"I don't want to be a daddy because daddies die,"

[ET Awful]

"Sad to the depths of his 4-year-old soul, Jack Shanaberger knew what he didn't want to be when he grows up: a father.
"I don't want to be a daddy because daddies die," the child solemnly told his mother after his father, Staff Sgt. Wentz "Baron" Shanaberger, a military policeman from Fort Pierce, Fla., was killed March 23 in an ambush in Iraq.

On that terrible day, Jack and his four siblings joined the ranks of the largely overlooked American casualties who, until now, have gone uncounted. Although almost daily official announcements tally the war dead, the collateral damage to the children left behind has not been detailed.

But, from Defense Department casualty reports, obituaries and accounts in hometown newspapers, and family interviews, Scripps Howard News Service has identified nearly 900 U.S. children who have lost a parent in the war, from the start of the conflict in March 2003 through November, when a total of 1,256 troops had died."

http://www.postherald.com/nw121604.shtml

[American Tragedy]

1. Bless his heart

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[ET Awful]

5. That was my reaction. . .

I first heard the quote on Morning Sedition on AAR this morning. :(

[KitchenWitch]

2. It is sure nice to know

That SecDef Rummy will now be personally signing those letters to the families...

[blue neen]

3. Unfortunately for everyone,

it's only going to get worse.

[andyhappy]

4. oh man....

that gets me all teary...its going to be a long haul...

[Im_Your_Huckleberry]

6. i bawled like a baby when i read this the other day.

[Up2Late]

7. I know this is a redundant question, but

Does any know if GWBush has gone to DEAD returning solders funeral yet? :eyes: How many does that make it now?

By my count it's, ....Um, ...let's see...ZERO! :wtf:

[canadianbeaver]

8. Wouldn't show up in case some family member wanted to...

gouge out his eyes....
Punch him in the eyes...
scratch out his eyes....
poke him in the eyes..... I think you get where I am goin....