Marine denied recognition because of how he died

[sabra]

Source: The Virginian Pilot

HAMPTON, Va. - Marine Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann, a 25-year-old from Hampton, fought bloody door-to-door battles for three months in Fallujah in late 2004. A few weeks later, he boarded a helicopter for the first leg of his trip home.

The helicopter, carrying Schumann and 30 comrades, flew into a sandstorm and crashed in the Iraqi desert, killing everyone on board. It remains the greatest single loss of U.S. troops in the Iraq war.

President Bush praised Schumann by name for his valor. But his name will not be found on the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.

State officials have deemed that only the names of service members killed in hostile combat in the Middle East will be added to the stone-and-glass walls, which bear the names of 11,600 Virginians killed since World War II.

Recent veterans who died under other circumstances, such as aircraft accidents, are excluded.

The policy has changed since the memorial was erected, and the names of many service members who were killed in accidents are found on the wall.

Rick Schumann, Darrell's father, wants the policy changed again.

Read more: http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--recognizingvetera1119nov19,0,7386369.story

[Sabriel]

1. I thought dying in a combat AREA was still considered combat

Regardless of the situation that resulted in the death. Is that not so?

[redirish28]

2. That's just low down if you ask me.

[TwilightGardener]

3. I think anyone who dies "in country" as a direct result of their service

(and yes, most transportation accidents are directly related to their service) should be honored--maybe they could just add some symbol of special recognition for those who exhibited extra valor or died during combat, instead of excluding those who still gave their lives for their country but happened to die the wrong way.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. How petty. n/tr

[nyc 4 Biden]

5. If you are killed while on active duty during wartime ...

you should be included. Regardless of how. It is the "War Memorial" not the "Killed by Enemy Fire Memorial" My 2 cents.

[shadowknows69]

6. Have to make sure that "official" death toll in Iraq stays within "acceptable losses"

[petronius]

7. That is incredibly tacky - what would be the point of differentiating in

cause of death between people who died on active duty. If someone dies during training in the U.S. or whether they die in battle in Afghanistan, they still lost their lives in service to the country (and would probably be alive if they hadn't joined up). Why does it matter exactly what killed them?

It's such a repuke attitude - wave the flag and eat hot dogs at the Veterans Day parade and shoot dirty looks at anyone who doesn't stand straight enough during the anthem, but god forbid we do anything tangible to honor or help our veterans...

[louis-t]

8. Sounds like they're running out of room on the monument.

How about stopping wars instead? Then we won't have to find more room to honor war dead.

[hamsterjill]

9. Honor those who have died for this country!

Stupid rules and policies get in the way of the true intent of memorializing the heroes - all of them. Anyone who has died for his/her country should be honored. Semantics shouldn't get in the way.

[bluestateguy]

10. Stonewall Jackson was killed by his own troops on accident

And yet he was considered a great war hero for the South.

[blackbart99]

11. This is how they do it...

They keep the death figures low by weeding out accidental death. Its just a way of lieing to the American people so they won't get so upset.

[ACTION BASTARD]

12. Bingo! An ever increasing American death count works against them(R)

The republicans hate our military.

[RamboLiberal]

13. DOD counts the accidental deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan

And this is about a local memorial, not DOD figures.

BTW, families have also fought to add names to "The Wall" in DC for Vietnam veterans. Nearly every year names are added for those who have died of wounds or for instances where they were not originally counted as casualties.

Krywicki was killed in 1966 in Vietnam when a member of his unit accidentally discharged his rifle. The Navy initially declined to add Krywicki’s name to the memorial because he died not in combat but in a “friendly fire” incident. The Navy reversed course following inquiries from his family.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18476907/

Army medic Charles McGonigle was shot in Vietnam in 1970 while treating his comrades under fire. McGonigle lapsed into a coma, as his father -- who snuck into Vietnam to get his son -- told KDKA in 1982.

"No visa, no nothing -- but I got over there, and I saw my son. He was unconscious. Never woke up -- 28 months," the senior McGonigle recalled.

His son died in Pittsburgh outside the war zone -- not unlike Marine corporal Harold Brazen of North Versailles who also fought in Vietnam.

Brazen lost his life when his plane went down near Hong Kong, enroute to Vietnam following a brief R&R, but crashing outside the technical war zone.

"They put together this war zone idea and they certified these names to us as official casualties," recalls Jan Scruggs, who chaired the effort to build the Memorial. The Pentagon, says Scruggs, had strict rules about who could be listed on it.

-----

"President Reagan said although they are not in the war zone, I am the Commander in Chief and these names will be placed on the memorial," Scruggs noted.

http://kdka.com/local/Vietnam.Memorial.Wall.2.861840.html

[EFerrari]

14. What is the matter with people. n/t