Oregon Mother (of fallen Soldier) to Join Sheehan Vigil

[truthpusher]

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=806680

Oregon Mother to Join Sheehan Vigil
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By Colin Fogarty
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PORTLAND, OR 2005-08-12 - The mother of a fallen soldier camped outside of President Bush's Texas ranch will soon be getting visitors from Oregon.

(snip)

Michelle DeFord's son David was a member of the Oregon National Guard and was killed last year. Holding an antiwar sign at a rally downtown, DeFord says she feels solidarity with Sheehan.

Michelle DeFord: We were proud of David's service. David was proud. He loved the National Guard. But we don't understand what Iraq ever had to do with weapons of mass destruction, or Al Qaeda or 9-11.

DeFord and two other members of the group Gold Star Families for Peace will travel to Texas next week. The cost is being covered by donations.

complete story: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=806680

[movonne]

1. I'm so proud that Oregon is repersented in this great movement..

Thank you Michelle DeFord...

[cliss]

5. Yes, isn't it awesome M.

I recall reading about her in the Oregonian a while back. I thought it was very sad.

Michelle De Ford will be our ambassador from Oregon. (we'd like to go, too).

[Cha]

2. Beautiful..

"Michelle DeFord: We were proud of David's service. David was proud. He loved the National Guard. But we don't understand what Iraq ever had to do with weapons of mass destruction, or Al Qaeda or 9-11."

Thank you, Michelle DeFord for asking the tough questions. Here's to Strength and Good Energy for your trip to Crawford to stand with Cindy Sheenan.

[Eloriel]

3. Nominated n/t

[calimary]

4. Me, too. Another mother for PEACE. God Bless Them!!!

God I HATE to see this suffering and anguish, though. NO mother should have to go through this. It is the proof of TRUE courage that these women have the clarity and courage to speak out, especially when it means they've also faced the fact that their precious sons died for nothing - but LIES. That has to be the toughest part of all. They did NOT die for some frickin' damned "noble cause." That these women have the strength and fortitude to face this, and then to try to do something about it, has me awestruck. May they find peace and a satisfactory resolution.

GOD I hope bush PAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Karenina]

10. Mothers seeking

the TRUTH.

[tmooses]

6. Oregon has nearly 50 or more deaths from this trumped up war. Such

a high cost for a state of 3.5 million. I was looking over this site- http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx -and noticed how the higher casualties seemed to come from states with higher unemployment. I salute this mother on her joining Cindy in Crawford at Camp Casey. This president has so betrayed the trust and patriotism of honest people like her son for his own political agenda. A man who has used the tragedy of 9/11 to set forth his occupation of an oil rich country and wrap himself in the flag.

[uppityperson]

7. Good. So sorry DeFords.

[MissB]

8. This evening, the news said that two Oregon mothers were going.

I can't find a local link, though.

[Maggie_May]

9. My heart goes out to these mothers

I give them a lot of respect. I know if I had lost my son it would definitely not be a peaceful protest.

[0007]

11. bttft

[BikeWriter]

12. I hope taking action will make their pain a little more bearable.

:(

[lonestarnot]

13. Excellent!

[Judi Lynn]

14. Here's a great story on the lady, since her name may be new to some DU'ers

Soldier's mom finds a cause in face of loss
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
ANDY PARKER
It's the time of year when Michelle DeFord is drowning in her mail-order nursery business. Working the greenhouses, filling orders from across the country, it's not unusual for her to work 16 hours before dropping into her bed.

Then at 4 a.m., she gets up and does it again.

It's better that way. Keeps her mind from straying back to that dark day of last September. Her elderly mother was in her final days. Then on Sept. 25, she learned her 37-year-old son, Army Spc. David Johnson, had been killed by a roadside explosion while manning a gun atop a Humvee north of Baghdad.

It seemed impossible. Her mind refused to let go, to let her believe her oldest son could be gone forever. He'd struggled so long and come so incredibly far. Only 10 years earlier, he'd finally beat down a heroin addiction after years of chasing dreams of rock 'n' roll stardom that pulled him into some of the same circles as Kurt Cobain.

But by the time he enlisted in the National Guard -- shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 -- the friendly, loyal, hardworking guy had landed a job as a cook at Atwaters Restaurant & Bar in Portland and was finally learning to live more than one day at a time, to be someone his friends and family could count on.
(snip/...)

http://www.oregonlive.com/special/oregonian/iraq/index.ssf?/special/oregonian/iraq/or050608_johnson.html

[Kadie]

15. 'I will definitely be in his face' Tracy, Ca mom to join Cindy too.

'I will definitely be in his face'

Yasmin Assemi
Record Staff Writer
Published Friday, Aug 12, 2005


STOCKTON -- The mother of a Tracy National Guardsman killed in Iraq will join on Tuesday Cindy Sheehan and other military families protesting the war at President Bush's Texas ranch.

"I will definitely be in his face, you can count on that," said Nadia McCaffrey, whose son, Army Spec. Patrick Ryan McCaffrey, 34, died in an ambush near the city of Balad in June 2004. "I don't think there is any way for him to hide anymore."

snip...
McCaffrey has never met President Bush and says she doesn't really want to. But she does want him to justify the war and the deaths of U.S. soldiers. She visited the Middle East in December 2004, to "see for herself" what the war has done, and plans on going back at the end of this year, she said.

snip...
Since her son's death, McCaffrey has founded an organization helping children in Iraq. She also lobbies on behalf of wounded soldiers.


more...
http://www.recordnet.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050812/NEWS01/508120323&SearchID=73217144531728







Mothers to unite in protest of war
Fallen Tracy soldiers mom to join Sheehan in Texas
Associated Press


STOCKTON — The mother of a Tracy National Guardsman killed in Iraq plans to join the Vacaville mother of a dead soldier protesting the war outside President Bushs Texas ranch.

Nadia McCaffrey said she wants to confront President Bush about the death of her 34-year-old son, Army Specialist Patrick Ryan McCaffrey, who died in an ambush in June last year.

I will definitely be in his face, you can count on that, said McCaffrey, who said she believesthat U.S. soldiers should be brought home from the war immediately.

Since her sons death, McCaffrey founded an organization to assist Iraqi children. She also lobbies on behalf of wounded soldiers, and will travel to the Middle East at the end of the year.

more...
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_2940186

[Straight Shooter]

16. How many grieving mothers will have to listen to chants of "I don't care"?

Will the bushies actually have the gall and the heartlessness to do that again, when they're faced with more and more grieving mothers? I wonder how many of those chanters lost their own child for a pack of lies?

Godspeed to Ms. DeFord and all those who accompany her.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

17. I get chills every time I read about

another mother (or father) going to Crawford to stand with Cindy