24 Soldiers buried in Ohio. "He died doing what he loved".

[liberalnurse]

The latest group soldiers who have died in Iraq were from Ohio. Since I live in Ohio, I hear a lot of our local news covering their funerals and family/friends comments. They all keep saying, "He died doing what he love" or " He always wanted to be a Marine". Now the media is using such a line as the story topic.

I don't think these people are in-touch with the facts. I honestly believe that dying in Iraq is not really what the wanted to do. I think such statements are empty and insulting.They are just repeating talking points from the right! We don't hear about the letters they sent home telling how they miss their children, how they don't have sufficient armor or anything substantial. What a waste of an opportunity to express true feelings.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. what are the families saying?

It would seem to me that the families should have the last word as to what is reported. From what I read here yesterday about a soldier's funeral, some families are totally against the war and want that fact made known.

[liberalnurse]

3. We are not hearing such statements.

Several are from the Cincinnati area and these are their comments! I heard several friends and a father repeat the same phrase. " He died doing what he loved". Thats not realistic...these people are delusional!

Here is a link to one of the funerals. No written comment of my topic but there are quite a few photo's. I think in time, this will indeed sink into the community.

I'm not sure if you will have to log in. The links are near the top under local.


http://www.daytondailynews.com/

[pecwae]

6. Wonder if over some time

that father will rethink that statement. He may reach the same conclusion that Cindy has; his child is dead, and there is no good reason for it.

[XanaDUer]

2. I hate it when people say dopey things like that

that's right up there to me with, "now s/he's in Heaven."

[SoCalDem]

4. I can bet you this..

They ALL died wishing they were at home with their friends & family..and their last conscious thoughts were probably total disbelief that their life was OVER..

[liberalnurse]

5. I agree.....

Every time I hear this my mouth drops. The funerals are a top story. The focus is honoring them but the comments are mechanical. I'm getting ready for work, listening to the news and processing my feelings here at DU. I won't be on much longer.....until I get in at my desk.

[wakeme2008]

7. I will disagree with most on this thread

There are people in the military that love that type of job. Pilots that fly fighters for example. A number of them die every year from training accidents. Do they know that can happen, yes, but they love their jobs.

So some of these mothers are just repeating what their son/daughters have said to them.

[leetrisck]

10. Agreed

=

[leesa]

15. You're in fantasyland. They were in fear and danger EVERY minute.

Who would want that. Stop watching those Hollywood movies with John Wayne, et al.

[DivinBreuvage]

18. Read history and the news. Some men thrive on that fear and danger.

If you don't believe me, read a little about Weimar Germany (believe me, I am not attempting to draw any controversial "parallel" here) and find out how many World War I veterans couldn't let the fighting go. These men swarmed to militant right-wing nationalism like flies to garbage in summertime.

A great many high-ranking Nazis, such as Hitler, Göring, and Roehm (the Stormtroop leader), were combat veterans, and their war was even more horrific and nightmarish than the situation in Iraq; at least it would seem so from reading, as obviously I have no personal experience of either situation myself.

I agree that in most cases there's almost certainly some disconnect -- maybe a great deal -- between what relatives are saying and what the soldiers themselves may actually have felt; but it would be wrong to assume that that's true every time.

[wakeme2008]

19. People jump out of planes because they like it

Roller coasters parks have lines for the biggest and baddest coasters.

Some people like the rush.

[SoCalDem]

16. EVERY parent has heard:

"Don't worry, Mom/Dad...I won't get hurt".."I'll be very careful...it's what I WANT to do"..

These words are attributed to ANYTHING dangerous that our children undertake..and we WANT to believe them..and IF the unthinkable happens, we can cling to those words for comfort..OR we can recognize them for what they ARE.. Youthful bravado:(

[tx_dem41]

26. Having worked with the military every single day of the last 18 years...

I agree with everything you said.

[Skittles]

8. I agree with you liberalnurse

add to this the fact that military personnel are highly discouraged from trashing the "president" and the mission

[zbird]

9. Remember that these people are in the early stages of grieving...

and are most likely still numb. Perhaps saying these things is the way they are coping with the deep pain that they are feeling. At this point, they are probably just trying to make it day to day. Stating and/or acknowledging that their loved one died because of lies may be just too difficult to bear at this point.

I have never lost a loved one to war (or any other violent or sudden means). I don't know how I would react in the immediate aftermath. I don't think I am in a position to judge how others should react to such a horrible situation. FWIW

[AngryOldDem]

24. I totally agree

People have a right to express their feelings as they see fit, especially in the throes of raw grief. They are looking for any scrap of comfort and anything that would make some sense out of their loss right now. And if they do in fact feel that their sons died nobly for this country, it is most certainly their right to believe that.

It is much too soon to expect any kind of reflection or reassessment on exactly why their children died when, how, and where they did.

We should support these families, not excoriate them for voicing their feelings at this particular point in time.

[annabanana]

11. let them grieve.....

I will never say a word to a parent about how they cope with the loss of a child. It is not mine to agree or disagree. They must do and feel what they MUST do and feel.

Some will wander in their feelings like Cindy has to where she can see clearly the futility of her loss. Some will never ever see it. I pray that I may never have to work through their pain.

My job is to try and make the deaths stop.

[etherealtruth]

23. I agree 100% annabanana, there isn't one right way ...

... for the families to grieve their loss.

It's irrelevant whether statements they make sound hollow or cliched to someone looking in ... it matters whether or not they feel comforted.

As this war drags on, I believe more and more families of the fallen are going to have the same question as Cindy:For what "noble" cause did they die?

[mattclearing]

12. "doing what he loved" = "killing ragheads"

People are crazy.

[dogday]

20. That's what I was thinking,

doing what he loved?

[leftchick]

22. I have a marine nephew

he came out of boot camp saying he could not wait to kill an Iraqi. :cry:

[tx_dem41]

27. I work with the military everyday, and I've never heard any of my...

colleagues express such a sentiment. I have heard many civilians say that.

[mattclearing]

28. Be that as it may...

I have seen some online photo diaries that are terribly insensitive to the targets. I'm sure it goes on over there. Have to desensitize themselves somehow.

[LittleWoman]

13. Grief and loss in Ohio

I live in Columbus and in the last week I have been feeling almost overwhelming grief and loss for people I do not even know. As you know Columbus is the home of Lima Company which has taken the hardest hits recently and every day the local news reports on the funerals which are taking place. I too am taken aback by the some of the reported statements of the families, but for all I know they are taken out of context. What I cannot imagine is the horror of knowing how your loved one died in the troop carrier which ran over the IED and was blown up. I would imagine that this thought will haunt many for years to come. I was against this illegal war before it started and I will continue to be until my dying day. As much as I grieve for the families here, I also grieve for the families in Iraq who have also lost loved ones and seen others maimed for life. THERE IS NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER FOR THIS CARNAGE!

[liberalnurse]

21. Have you noticed the local TV news headlines????

What about the family interview statements from the Columbus families and/or Columbus News? Are you also hearing the phrase, "He died doing what he loved?"

[LittleWoman]

25. I have heard/seen some of those sentiments

and I am sure some of the families and friends feel that way. However, as others have posted on this thread they are in the early stages of grief. I see their statements as a form of denial which is only the first step. Reality may never set in for some of them, but I will not deny they are in pain. I have two draft age children and I do not want to ever see anyone's son or daughter die for anything like that which is going on in Iraq. Pre-emptive war is just another name for mass murder.

[leesa]

14. Who the hell loves living in fear on a daily basis?

I agree. They are just parroting.

[Algorem]

17. "Shame on Bush for not coming to Northeast Ohio to help memorialize all

of the Marines from Ohio who were killed in Iraq these last two weeks. Ohio is the state that put President Bush into office. If he could go and pay his respects for the Boy Scout leader who lost his life because of the lightning, the least he could do is come to Ohio and help memorialize the Marines that lost their lives." - Cleveland
-from "Monday Moaning" column today in Cleveland paper

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/112410701356090.xml?oxmon&coll=2

[bribri16]

29. What? He loved killing innocent people and supporting a lying President?

Say it isn't so. He sure didn't die defending this country. We haven't needed 'defending' since WWII.