Cindy Sheehan´s Fellowship of Grief - Read Celeste Zappala´s words, the mother of slain Sgt. Sherwood Baker

God Bless these women and all the families who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

[link to www.tompaine.com]

Cindy Sheehan´s Fellowship Of Grief

Celeste Zappala and Dante Zappala

August 15, 2005


Celeste Zappala is the mother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. Dante Zappala is the brother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker. This piece originally appeared the The Philadelphia Inquirer.

We are in Crawford, Texas. We are sunk down into the soil of our country, digging in for a few days near the president´s ranch. Our friend Cindy Sheehan has been entrenched here for a week, demanding a meeting with the president.

We´ve come to speak up for a man who is now forever silent. Sgt. Sherwood Baker, our Sher, was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He was killed in Baghdad last year. He was on duty for the Iraq Survey Group. He was looking for weapons of mass destruction.

We came to bear witness to this event and to share our story. As we hover beneath the surface of the drama between Cindy and the president, we´ve rediscovered the real cause of the antiwar movement. We have been gathering with other military families from around the country. Some have loved ones in Iraq now. Others are Gold Star families who share in our sad fellowship of grief.

We sit together in the searing sun, on a tiny strip of roadside, two miles from the comforts of the president´s ranch. We´ve camped in thunderstorms and been attacked by fire ants.

Last Edited by Phennommennonn on 09/26/2011 02:49 PM