I just got back from helping my neighbor ID her dead 21 year old son

[leesa]

in the military morgue. He was in the army. He was in Iraq in the 507th Maintenance Division...the ones who were captured early in Iraq. He shot himself in the chest with a rifle. He came home from Iraq early and I thought he would be safe if he could keep from going back. They are assuming it was post traumatic damage that caused this gentle, kind, extremely intelligent young man to off himself. I had known him since he was a little boy.

A hearty thank you to the Bush Crime Family.

[wryter2000]

1. Oh, damn

OMG. How awful. How bloody awful. All our love to you and your friend. She's going to need it.

[Wetzelbill]

2. My God, that's a shame

My heart goes out to you all.

[alphafemale]

3. tears

that is so horrible ;(

[LeftCoast]

4. That's terrible.

Your neighbor must be devastated. :(

[Red_Viking]

5. Oh, God

How tragic. My heart goes out to you and your friend.

Please, please, please get these sons of bitches out of power.

I pray your friend finds some peace and comfort in the love of friends and family. How in God's name do you recover from something like this?

Peace

RV

[kayleybeth]

6. So sorry

What a terrible tragedy. My thoughts and prayers to you and your friend.

[Padraig18]

7. OMG!

How awful! :cry:

[PAMod]

8. Condolences to you and your neighbors

What a terrible fate, what an terrible waste.

[politicaholic]

9. ....

.....



*sigh*

[bloom]

10. very sad

:cry:

[Andy_Stephenson]

11. I hate BFEE hate them

this is tragic! Please send them my heartfelt condolences.

OMG this makes me sad!

[Classical_Liberal]

12. This is hitting home for many of us

.

[Wetzelbill]

34. Right it is...this is tough to take

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. I'm so sorry!

That is so sad! Please let your friend know I send my condolences.
Damn!I detest Bush!

[Old and In the Way]

14. Wow, what a sad story.....

Goddam it, this situation just didn't need to happen....

[Bunny]

15. Oh my.

I am so very sorry. What a tragedy. Thanks indeed George W. Bush - How do you sleep at night?

[JanMichael]

16. I can't imagine having to do that.

I'm also infuriated that you had to do it. And that the mother had to as well.

This invasion was wrong on so many levels that it almost seems pointless to single one out...

[Cha]

17. I'm so sorry! Your story really hits home! I can't imagine anything

worse. My heart goes out to you, your neighbor and her family and friends.

[CMT]

18. Just terrible

How can Bush live with himself? heck the deaths and maimings don't phase him in the least. He hasn't even gone to one funeral.

[sweettater]

23. Would he be welcomed?

[rasputin1952]

19. There is nothing I can say that can console you...

or your friends.

All I can offer is my thoughts and prayers that peace will come quickly to the family after this tragedy.

Little do those chickenhawk bastards realize what they are doing when they start this kind of stuff. The scars go deep and the pain never really fades. Those that avoided service seem all too often to send others in their stead. This is truly sad.

[madrchsod]

20. another needless death.

peace be with you and your neighbors. soon we will be free of this darkness............

[Booberdawg]

21. *sigh*

my condolences:(

[laruemtt]

27. i am so very sorry.

there is no way this can be allowed to go on

[RainDog]

22. The Bitter Truth

I'm so sorry for you and your friend, and most of all for her son.

I cannot imagine how I could deal with such a heartbreak. A parent's love for a child has no comparison.

Bush and his gang of thugs should have to experience the same conditions as our soldiers and then let these war criminals decide if their own ives are worth this invasion.

The callousness of Bush makes this loss unspeakable.

[incapsulated]

24. Horrible

My deepest sympathies.

It sickens me to think what this war is going to do to those that are over there. The war doesn't end when they come home.

:(

[dbt]

25. Angels be all around your neighbor!

And also around her family and her loved ones and you. May the soul of her son be comforted and escorted to Peace Eternal.

May all the true fruits of this war be reaped by George W. Bush, amen.

[amazona]

26. OMG how awful

What a terrible thing.


my heart goes out to you

[Tatiana]

28. My condolences to your neighbor

And to you for having to go through such a heart-wrenching and painful experience. Stories like this really bring home the utter depravity and callousness of the devils that brought that young man into this war. :(

[bobthedrummer]

29. It isn't Vietnam.

The suicides continue just the same thogh. Sorry to hear of your friend's {and your own} loss due to a tragedy too common to war.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. my sympathies and check yuor PM

[Melinda]

31. Please let your neighbor know that we loved him too....

He was not our child but he was America's son. So many of us have children and family currently serving in the military, and our hearts are breaking with hers. This young man gave his life in service to OUR country, and while we despise those who brought the end of his life in this world, we all honor his memory.

I too lost a young man to war in 1971, and my heart grieves with this family and with you, leesa. This young man's family and friends have special prayers within my heart and spirit today and I am so very, very sorry - please extend all our understanding and sympathy for the loss of her child.

[Cheswick2.0]

32. how incredibly sad, I am so sorry

He was my younger son's age. I can't Imagine the E going over there and coming back damaged enough to kill himself.

Please tell your neighbor (if there is ever an appropriate time) that there are people here who care.

[librechik]

33. ghastly

words can't express

[madmax]

35. So sorry - my heart felt sympathy to the family.

eom

[ElsewheresDaughter]

36. oh Dear God

[Missy Vixen]

37. Leesa, I am so sorry

My thoughts and healing energies go out to your neighbor.

I can't even imagine this kind of grief.

Please take care, and know that you, your neighbor, and their family are in the thoughts of all DU'ers.

Julie

[DulceDecorum]

38. Sorrow is the harvest of war

Tears are the prize that no-one wants to win.

There is nothing more I can say.

[karlschneider]

39. My condolences. Here is yet another tragedy in that vein

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=458686

[Lindsay]

40. I mourn with you

and with your neighbor.

These are our children, the future of our country - carelessly thrown away by this evil administration.

This makes me so furious...I will redouble my efforts to get this horrible regime out of office in his memory.

on edit - typo

[The Backlash Cometh]

41. I am so sorry.

I hope that we can bring his buddies home before there are too many more casualties.

[alcuno]

42. I can't imagine how painful this must be for his mother.

But I strongly believe that those who take their own lives are embraced and healed by the Creator. You sound like a very good friend for her to have right now and I'll pray for you.

[diplomats]

43. That's a terribly sad story!

:-(

What a shame!

[Octafish]

44. My deepest sympathies to you and your friend's family.

Oh, I am so terribly sorry for you and your friend's family on your irreplaceable loss. May the Great Spirit of Love grant you all strength and bring you all peace.

Reading your words brought back many sad memories. One of my friends in high school joined the US Army days after graduation 28 years ago. He wanted to be a police officer and was getting advanced training as an MP. For some reason, he decided he didn't like the Army, went AWOL and came home. He, too, shot himself in the heart with a hunting rifle. Like your friend's son, he too was a wonderful human being. God, I miss Ian.

[JackSwift]

45. My condolences to your friend and her family

this is an awful loss.

[pansypoo53219]

46. i wanna know

how many have offed themselves over there. they do not include them in the death count. because if they released that info, i bet the suport would be nil.

[blondeatlast]

47. May God bless and keep you and this child's family.

I am so very sorry for your loss.

Bush Crime Family is right, every one of those deaths . . .

He is with God, in peace at last.

(((leesa)))

[cmd]

48. I'm sorry, leesa

Words escape me at a time like this. Please know that I'm thinking about you and the young soldier's family.

[juajen]

49. What can I say that hasn't been said?

May "they" rot in hell, while he soars on eagles' wings. My love and sympathy.

[Mandate My Ass]

50. My deepest condolences to you and your neighbor

on this tragic turn of events. I wish peace to those that mourn.

[DemBones DemBones]

51. I am so sorry to hear this. The death of a

child is every parent's fear and the age of the child matters not. This is a terrible thing for your friend and for you. You are a true friend to help her with this. May God be with you both.

This is a combat-related death, resulting from injury to the man's soul as real as any physical injury.

[blondeatlast]

58. Amen to that. Bush WILL Pay!

[Mari333]

52. God Im in tears

God help that woman.
Please people...no more bickering about what candidate...Bush has to go, and fast. ABB. Impeach, march, scream.

[Loyal]

53. I am SO sorry!

Fuck Bush and his stupid war!

[roguevalley]

54. This is so beyond awful. Can we send condolences to the family?

I know it isn't much but I would like to send a card expressing
my support for them in their awful sorrow. Sometimes knowing people
are praying for your family would help, even if it is someone they don't know.

I would hate for them to think that their boy wasn't loved by a lot
of people.

[Swede]

55. I am so sorry for you and yours

[Junkdrawer]

56. Anger and sadness..

I have a terrible feeling that the true cost of this mess will only be known years from now.

[jbm]

57. I'm so sorry leesa....

My thoughts are with you and the boys family.

[Rhiannon12866]

59. I am so very sorry, leesa

for you, for your neighbor and for our brave soldiers who have been placed in harm's way for no good reason. I was talking to my friend this afternoon. She was telling me that a friend of her family saw his 23-year-old son leave for Iraq just today. Damn this illegal war.;(

Lisa

[srpantalonas]

60. very sorry to hear. hang in there...

[ewagner]

61. Please accept

my sincerest condolences for both you and your neighbor.

Somehow, just saying I'm sorry for you and them doesn't seem to be enough. I wish there was more I could do.

[candy331]

62. So sorry to hear this.

You sound like a real neighbor and a needed friend, thanks. My heart goes out to the family.

[grasswire]

66. Senator Byrd was right....

....he begged for hours on the floor of the Senate that America's "lambs" not be sent to harm's way. It's an age-old heartbreak -- the mothers' lambs fodder for the desires of the powerful.

How our hearts break with this news. Let us win this presidential election for this young man's sake.

[LizW]

63. I'm so sorry, leesa

This is terrible. I cannot imagine what his mother must be feeling.

My deepest sympathies to the family, and to you.

[populistmom]

64. My condolences to your friend

That's my worst nightmare as the mother of three boys (they're little). I hope somehow she can be okay. I'm very sorry. Damn these people who made him do there.

[AnnabelLee]

65. I'm very sorry

I'm sorry for your neighbor. It is my hope that time will ease her grief. I'm sorry for you, who must deal with this also. I'm sorry that all of our efforts were not enough to stop the greed & the killing.

I was right this afternoon when I shouted "Murderers" at the people getting out of the cars in the * motorcade in Milwaukee.:grr:

[Mari333]

72. YES you were right.

Murderers, Tyrants, Despots. Thats what they are who would kill our children for their greed.

[PaDUer]

81. These bastards have

brainwashed the young children into believing it's for freedom! They should send THEIR children there to fight for FREEDOM..they'd sing another song fast!!

[KittyWampus]

67. Hearfelt Condolences

[welshTerrier2]

68. sometimes we forget

that the battle we fight over values and ideologies affects the lives of real people ...

thanks for reminding us ...

what a terrible loss ...

[Fridays Child]

69. (speechless)

This is indescribably sad news. Please convey my inadequate but heartfelt sympathy to the family.

[arwalden]

71. What She Said... Me too.

[Nashyra]

73. My deepest sympathies

My thoughts and prayers to your friend and her family and God Bless you for being there for your friend. We all have so many different beliefs, having lost a daughter I kept my sanity by knowing she was embraced by God. May her chosen faith bring her great comfort in this time of need.

[leesa]

70. Thank you for the kind replies. I will give these to my friend and to her

husband and remaining son some day when I guess that it is appropriate. He wanted to be a soldier and he thought he was doing the right thing. I listened today as she struggled through the reams of paperwork and questions about burial preparations and I often heard the comment about the soldiers doing this for our freedom. But this is a lie. Freedom has absolutely nothing to do with what is going on in Iraq or Afghanistan or probably any war since the Revolutionary war. I am so sick of the American Lie.
Thank you again for the support.

[tlcandie]

74. May his heart soar like it was not able within this terribly, ugly

world we have created and that he saw first hand, down and dirty, no holds barred! There are no words, yet my soul cries out at this needless pain...this needless loss.

May he find his answers, his peace, his healing on the other side where he will see the TRUTH and may that TRUTH and healing cascade down to encircle his family and those who mourn his loss, resulting in the same healing and love here as is found in that place he now calls home.

:cry: :grouphug:

[caledesi]

75. OMG! That is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard.

I remember those young guys and that one girl who were captured.

I am tellin' you these thugs should be tried as war criminals because that's what they are.

I am sorry for your pain, but am very angry right now.

[nini]

76. I have spent this week getting more and more angry,..

at where this country is and where we're headed...this may put me over the edge!

what the fuck is wrong with this country that these bastards who call themselves the administration put these kids in harms way for their fucking Halliburton money making power grabbing egos. The hell these soldiers must be going through to rather be dead than go back!!!!!!!

God Damn every one of them for causing life long pain or death for decent people who have nothing to do with their schemes.

I am so sorry you and your friend had to do that and I hope this poor kid is at peace now though Mom may never feel that again.

SHIT

[Lydia Leftcoast]

77. Just one tragedy like this is too many

After living through the Vietnam War era, when members of my generation were coming home in boxes, I hoped that we would have learned about the waste and futility of war. But no. It is the privileged --not the principled--draft dodgers of the post WWII generation who are sending today's young people into an unjust and unjustified war.

May there be a special private circle of hell for all who waged this war, and may your friend's son and all the promising young people killed in or as a result of this war find the peace they deserve. May the broken-hearted friends and families know that we support them in these terrible times.

[spooky3]

78. Heartbreaking. My deepest sympathies to you and your neighbor.

May her son rest in peace.

[calimary]

79. Oh, man - I am so sorry. I'm crying as I write this.

There's nothing words can say.

But there's a lot in our hearts, and deep down in our guts, about this. We WILL find a way - SOME way - to stop this. However long it takes. We will not stop fighting these awful bush pirates. We will not stop until they are gone. However long it takes. We will not stop. We will do it in memory of your friend and her son. AND all the other sons and daughters who've given their lives, or had their lives stolen from them, and those who live on, the walking wounded.

DAMN. Gee, thanks george.

[InkAddict]

80. My deepest sympathy to you and your friend ;(

Thank you for being that mother's support. I feel weak against the strength you've exhibited. There just are no adequate words to say when such goodness is taken so early in the journey. The unspeakable chaos of this world is weighing heavily on us all this day. Gather, children, we shall overcome it!

[maxanne]

82. Leesa , I am so sorry

for you and your friend. It is too much to bear. My heart is breaking for you both, tonight. Big hugs and warm thoughts and prayers to you both from northern NH.

How dare they destroy our children, in the name of greed?

[mike_c]

83. peace, leesa....

I'm so very sorry for yours and your friend's loss. How awful.

[Pale Blue Dot]

84. He died a hero.

My thoughts and prayers are with you both tonight.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

85. so sad

when a story like this reminds us that these are individual men -- boys, really -- not "troops".

My condolences to your friend, it is heartbreaking.

[rocktivity]

86. A terrible thought

He came home from Iraq early and I thought he would be safe if he could keep from going back. They are assuming it was post traumatic damage...

Is it possible that he did it because he believed that he WOULD be going back? I mean, look at all the news stories that have been cropping up about extended deployments, calling up more reservists, and troops stretched too thin. Maybe that pushed him into a panic. And he evidently didn't feel free to talk about what he was feeling--maybe that would have made a difference.

My deepest condolances. And if there are any Californians reading this, you'd better get your asses out and vote against the GOP on Tuesday, convince at least one person to do the same, and tell THEM to convince at least one person to do the same. The vast liberal-wing conspiracy starts now.

:(
rocknation

[duhneece]

87. My late husband also died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound

Five years ago. In 1970, he lost both legs (one above the knee, one below the knee) in Chu Li Viet Nam. And he always said he was one of the lucky ones as his wounds were physical and obvious, but there were other Viet Nam veterans who were even more wounded, but their wounds didn't show.
I don't know what to think of that now.
I am heartbroken for your friend, for you Leesa,for all of us who have lost another AMerican lamb.
There are several groups (Survivors of Suicide, 1,000 Deaths) who can be an option for you and your friends when the time comes. I found them helpful.
I pray for love to comfort your friend...and you

[Rhiannon12866]

104. I am so sorry for your terrible loss, duhneece!

I cannot even imagine what you must have gone through. I have lost friends to suicide, but to lose a husband has to be a million times worse. My heart goes out to you and I also wish you a warm welcome to DU!:toast:

[tjdee]

88. Sorry to hear this...

Many condolences and hugs to you and the family during this terrible time.

[LWolf]

89. A moment of silence.

For the grief this young man's family and friends are experiencing, and for his loss.

:cry:

And ((((hugs)))) for those left.

:hug:

[salin]

90. Tragic.

Condolences to all whose lives have been touched by this tragedy.

[Dover]

91. leesa, had he been able to talk about his experience in Iraq?

I won't pretend I can even imagine the shock and horror of such an experience, especially to such a young man.

This is heartbreaking....I'm so sorry. (((hug)))

[TreasonousBastard]

92. My God,

what a terrible thing to have to do. I hope your neighbor has enough help to get her through this.

Mark Twain said that war is the greatest obscenity of all.

And he was right.

[rocktivity]

93. condolance kick

[Bucky__Badger]

94. may God's peace be with your friend, her family, and you.

You're a good and kind person. Bless you.

[RummyTheDummy]

95. Good people of DU, this is why we fight!

My deepest sympathy to the family. This is the type of thing that frustrates me to the point of tears. They just use these people up for their flag waving show and forget all about them. This is just why we are Democrats and this is why we fight whether you're for Dean, Clark, Kerry, Edwards and on and on.

[Maccagirl]

96. Please add my totally inadequate tears and sympathy

to your friend (and to you as well). Will his story be told?

[lumpy]

97. Oh my God

to lose a child under these circumstances. My tears are falling and I'd rather it was me.

[shance]

98. I dont know what to add...this is incredibly sad news.

This is a tragedy. Another unnecessary tragedy.

I am so sad and sorry to hear this news, and I wish for the family they find hope and healing through loved ones and friends.

[Selwynn]

99. There are no words...

so please accept my sincere silence. :(

[shirlden]

100. Leesa

Please tell your friend that her grief is shared by every mother in the world. There is no pain, no loss, as complete as loosing a child. It has been said that God did not intend for a child to die before his parents.
My love and prayers to this family and to you.
From the mother of a son.

:hug:

[spanone]

101. The Bush family and friends have no idea what you're talking about

[Mikimouse]

102. I am terribly sorry to hear of your loss

please accept my condolences and convey them to the family as well.

[JNelson6563]

103. We must act with great purpose

to get these folks out of power and to expose their criminal behavior. This tale is too horrifying for us to wait for more of the same. I am torn between anger and grief.

Get the truth out!! Write letters, send e-mails, post signs, talk to folks! Anything you can think of, do it!

This madness must end!

Stories like this make me fear for my children and everyone else's. I am deeply moved by this as a mother and a human being.

My inadequate condolences to you and this young man's family.

Julie