April 21, 2006

New on Families United

Join us for our next online chat next Tuesday, April 25th at 12:30 p.m./ET. We're thrilled to host Command Sergeant Major David Murphy from the Gulf Region Division (GRD) of the Army Corps of Engineers. The GRD is a team of voluntary civilian professionals working alongside military personnel to transition Iraq to a viable and stable democracy. His mission is the reconstruction of the country as part of the total engineer force supporting the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I). Ask CSM Murphy your question now!

Thank You!

Thanks for helping make Iraqi Liberation Week such a success. We had nearly 50,000 people sign our letter to the media, demanding that Iraqi Liberation Week receive the coverage it deserves. Life in Iraq has changed immensely since the fall of Saddam Hussein's vicious regime, and the Iraqi people are enjoying freedoms they've never known before. Read our detailed report of Iraq: Then and Now.

Our state chapters have been busy supporting our troops and their mission!

• Minnesota Families United chair and Gold Star mother Merrilee Carlson finds strength in her visits to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
• Read the Sioux City Journal's interview, "Soldier says Iraq a place of great progress," with Iowa Families United member and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Joel Arends.
• In Montana, the Denny Bedard and Michelle Bedard dedicated a cubicle in Missoula's Valor House to their son, Andrew, who was killed in Iraq last October. "As a grieving parent, you don't always feel that the good things get observed as they should," Mr. Bedard said. Read more here.

Meet the Ivory Family

On March 26th, 2003, Army Specialist Craig Ivory was among 1,000 paratroopers from the 173rd dropped into Northern Iraq. He spent five months supporting the field units as a medic. His father, Patrick Ivory of Port Matilda, Penn., recalls Craig's exchange with an English-speaking Iraqi woman who pleaded with him: "Please don't go home. We need you to protect us." Craig consoled her and explained that while they have their own homes and one day would have to leave, "we're here for you now."

In the extreme battlefield conditions, including 135-degree heat, Craig suffered a stroke and passed away after being transported to Germany. Patrick Ivory explains that he felt compelled to join Families United after an incident with a reporter. He claims the reporter characterized his sentiments inaccurately to serve their agenda. "The media only reports the negative and the sensational. The positive information is never shared with America." Read more about the Ivorys here.

Sincerely,

Chuck Larson
Founder

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