Soldier's widow slain by father symbolized grief of war and passion of you

[Judi Lynn]

Soldier's widow slain by father symbolized grief of war and passion of youth
By Ryan Lenz, Associated Press, 4/8/2005 03:20

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Lavinia Gelineau's grief-filled odyssey began a year ago when her husband was killed in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents, just a few weeks before their second wedding anniversary. She spent the following months attempting to ease the pain by lending support to other widows of soldiers.

She visited graves, left flowers and notes and attended funerals at each ceremony clutching a bright pink teddy bear her husband had given her on Valentine's Day.

The story took a final, tragic turn last week: Gelineau's estranged father brutally strangled her with a rope in her home before hanging himself.
(snip)

Gelineau, who grew up in Starksboro, Vt., died April 20, 2004, while waiting for the helicopter to arrive. He was the 100th U.S. soldier to die during one of the war's deadliest months.
(snip)

The year after his death became an up-and-down struggle for the widow, her friends say. She frequently visited her in-laws in Vermont and turned into an outspoken critic of U.S. policy in Iraq, which has taken more than 1,500 U.S. lives to date.
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/098/nation/Soldier_s_widow_slain_by_fathe:.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Earlier story on this lady from last year:

Published on Thursday, May 6, 2004 by the Associated Press
Widow of Maine Soldier Urges Americans to Question Policy
by Wilson Ring

EDEN, Vt. - The widow of a Maine National Guard soldier killed in Iraq last month is calling on Americans to question their government´s policy in that country.

Lavinia Onitiu-Gelineau, clutching a pink teddy bear her husband gave her when they last met in February, said Wednesday it was good for Americans to be patriotic but people need to question whether the things the troops are doing in Iraq are right.

"I am very angry," Onitiu-Gelineau said. "I am very angry. I was angry before, but I didn´t want to say anything."

Lavinia Gelineau pauses as she speaks from her father-in-law's home in Eden, Vt., Wednesday, May 5, 2004. The widow of a Maine National Guard soldier killed in Iraq last month is calling on Americans to question their government's policy in Iraq. Gelineau's husband, Christopher Gelineau, was a Starksboro, Vt. native who died April 20th after enemy fighters ambushed his convoy in northern Iraq. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Now, both she and her father-in-law, John Gelineau of Eden, said they planned to speak out about U.S. policy in Iraq, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of American service members.

"The funeral is over," John Gelineau said. "Now it´s our turn to speak."
(snip/...)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0506-02.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Published on Friday, December 31, 2004 by the Boston Globe
Widow is Left with Haunting Shadows on a Trusty Laptop
by Yvonne Abraham and Michael Levenson

PORTLAND -- After his new wife, there was no companion more constant for Chris Gelineau than his laptop.

His silver Dell Inspiron went everywhere with him: to the University of Southern Maine, where Gelineau studied computer technology; to Cape Elizabeth, where Lavinia Gelineau soaked up sun while her husband tapped away on his keyboard under a tree; and to Iraq, where Gelineau, a member of the Maine Army National Guard, was sent in March.

''He and that laptop were inseparable," said Lavinia Gelineau.

In Iraq, he watched movies on it, played games, wrote in a journal, and instant-messaged his wife every morning at 7 a.m. her time.

On April 20, Lavinia Gelineau woke, went right to her computer, as always, and waited for her husband to appear online. Nothing. She said she had felt it coming, that she woke up twice during the night, panicked. Later that day, she received the confirmation she had dreaded. Gelineau had been killed while traveling in a convoy near Mosul. ''If I had been able to, I would have jumped out the window," she said. ''I just wanted to die."
(snip/...)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1231-08.htm

[malmapus]

1. So many lives ruined because of this shit * has gotten us into

can't even put words together right now

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[meganmonkey]

15. So does that mean they deserve it? That we shouldn't mourn them?

That's a great way to support the troops :sarcasm:

I pray for all the souls lost in this immoral, unnecessary war.

:cry:

[quiet.american]

18. Bush lies, our troops die

I'm sure better was expected from the Commander in Chief under whom they serve, instead of what they've gotten -- a marionette who can't put two words together without help, but even when he does, it's all incoherence and lies.

[atreides1]

20. No

I enlisted in the AVF back in 1978, and guess what, there was no emphasis on going to war. You trained to defend the country, you
attended classes on NBC Training, you participated in FTX's, but
the chain of command didn't make it SOP to have formations and tell us that war was coming.

Even recruiters didn't make statements about having to go to war, they covered all the fluff, earn money for college, see the world,
but they never told you about KP duty, or about learning to kill
other human beings, or even that you might die in battle.

So you see the volunteer army come right out and tell you what to expect, and even to this day recruiters don't tell people that if you
enlist you will probably get deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. They tend steer away from that.

With a few bumps, like Panama, Grenada, and The Gulf War, our military has led a peaceful existence since finally pulling out of Vietnam. Now the US military can't even beat a bunch of "insurgents",
and potential enemies are getting an up close view on how effective
we really are.

The US military has also shown in some situations that it does not have the ability to abide by the Geneva Conventions or the Law of War. Yet the US military makes great speeches about how the insurgents have killed and kidnapped civilians, and how this is wrong, and yet fails to acknowledge it's complicity in the taking of hostages, the torture of prisoners, and the killing of civilians.

No one told us about any of this.

[Vladimir]

23. No offence, but they should have bloody well known better

I am sorry if that sounds harsh, but the things you call a "few bumps" have been immensly costly in terms of lives - its just that up until Iraq II, the US military has been able to shield its soldiers from the dying done by 'the others'. Is it really too much to ask of someone who signs up for the US military to know what they are getting into? A cursory leafing through a few history books of the 20th century would have told you that there is a good chance the US will be off fighting in your time in the army, and that yeah, you may be involved. And kill people. And maybe be killed by the people you are trying to kill. No one should have to spell it out for you!

[redqueen]

25. Shoulda... woulda... coulda.

What the $&#* happened to compassion? Empathy?

How many times have members of the NATIONAL GUARD been sent to die in wars of aggression in our history?

:puke:

[redqueen]

24. UH how many wars of aggression have we sent our national guard to fight?

:eyes:

[Vektor]

2. Utterly tragic.

I can't read this without crying. First, she suffered the loss of her husband, then she died by her own father's hand.

I'm speechless.

[Swamp Rat]

3. very sad

:cry:

[rodeodance]

4. so sad---families are towrn apart in their grief-for an unjust war

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jayfish]

17. I Guess You Didn't Read The Story. -NT-

Jay

[saigon68]

48. adios

[xchrom]

5. takes your breath away.

what a commentary on what this war has done to us.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Kick.

(miniature donkey)

[UpInArms]

7. ....

:cry:

[wicket]

8. this is just heartbreaking

:(

[NNN0LHI]

9. Another fine example of the Republican culture of life to be sure

Rest in peace Lavinia. As for the father there are no Popsicles where you are going.

Don

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cooley Hurd]

14. It was her own father who killed her...

...not her father-in-law.

[redqueen]

26. Glad that got deleted.

yuck

[Stuckinthebush]

13. I honestly believe that Bush feels little if any grief

over all of the death and destruction he has wrought. I am sure he has no sense of responsibility. I truly believe that he is one of the most immoral men to ever serve in the office of President of the United States.

[Cooley Hurd]

16. Most immoral, hands down...

Nixon, Jackson and Harding all thank him for knocking them down the list...;)

[GoldenOldie]

22. National Guard and the Volunteer Army

If only citizens would learn the difference between the Regular Army and the National Guard and Reserve Armies.

I am sure that if those that signed-up with the States National Guard understood that they would be called and used as Regular Army but without the same benefits or protections, they would not have signed their contracts and enlisted.

The Guard Units main function is to protect/secure the borders and the citizens of their individual States and when called to protect the borders of the US. They were to be used in foreign battles only as the last resort to back-up the Regular Army for short durations.

Our Government, in our name, have sent our National Guard onto foreign soils, poorly trained to fight foreign wars and to top that off, they sent them will ancient, worn-out equipment. They have been serving on foreign soil from 1-2 years and are in the process of extending this service without the benefits that Regular Army receives. Many of these National Guard and Reservists have had to leave well-paying jobs. Jobs that were needed to pay mortgages, car payments, education, medical insurance for their families. National Guard members are losing their homes due to foreclosure, yet their is a law that this is illegal. I am sure that the majority of NG joined only after careful planning and understanding the "Function" of the NG and how this service would affect their family and professional lives. I am also sure that if these Units were aware that they would be operating on foreign soils, for such lengthy periods, in combat conditions, that their Commanders/Generals would have demanded and fought to have their field equipment and their troops trained as well as the Regular Army.

These National Guard Units, are still waiting for the armor promised 2-years ago. They have been lied to and they are being misused. When they question or demand they are called whiners and that they "volunteered." No way did they volunteer nor sign contracts for what they have been asked to do.

As a civilian I have had the pleasure to have worked beside and with both Regular Army and with National Guard. None of them deserve what their Commander-in-chief nor their government (us) has done to them.

[Virginian]

28. Why isn't there more outrage over National Guard inequities?

I have a lot more questions that the MSM is not addressing.

It looks like the regular forces are not adequately staffed for this operation, so they called on the National Guard. As this is a prolonged engagement, are there any plans to increase recruitment into the regular forces?

Are the Guardsmen serving longer than the regular services? How long does a member of the regular services serve in the war zone as compared to a Guardsman?

If the Guardsmen are being treated like regular forces, why aren't their families taken care of like regular forces? Shouldn't federalizing the National Guard make their dependents eligible for PX, Commissary, Military Medical and Dental, and on base housing?

How are we paying for this? The states have all had budget problems due to picking up the slack from the federal government.

Once federalized, do the guardsmen get paid by the federal government or are the states paying for protection they no longer have?

Are the Widows and Orphans getting the same death benefits as the survivors of the dead from the regular services? Who's paying, the states or the federal government?

Was there ever an official Declaration of War? Shouldn't a Declaration of War be a pre-requisite to federalizing the National Guard?

Why should anyone join any branch of the service when they can go to work for Haliburton? The hazard pay is so much better.

This post is starting to stand on it's own. I think I should post it separately.

[Matriot]

31. Maybe an answer to some of your questions

Regular forces were adequately staffed. I love conspiracy so think about it you send NG and reserves overseas, you hurt the economy because all those people had full time jobs as civilians.

Recruitment is in full force, lowering the standards of the military, for instance, you can get a waiver if you've been convicted of a felony, medical standards have lowered, we recruit at mental facilities now, and your ASVAB score doesn't have to be as high now to get certain jobs. I even once heard a recruiter tell a class full of high schoolers that we're NOT activating national guard and reserve. So lying is key to get these poor kids.

National Guard and reserve have to be on active duty a certain number of days before families qualify for benefits. I don't know the amount of days. The soldier is paid BAH Basic Allowance Housing which a pre-determined amount to pay for housing expenses.

Guess what the States are footing the bill with help from the federal govt.

As far as death benefits, yes everyone elects the amount of life insurance they wish to receive. As far as who pays for it I don't know.

Yes there was an official declaration of war to where Bush went before congress fraudulently claiming that there were weapons of mass destruction. He further stated that Iraq had nuke, bio and chem capabilities. Good book is "Worse than Watergate" by John W. Dean

You're right Haliburton is making a ton of money from us the American Citizen since the federal government is paying all its bills. By the way Cheney used to sit on the board of Hallibuton so you know he's got his fingers in the cookie jar just no one has caught how yet.

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. Joking about *searching for WMD in the Oval Office*

should prove that bush** "feels little if any grief over all the death and destruction he has wrought." It's all a big joke to him, apparently! He is a disgusting POS as well as a sorry ass excuse for a *man*!

[leftchick]

19. Maine Army National Guard! He should Not have Been There!!

:grr: :cry:

Isn't Maine the state trying to get their NG back? This is one of the most tragic stories of this whole fucking mess. Thanks for all of the links Judi Lynn.

:(

[Auntie Bush]

21. VT was trying to get their reserves back home. Failed to pass.

[Judi Lynn]

32. Looks as if you might be right, leftchick....

If I understand this article correctly, they should all be home sometime in April:

Saturday, June 12, 2004

Guardsmen return from Iraq


Associated Press

Nearly two dozen soldiers with the Maine Army National Guard's 133rd Engineering Battalion returned to Bangor early Friday afternoon, after more than a year in Iraq.

For the friends and family who planned to meet them, it wasn't a moment too soon.

"It has felt like an eternity," said Erika Williams, whose boyfriend, Sgt. Joseph Infante, was one of the soldiers who returned. "It's amazing that I don't have to look at a picture anymore, or have a phone or be in front of a computer."

The 23 soldiers were deployed last May, separately from the rest of their battalion, to support a combat engineer battalion from Georgia, said Maj. Peter Rogers, Maine National Guard spokesman
(snip)

Other members of the 133rd who deployed in January are scheduled to return from Iraq next April.
(snip/)

http://news.mainetoday.com/war/news/040612133rd.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope they'll all be allowed to STAY HOME this time. They shouldn't have ever had to go there in the first place.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Kick.

[Dancing_Dave]

30. ONLY IN AMERICA!!!

I will have to write a song about this one, it just says so much about why this country is totally self-destructing...gee, 5 years ago we had a future and just threw it all away, we may be way past the point of no return by now.

If we weren't past the point of no return AT LEAST DEMOCRATS WOULD BE ABLE TO FACE THE TERRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION DELIBERATELY DID TO US ON 9/11/2001. That says it all. WE let our Fuhrer stage his Reichstag Fire. The evidence is overwhelming, only our self-delusion awaits some understanding, of course forgiveness will never come, will always be inconceivable. All this now just happens naturally as consequences...I can only as was one person willing to express the truth, express the existential dilemas which arise in watching ones own Civilization self-destruct in stupid self-delusion.

[FourStarDemocrat]

33. Her own father is a vicious abuser who frightened his whole family..

This is a huge tragedy... that is coincidental to her suffering the unnecessary loss of her husband in a war that the US did not have to fight.

[high density]

34. Widow's Slaying Symbolizes Grief of War

Widow's Slaying Symbolizes Grief of War
Lavinia Gelineau's grief-filled odyssey began a year ago when her husband was killed in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents, just a few weeks before their second wedding anniversary. She spent the following months attempting to ease the pain by lending support to other widows of soldiers.

She visited graves, left flowers and notes and attended funerals - at each ceremony clutching a bright pink teddy bear her husband, Christopher, had given her on Valentine's Day.

The story took a final, tragic turn last week: Gelineau's estranged father brutally strangled her with a rope in her home before hanging himself.

On Saturday, she will be buried alongside her husband in Portland.

Continued: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4923232,00.html

[saigon68]

35. I wonder if she voted for the Chimp?

[high density]

37. I very much doubt it

After her husband was killed in Iraq, she spoke out against the Iraq war quite a bit. She even argued with Freepers over it: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1131154/replies?c=146

[saigon68]

38. Then its very sad

If she did then she'd be their (the Fundy Pukes) new poster child.

IE: Patriotic woman slain etc ad nauseum.

[Igel]

44. And if she had voted for *, well, then, let's party?

Am I understanding the implicature right?

[saigon68]

47. ????

[bluestateguy]

39. Somebody here who is registered with FR should link that thread back at FR

then add "HOPE YOU PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF YOURSELVES!!"

Well, they wanted this lady to just disappear and go away, to never be heard from again, and now they got their wish. I hope they all sleep well tonight in their trailer parks/exurban conformist communities/McMansions (wherever the hell they live!).

P.S. I especially like the World War II analogies. Just try and get a supporter of this war to defend it without mentioning World War II. I've never seen it happen.

[saigon68]

46. without mentioning World War II

The NeoCons are really hung up on that one.

They use that logic to Justify their every action of Torture and MURDER

[BrklynLiberal]

36. What a sad, sad story....

[AutumnMist]

40. Is Life Now Dealt In Political Cards?

"Gelineau's estranged father brutally strangled her with a rope in her home before hanging himself."


I'm sorry, even if my own father hugged and kissed our chimp leader and slept in his own bed! I as a person, not just a woman, would not deserve such a death. Nor would my father. No one does. The value of life is not decided in degrees by political views. How sad that this woman, after strongly making a stand for what she believed in, had to be murdered to silence her. May none of us ever have such a fate. Its tragic, sick, and wrong.

[daleo]

41. She took it hard, very sad.

I don't know how Chimp, Rummy, Powell, and the rest can sleep.

[applegrove]

42. So no pictures of her coffin at the funeral okay? So that her people

will not have a chace at the most supportive kind of grieving.

[Voltaire99]

43. Shattering

What a miserable tale--another footnote to the long, absurd misery of war. Rest in peace.

[Judi Lynn]

45. More information on this lady here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1378753



-Lavinia Gelineau with her husband-