Mother: 'There Lying on the Ground, Was My Son's Body, Burnt and Smoldering'

[sabra]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicsasusual/2008/07/there-lying-on.html

Cheryl Harris is a mother. She had three sons, including a set of twins, all serving in the military. On January 8th, 2008, at 9:45pm she got that knock on the door and that visit from a military chaplain and two non-commissioned officers. One of her twin sons, Ryan had died in Iraq. But he was not killed by gunfire or a roadside bomb. He was killed by a SHOWER.

"And he wasn't just electrocuted from a single shock. Because the water pump and the water tank were either incorrectly wired and/or the circuit panel was not functioning properly, MY SON LAY IN ELECTRIFIED WATER until he was discovered by a fellow soldier who KICKED THE DOOR DOWN. THERE LYING ON THE GROUND, WAS MY SON'S BODY, BURNT and SMOLDERING. One of the Soldiers who attempted to rescue Ryan was himself SEVERELY SHOCKED because the electrical current was still running through the water and pipes in Ryan's bathroom."

That is what Cheryl Harris will tell Senate Democrats who hold a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq this morning. In her testimony she says she has learned that contractor KELLOGG BROWN & ROOT, KBR, knew of the shoddy electrical wiring 11 MONTHS BEFORE her son was killed when they made an inspection of his building. "The deficiencies KBR noted on that date included, among others, the fact that the building's main circuit panel, the secondary feeder panel, and the water tank WERE NOT GROUNDED. The wiring leading into the secondary electrical panel was not sized properly for the main breakers, did not have proper thermal coating and did not meet either U.S. or British electrical standards. Additionally, the circuit beaker was rendered inoperable because TAR used to seal the breaker box had MELTED in the summer into the panel itself."

"Ryan was an ARMY RANGER and a GREEN BERET. He could have survived weeks in isolation behind enemy lines. He was trained to handle adversity that few of us can fathom. It is unacceptable that EXTREME RECKLESSNESS and a total disregard for public safety has deprived the army of this exemplary young soldier and deprived my family of our son and brother."

Cheryl Harris will be joined by another mother who lost her son in Iraq when he was electrocuted power washing his humvee at a base maintenance center.

[Occulus]

1. The corporate person known as KBR deserves the death penalty

Why do we have such for actual, natural humans, and not for these artificial persons?

[Maestro]

2. Meanwhile Kellog Brown & Root and KBR are making

billions for shoddy work! Disgusting.

[undeterred]

3. Extreme disregard for human life.

Why are we using private contractors? Oh right, to make Cheney and his friends richer.

[HughBeaumont]

4. PFFFFFFFFFT!

Away with thee, peasants!

The blank check-happy Congress will continue to satiate the Failure Fuhrer's Fucked-in-the-head Folly with more Asian-backed funny money while finger-earing any concern/complaint/plea from der untermensch, Gold Star Moms, anti-war activists and "peaceniks". Mere interference for their personal mint known as Vietraq.

[Solly Mack]

5. Just another case of "mistakes happen"

Let's all just move along....

[tanyev]

6. At least 13 killed, many more have received severe shocks.

According to Senator Byron Dorgan, who will chair the hearing, General David Petraeus has said at least 13 Americans have been electrocuted in Iraq since the war began and many more soldiers have received severe shocks from faulty electrical wiring on military bases in Iraq.


Absolutely shameful.

[barbtries]

7. there must be accountability

for these crimes. justice.

[Hun Joro]

8. Some years ago I worked in a chemical plant startup where KBR was installing the instrumentation...

We found out later that after we'd checked the loops and made sure an instrument was working properly, they'd gut it and install the parts on another system which would then be checked, etc. So then when KBR was gone and we tried to get our streams running, we found we had no instrumentation in many places, just shells. They were crooks then and crooks still.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Holy crap! That's blatant criminal fraud.

i.e. pretty much as expected, I guess.

[hvn_nbr_2]

9. Heck of a job, KBRie!! nt