For Immediate Release: October 21st, 2005
Contact: Ryan Fletcher 202-641-0277
Nancy Lessin 617-320-5301
On the Occasion of the 2,000th U.S. Troop Death in Iraq, Gold Star and Military Families Mourn and Speak Out: “Bring Them Home Now”: FAMILIES AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW
Available for Interview: Families of deployed and fallen soldiers from Iraq War
NATIONWIDE – On the eve of the next horrific milestone, the 2,000th troop death in Iraq, families with loved ones who are serving in Iraq, families whose loved ones were killed in Iraq and families whose loved ones may deploy or re-deploy are calling on the Bush Administration, Congress and decision-makers at all levels to honor the fallen and prevent future deaths by ending the occupation of Iraq, bringing our troops home now and taking care of them when they get here.
These families, members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and of Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP), are asking local, state, and national politicians to speak out against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Two and one-half years after the war began, the violence continues to escalate, with almost three U.S. servicemen and women (on average) dying each day, along with countless Iraqi children, women and men.
Gold Star Families, in speaking out about their loved ones who have been killed in Iraq, demonstrate the true human cost of this war. Military Families with loved ones currently deployed to Iraq, show the urgency by which it must end. “Each day I wake up is a potential nightmare, as I dread that knock on my door that far too many families have already received,” said MFSO member Anne Roesler, whose son in the 82nd Airborne Division is serving his third deployment to Iraq. “The fear I live with is a fact of life for military families with loved ones deployed in a war that should never have happened. It is a reality that far too few politicians understand.”
Available for Interview: The following Gold Star and Military Families are available for interview (Carlos and Melida Arredondo, Beatriz Saldivar, Fernando Suarez del Solar, and Nina Douglas can all do interviews in English and in Spanish:
Families Whose Loved Ones Died in Iraq:
Carlos and Melida Arredondo of Roslindale, MA, whose son/stepson, Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, age 20, was killed in action in Najaf, Iraq on August 25, 2004.
Phyl Brown of Concord, CA, whose nephew, Spc. Joseph C. Norquist, age 26, was ambushed and killed on October 9, 2003 in Baqubah, Iraq.
Vickie Castro of Corona, CA whose only child, Cpl. Jonathan Castro, age 21, was one of fourteen servicemembers killed in a suicide bombing at a mess tent in Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq on December 21, 2004.
Melanie House of Simi Valley, CA, whose husband, Petty Officer 3rd Class John D. House, age 28, was killed in a helicopter crash near Ar Rutbah, Iraq on January 26, 2005.
Dede Miller of Bellflower CA, whose nephew, Spc. Casey Sheehan, age 24, was killed in action in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq on April 4, 2004. She is a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.
Sue Niederer of Pennington, NJ, whose son 1st Lieutenant Seth Dvorin, age 24was killed in action near Iskandariyah, Iraq on February 3, 2004.
Jean Prewitt of Birmingham, AL, whose son Pvt. 2nd Class Kelley S. Prewitt, age 24, was killed in action on April 6, 2003 near Baghdad. He served with the 103rd Infantry based out of Ft. Benning, GA.
Annette Pritchard of Oregon City, OR, whose nephew, PFC William Ramirez, age 19, was killed in action in Baghdad. He was the 538th US troop officially killed in action in Iraq.
Diane Davis Santoriello of Penn Hills, PA, whose son, 1st Lt. Neil Santoriello, age 24, served in the Army’s 1 Division 34th Armored A company and was killed in action near Fallujah, Iraq on August 13, 2004.
Celeste and Raphael Zappala of Philadelphia, PA.Celeste’s son/ Raphael’s brother, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, age 30, was the first Pennsylvania National Guard soldier to die in combat since World War II. He was killed in action in Iraq on April 26, 2004 while guarding the Iraq Survey Group who were searching for WMD’s long after it was known that there were none.
Families Whose Loved Ones are Currently Serving in Iraq:
Nina Douglas of Boston, MA whose step-son is a Lance Corporal in the Marines, currently serving his second deployment to Iraq.
Mimi Evans of W. Barnstable, MA whose son serves with the U.S. Marine Corps and who was newly deployed to Iraq in August, 2005. He is expecting his first child in April, 2006.
Elizabeth Frederick is a student in Washington, DC, originally from Boise, ID, whose boyfriend of almost 4 years, a former Marine, is currently serving in Iraq under stop-loss orders with the New York National Guard. His New York National Guard unit had not deployed overseas since the Korean War until this deployment to Iraq.
Dexter and Gretchen Kamilewicz of Orr's Island, ME whose son is in the Vermont National Guard and has been serving in Ramadi, Iraq since July, 2005. Their son’s unit was going on missions with unarmored humvees; his notification of his Congressional delegation resulted in the unit being provided with armored humvees, which recently saved his life as well as the lives of others in his unit.
Deborah Regal of Pinckney, MI, whose son is a Marine, currently serving his first deployment to Iraq.
Anne Roesler of Saratoga, CA whose son, a Staff Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Ft. Bragg, left on August 31, 2005 for his third deployment to Iraq.
Randi & Bill Scheurer of Lindenhurst, IL whose son Daniel is a Marine, and is now with the National Guard outside the Green Zone in Iraq. Their daughter Marcy was in army intelligence, and spent the last few (stop-lossed) months of her career shipping all her friends and soldiers over there.
Gold Star Families for Peace (www.gsfp.org) is an organization of families whose loved ones died in war who are seeking an end to the occupation of Iraq; Military Families Speak Out (www.mfso.org) is an organization of over 2,600 military families opposed to the war in Iraq, with loved ones who are serving, or have served in Iraq, may deploy or re-deploy, or have died as a result of the war in Iraq.
