Messengers Share Pain of Loss,...notification officers on solemn duty

[Rose Siding]

snip>
There was no military chaplain available to help Cook deliver the news to Brattain's father, Gary Brattain. He would have to do it alone. It was his first time. He felt a wave of anxiety.
...
The ritual that played out later that day in Gary Brattain's living room, with Cook in his dress uniform struggling to get the words out, is repeated virtually every day somewhere in the United States. At least 1,571 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq. And casualty notification officers are knocking on doors and delivering staggering news to families across America as the war enters its third year.
...
{Notification officers} feel inadequate — they don't know what to say," said Capt. Christopher Dickey, 33, a soft-spoken Ft. Bragg chaplain who presided at Brattain's funeral. "I tell them that just their being there communicates more than they could ever put into words."
...
"Mr. Brattain tried to make me feel comfortable," Cook said. "He actually thanked me."

Even so, Cook was required to make a formal notification. "On behalf of the secretary of Defense, I regret to inform you … " he began, and then briefly related the circumstances of Brattain's death.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-notify30apr30,1,5735285.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

[Botany]

1. as the war enters its third year

:cry:

[classof56]

2. And the numbers of dead keep growing...

Damn Bush and all his evil minions. Nothing bad enough could ever happen to them...and of course, it probably never will. One of a thousand reasons I remain...

The Tired Old Cynic

[agates]

3. Some things don't change - from 35+ years ago

My Mom still has stunningly vivid memories of watching a car with four men in dress uniforms pull into the driveway of our farm. She knew instantly why they were there. She said the time from when they pulled into the driveway until the knock on the door was the longest "instant" of her life. She can still relate exactly what each one looked like, the exact words each one said, the other noises she could hear (birds singing and the clock ticking). Life changes in an instant.

[UpInArms]

4. My father had this duty during the Korean War

it forever changed him.

An Army Captain that became very opposed to war and what it did to humanity.

[Botany]

5. A little bit about me ....

I was on summer vacation after 5th grade that awful day in August of
1968. It is frozen in time and in my mind. I saw a marine officer in
dress blues and Rev. Moore of the local Episcopal church. I knew then
before any words were spoken that my friend's big brother was dead.

And now it is like we haven't learned a thing. The rich and powerful
make money hand over fist as they spew out the lies and the God Bless
America crap and send others of to be killed or kill.

I pray I live to see the day when bush and company are prosecuted
for another war without reason. It is not like I am an empty headed
liberal either. Where is bin Laden? And why is their not proof of his
corpse? And why is bush walking hand and hand w/ the person who
helped fund al Qaeda and the hijackers.

But to all the friends and families of those who die in this madness
I have "been there too." Although in a small way. So when the Iraqi
war memorial is built I think it should be done both @ bush's photo op
ranch and at 1150 17th St. NW
Suite 510
Washington D.C. 20036
the home office of the Project for a new American Century.