Soldier Not Killed in Action; Kin Not Told

[Kadie]

Soldier Not Killed in Action; Kin Not Told
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
6 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Army said Saturday it knew for more than a year after 1st Lt. Kenneth Ballard's death in Iraq in May 2004 that he was not killed in action, as it initially reported. The family was not told the truth until Friday.

Ballard's mother, Karen Meredith, of Mountain View, Calif., said in a telephone interview that she is angry and will press for a full explanation. She is a public critic of the war and has attended anti-war protests in Crawford, Texas, outside President Bush's ranch, with grieving mother and peace activist Cindy Sheehan.

Meredith said she blames the Army's error on official incompetence, not an intent to cover up the truth.

"This news is stunning to me," she said. "People in the Army knew this news for 15 months, and why they couldn't be bothered to tell me the truth when this first happened and to have me go through this pain 15 months later is unconscionable on the part of the Army. It's a betrayal to my son's service," she said.

In a letter hand-delivered to her Friday in Mountain View, she said Army Secretary Francis Harvey wrote, "I sincerely apologize to you for the unfortunate series of events that resulted in your not being informed."

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