derek had passed away," she says.

Her husband, Cpl. Derek Wyatt, was serving in Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, known as "Darkhorse."
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Link to the following stories
As Casualties Grew, So Did Marine Families' Fears(25) (34)


November 1, 2011 When the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment deployed to Afghanistan, they left behind families who were desperate for information and grew frightened as the death toll grew. For 25 families, the news they received was the worst possible.
On All Things ConsideredPlaylist
An Afghan Hell On Earth For 'Darkhorse' Marines
An Afghan Hell On Earth For 'Darkhorse' Marines(79) (50)


October 31, 2011 A year ago, the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment arrived in Sangin, a Taliban haven in southern Afghanistan, for a seven-month deployment. Known as "Darkhorse," the battalion sustained a higher casualty rate than any other Marine unit during the 10-year Afghan war.
On All Things ConsideredPlaylist
TIMELINE: The Deadly Afghan Mission
Afghan Success Carries A Price For Commander(38) (24)


October 30, 2011 In Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Jason Morris led the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, which suffered the highest casualty rate of any Marine unit during the past 10 years of war. The "Darkhorse Battalion" commander says the unit's mission was a success — but he will live with the burden of those deaths.
On All Things ConsideredPlaylist
TIMELINE: 'Darkhorse' Marines' Deadly Mission
Timeline: 'Darkhorse' Marines' Deadly Afghan Mission(2) (7)


October 30, 2011 A year ago, the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment — known as "Darkhorse" — deployed for southern Afghanistan. When they returned home to Camp Pendleton seven months later, they had lost 25 men and suffered close to 200 wounded.

Marines can wear KIA bracelets to honor fallen again!

Marines to allow troops to wear KIA bracelets
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marines are being allowed to wear bracelets commemorating friends killed in action, a policy change that settles a debate that has roiled some in the force.

At issue are KIA bracelets, usually thin rubber or metal bands bearing the names of the fallen in Afghanistan, Iraq or other combat zone. Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos said Tuesday the matter had been discussed and settled when he met last week with other senior Marine generals.

"We are acknowledging the close personal nature of our 10 years at war and the strong bonds of fidelity that Marines have for one another, especially for those fellow Marines who we have lost," Amos said.

The bracelets were technically not allowed under Marine Corps uniform regulations. Nevertheless, some troops have been wearing them while in uniform, and some but not all commanders have been telling them to stop.

That put some Marines in a dilemma: On one side was the Corps' tradition of good discipline and following orders. On the other, the searing emotions of a force hit with rising casualties as it helped reverse insurgent momentum in Afghanistan's southern Taliban stronghold.

"I never take it off," said Timothy Kudo, a former Marine captain and now a community organizer for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He returned in March from duty in Afghanistan and served in 2009 in Iraq.
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Marine killed on sixth tour didn't see final wish come true

Children of Marine killed in Afghanistan receive outpouring of support

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2011 (Updated 4:51 am)
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

What do you think?
Be the first to comment on this story.
NEW RIVER MARINE CORPS AIR STATION (AP) — A Marine Corps aviator's children are getting an outpouring of help to ensure their future education after his death in Afghanistan.
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Widow of Marine killed in action fighting to make his final wish come true

By: SASHA HORNE
Published: October 14, 2011

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT)- The widow of a Marine killed in Afghanistan is working to make his final wish come true.

“He wanted to be her dad….he was her dad,” said Mary Dudley Just before his sixth deployment with Marine Corps, Staff Sergeant T.J. Dudley filled out all the paperwork to make 13-year-old Taylor, Mary’s daughter from a previous relationship, legally his.

“We started the paperwork a year ago, right before he left for deployment and we found out during the deployment that the courthouse lost the paperwork.”

Back in July, just 17 days before he was due to return home, T.J. was killed in action.

Mary says her husband filed the adoption paperwork at the Onslow county courthouse but that’s where the paper trail went cold.
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Relatives of Ganjgal fallen want answers about accountability

After Medal of Honor award, relatives of Afghan battle casualties question handling of errors
By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, September 18, 4:52 PM

WASHINGTON — Relatives of several U.S. troops killed during a 2009 Afghanistan battle that led to a Medal of Honor award last week are questioning whether some Army officers got off too easy for mistakes that led to the deaths of five American military personnel.

In interviews for CBS’ ”60 Minutes” on Sunday, the mother of a Marine and the wife of an Army sergeant killed in the September 2009 firefight in the Ganjgal Valley said reprimands given to two Army officers in an internal inquiry were not enough punishment. The inquiry concluded that poor pre-mission planning led to delays in adequate support fire against Taliban forces that had U.S. units pinned down.

Susan Price, the mother of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, who died during the firefight, told CBS she was unhappy with official reprimands that followed a 2010 military inquiry into U.S. planning and decisions during the battle.

Charlene Westbrook, widow of Army Sgt. Kenneth Westbrook, who died from his wounds after the firefight, said mistakes made during the battle were caused by negligence. She also criticized the military’s follow-up.

“These letters of reprimand are just clearly slaps on the wrist,” Westbrook said. “These officers need to be court-martialed.”

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