The Gold Star mother of Travis Youngblood is angry that his memory has been used by certain prominent Republicans in the ad I've posted above in order to perpetuate the Iraq war.
I am Travis Youngblood's mother, and I was not contacted in any way shape or form regarding this video. So don't think that just because his widow decides to use his image that it has been endorsed by his entire family. I would never in a million years have consented to this.
and...
The fact that this video was even made, says a lot about the organization behind it. That they would use a grieving widow to further their political agenda is propaganda of the worst kind. There is nothing further to be gained by keeping our troops in Iraq. They should be withdrawn as quickly as possible. I would not want any more mothers, widows, fathers, brothers, sisters to experience the pains that we have been through.This is the way I see it. This is the bottom line for me.
and.....
Whenever I talked to Travis on the phone, or received an email from him, he always said, don't watch CNN. They don't tell you the truth. I refuse to dismiss the good things our troops have done in Iraq. And to say they haven't is a lie. But the time has come for them to come home. It is not defeat. It is just the simple fact that there is nothing more they can do.
and..
Thank you JMlawyer. At least there is at least one person here who can look beyond there own agenda and see the man featured here. Travis was a loving father, husband, friend, son, and was awaiting the birth of his daughter when he was taken from us. Laura has been through a lot, and her love for Travis is all consuming. I respect her right to free speech, and I respect our servicemen and women. Travis keeps good company in Arlington. But let no more die in this godforsaken place. Please.
(See Debbi4873's comments under the video ad on YouTube.)Pretty powerful words.
Travis' mother has her own tribute video up at YouTube for her Travis.
Note: I've saved these comments (print screen) in case they mysteriously disappear.
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5 comments:
My sympathy and support to this Mother. We are a gold star family who is also responding to the Fleisher propoganda. We have made a U-tube video "Bring them Home don't be fooled Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSWzoGGmpqQ
We too want to share the truth.
thanks for your work
Celeste Zappala
peacevoice
Thank you, Mrs. Zappala. I saw Dante's post last week on Daily Kos and recalled your own moving testimony at our National Cathedral. Your voice has been so important in our nation's search for its own soul. Each of us is a candle with which we light up the darkness. Yours is surely a candle that carries the eternal flame of your honorable Sherwood. He, like all the men and women who have served our nation with honor and have lost their lives in a war that so few of us understand, have not died in vain in the eyes of those who understand what love truly means - and what love is truly worth. I love this country enough to require it to do what's right and what's just and what's moral. The occupation of Iraq must end.
I pray for you, for Sherwood, and for your family. I join you in your concerns.
We will be marching in Syracuse on September 29th and I will be reporting in on the many voices that will ring out against the war from the campus of Syracuse University.
Jude
Thank you so much for this post. As Travis' mother, I always feel the need to defend him. While Travis was concerned about his comrades in arms, I think he would have been overjoyed to see them come home.
He did make the statement that he was going to Iraq so his son would not have to go. Not so much because of the terrorist threat, I believe, but because he already saw the long range effects this engagement would have.
The last time I spoke with him, he was worried that he would not be able to adjust to life back in the states. He saw some heavy action, and as a corpsman, made life and death decisions everyday.
It hurts tremendously for him to be held up to ridicule when he was just trying to do what he was trained to do, save lives. And many were Iraqi lives.
Unfortunately, I don't know how to keep Laura from using his image, or his son in her political aspirations. I do support her freedom of speech, but, my son can no longer speak for himself.
I try to stay away from this site, but, as a mom, its hard to do.
Bless you and yours, and thank you for showing both sides of the coin.
Debra S. Youngblood
Carrollton, VA
Mrs. Youngblood,
Thanks so much for commenting on this. Your words are all-important at a time like this. I agree that this is not a matter any of us take lightly. It's with humble heart and hope for a better future that we do our best to see clearly now - and ask our leaders to see clearly.
We have wounds to bind in this nation. This war has done a lot of damage to the civic fabric of our nation and we seem to have lost our way on the path to international understanding and cooperation.
I would imagine that Travis' wife, who loved him as dearly as you - his own mother, genuinely believes that seeing our troops remain in Iraq will make such a difference on the world stage that your grandchild will not have to return to a greater war there someday. We all would like to believe it.
I recall "the war to end all wars." It was a great dream, but with age comes the wisdom that we simply can't predict when war will end. As long as humankind and the governments who represent them fail to cooperate on this world stage, war will be endless.
Travis, by his very willingness to sacrifice all he held dear in this life for the dream that the people of this nation would be more secure, speaks of an honor that could never be torn from him.
I'm really sorry, on so many levels, that Travis has been made the center of this discussion. Yet, if you think about the way in which his very memory can raise us up to bring us to a place that is better for America than the place from where we once stood, it gives his presence in the debate even more honor.
It is with great respect that I have brought out the issues that you have with this ad campaign. Knowing that so many of our returning veterans are having trouble adjusting to a life they once enjoyed back home without a second thought, I hope more of us might consider volunteering for the VA or for their local crisis hotlines.
God bless you for being here - finding the courage to talk about all of this earnestly.
I plan to press our leaders for a change in the current policy and Ihope you'll continue to add your own important voice to this American conversation.
I will include you and your Travis in each of my prayers.
Jude
Amaging! Sinkly amaging!
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