thedrifter
12-30-06, 07:44 AM
Soldiers and military families offer mixed assessement on meaning of Saddam's execution
By: ADAM GELLER - Associated Press
It's been three Decembers since Saddam Hussein's capture gave soldiers and their families brief hope that the grinding war in Iraq might soon end.
Those dreams have been tempered by time, but some military families held out hope that Saddam's execution Friday could help the U.S. win the war. And if peace is not imminent, some said, then perhaps Saddam's demise will at least provide peace of mind.
"I want this evil man off the face of this earth," said Nancy Hollinsaid, of Malden, Ill., whose son, Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid, was killed in a grenade attack. "I want peace to come sooner."
But Hollinsaid, who followed Saddam's trial, also has a more personal wish -- that the execution will "do some good for my heart."
In the battle for Iraq, perhaps no victory was as satisfying as the capture of the man the military called High Value Target No. 1. When troops cornered the former dictator -- holed up beneath a farmer's courtyard outside Tikrit on Dec. 13, 2003 -- it seemed clear evidence of significant progress.
On Friday, soldiers and their loved ones offered mixed assessments of what Saddam's death would mean.
Capt. Hiram Lewis, who served with the West Virginia National Guard's 111th Engineer Group in Iraq, said it's important that the death sentence came from an Iraqi court, rather than the U.S.
"This wasn't American justice. This was the Iraqi people," he said. "It's a culmination of a long, drawn-out battle that unfortunately has cost a lot of American lives."
Other veterans of the war also expressed satisfaction.
"It is what we are over there for -- helping to support and stabilize. It is a very big step and an example of the successes," said Brian Schiller, a Marine gunnery sergeant from Chicago who returned in October from a second seven-month tour in Iraq.
But Schiller, who also served six months in the Persian Gulf War, said Saddam's death would not necessarily bring the war closer to an end. Instead, he hoped that the execution would "bring closure and be a symbolic gesture that unites different factions."
Stephanie Dostie's husband, Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Christopher Dostie, was killed by an improvised explosive device a year ago. She spent Friday night preparing for the anniversary of his death on Saturday while watching the news with her two children at their home on a military base that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
Dostie called Saddam's execution "a very generous death."
"He got his last prayer. He got his last meal," she said. "I'm assuming he was probably able to talk to his family. And that's something my husband didn't get and something thousands of other soldiers didn't get."
Some families said the former dictator's death would not quell their grief or change their skepticism about the war.
Putting Saddam to death "accomplishes nothing," said Jane Bright of Los Angeles. Her son, Evan Ashcraft, an Army sergeant, was killed in Iraq on July 24, 2003.
"I think it perpetuates the killing and it doesn't bring our son back," she said.
Her husband, Jim, scoffed at the idea that the execution would bring the U.S. closer to accomplishing its mission. "Is this why we killed 3,000 men and women for? That to me is appalling," he said.
But Martin Terrazas, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, was killed in Iraq in 2005, said Saddam's death would make his loss a little easier to accept.
"It makes me feel good about it," said Terrazas, of El Paso, Texas. "I hope a lot of families get closure to their loss."
Another parent of a soldier killed in action, Jan Johnson of northwest Georgia, also believed Saddam's execution was a step forward. But after a recent trip to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq with other military families, she was measured in her assessment.
"It's going to help that country a lot," Johnson said. But, she added, Saddam's death will not end the violence -- at least not for the Iraqis.
"For us, maybe. But for the Iraqis, no," Johnson said. "Until they can quit their internal fighting, it's going to go on."
Associated Press writers Greg Bluestein in Atlanta, Alicia Caldwell in El Paso, Texas, Jan Dennis in Peoria, Ill., Sophia Tareen and Ashley M. Heher in Chicago, Margaret Lillard in Raleigh, N.C., and Alex Veiga in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Ellie
By: ADAM GELLER - Associated Press
It's been three Decembers since Saddam Hussein's capture gave soldiers and their families brief hope that the grinding war in Iraq might soon end.
Those dreams have been tempered by time, but some military families held out hope that Saddam's execution Friday could help the U.S. win the war. And if peace is not imminent, some said, then perhaps Saddam's demise will at least provide peace of mind.
"I want this evil man off the face of this earth," said Nancy Hollinsaid, of Malden, Ill., whose son, Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid, was killed in a grenade attack. "I want peace to come sooner."
But Hollinsaid, who followed Saddam's trial, also has a more personal wish -- that the execution will "do some good for my heart."
In the battle for Iraq, perhaps no victory was as satisfying as the capture of the man the military called High Value Target No. 1. When troops cornered the former dictator -- holed up beneath a farmer's courtyard outside Tikrit on Dec. 13, 2003 -- it seemed clear evidence of significant progress.
On Friday, soldiers and their loved ones offered mixed assessments of what Saddam's death would mean.
Capt. Hiram Lewis, who served with the West Virginia National Guard's 111th Engineer Group in Iraq, said it's important that the death sentence came from an Iraqi court, rather than the U.S.
"This wasn't American justice. This was the Iraqi people," he said. "It's a culmination of a long, drawn-out battle that unfortunately has cost a lot of American lives."
Other veterans of the war also expressed satisfaction.
"It is what we are over there for -- helping to support and stabilize. It is a very big step and an example of the successes," said Brian Schiller, a Marine gunnery sergeant from Chicago who returned in October from a second seven-month tour in Iraq.
But Schiller, who also served six months in the Persian Gulf War, said Saddam's death would not necessarily bring the war closer to an end. Instead, he hoped that the execution would "bring closure and be a symbolic gesture that unites different factions."
Stephanie Dostie's husband, Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Christopher Dostie, was killed by an improvised explosive device a year ago. She spent Friday night preparing for the anniversary of his death on Saturday while watching the news with her two children at their home on a military base that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
Dostie called Saddam's execution "a very generous death."
"He got his last prayer. He got his last meal," she said. "I'm assuming he was probably able to talk to his family. And that's something my husband didn't get and something thousands of other soldiers didn't get."
Some families said the former dictator's death would not quell their grief or change their skepticism about the war.
Putting Saddam to death "accomplishes nothing," said Jane Bright of Los Angeles. Her son, Evan Ashcraft, an Army sergeant, was killed in Iraq on July 24, 2003.
"I think it perpetuates the killing and it doesn't bring our son back," she said.
Her husband, Jim, scoffed at the idea that the execution would bring the U.S. closer to accomplishing its mission. "Is this why we killed 3,000 men and women for? That to me is appalling," he said.
But Martin Terrazas, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, was killed in Iraq in 2005, said Saddam's death would make his loss a little easier to accept.
"It makes me feel good about it," said Terrazas, of El Paso, Texas. "I hope a lot of families get closure to their loss."
Another parent of a soldier killed in action, Jan Johnson of northwest Georgia, also believed Saddam's execution was a step forward. But after a recent trip to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq with other military families, she was measured in her assessment.
"It's going to help that country a lot," Johnson said. But, she added, Saddam's death will not end the violence -- at least not for the Iraqis.
"For us, maybe. But for the Iraqis, no," Johnson said. "Until they can quit their internal fighting, it's going to go on."
Associated Press writers Greg Bluestein in Atlanta, Alicia Caldwell in El Paso, Texas, Jan Dennis in Peoria, Ill., Sophia Tareen and Ashley M. Heher in Chicago, Margaret Lillard in Raleigh, N.C., and Alex Veiga in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Ellie