Parent to Parent: Military Families Call on Biden, Palin to End Iraq War

In the
lead-up to a historic Vice Presidential debate featuring two candidates
with sons in the military, members of Military Families Speak Out, a
national organization of military families opposed to the war in Iraq,
appealed to Senator Joseph Biden and Governor Sarah Palin to make a commitment to ending that war and bringing
all U.S. troops home from Iraq. Biden's son is slated to
deploy soon; Palin's son is currently
serving in Iraq .

Elaine
Brower of New York, NY said:

"As a member of
Military Families Speak Out, and the mother of a son who is
currently serving in Iraq on his third deployment with the Marine Corps
Reserves, I believe it is past time for the candidates of our
Country, specifically the Vice Presidential candidates who have children
who either have served in Iraq or are soon to be deployed, to address the
fact that our troops must come home now. Not in 2010 or thereafter,
but now! The members of our military are honorable and have
served their Country with the utmost patriotic ability. It is now up to
our leaders to realize the futility of keeping them duty bound to fight
and, risk injury or death in a faraway place for a senseless
cause."

On her blog, Gold Star Mom Speaks Out (https://gsmso.blogspot.com/2008/10/blue-star-vice-presidential-candidates.html),
Karen Meredith of Mountain View, CA wrote:

"Sarah
and Joe, today you are Blue Star Families, those with a loved one serving
in the military. On May 30, 2004, my
son, Lt Ken
Ballard was killed in and I became a Gold Star
Mother. It is not a journey that I wish on anyone.

"I
don't want either of you to wear a black metal bracelet engraved with your
child's name, rank, unit, date & place of death and the words
'Operation Iraqi Freedom'. I also don't want you to replace that blue star
on your service flag with one of gold; I don't want another parent to
receive a Gold Star Banner. I don't want you to know the reality of
receiving that one knock on the door that will change your life forever. I
really don't want you to know what it feels like to be escorted to the
airport by your local police department and when you see that jet pull up
to the gate and the doors of the cargo department open up to reveal a
coffin that contains the remains of your oldest child, covered with a red,
white and blue American flag, you know your child has made his last
journey home. I don't want you to listen to the mournful notes as TAPS is
played by an Army bugler in honor of your son's life. I don't want you to
receive a folded flag from a general with the words 'on behalf of a
grateful nation...' I don't want you to know the emptiness in your heart
knowing you will never feel your child's hug, never hear his laugh and
never know what heights he might have attained. I don't wish any of this
on anyone. Never. Ever.

"Sarah and Joe, you both have a
unique position as a military parent that very few people in this country
understand; please use that experience and make a commitment to all the
troops and their families that your administration will stop the shameless
treatment of vets. Vow that war will only be used as a solution of last
resort. I urge you both, as military parents, during this
Vice-Presidential debate, to commit to ending the war in , bring the troops home and take care of them when they get
here."

Meredith is a member of
Gold Star Families Speak Out, a national chapter of Military Families
Speak Out whose members' loved ones died as a result of the war in .

Paula Rogovin, a member
of Military Families Speak Out from Teaneck, NJ whose son in the U.S.
Marine Corps just finished his second tour of duty in , had messages for
both Governor Palin and Senator Biden:

"No, Governor
Palin, the war in is not a plan from God. This is a war based on
lies, based on greed. Our loved ones who have been deployed to Iraq,
are being misused and abused by making them serve in this illegal
and immoral war, sometimes 1, 2, 3, 4, and more times.

"Senator Biden, yes, you voted to
give President Bush the right to take us to war, and yes, you now say you
want to bring the troop home - we need swifter action to bring all
of the troops home NOW! We need an expanded effort by the government to
take care of our loved ones when they come home from war.

"We can prevent more deaths and
injuries, we can prevent more troops from suffering from post traumatic
stress disorder, depleted uranium poisoning, and other physical and
psychological injuries - by stopping new deployments and by bringing
all of our troops home immediately."

Members of Military Families Speak
Out are available for interview.