From her home in Everett, Tami Silicio spends many late nights in the Internet world of war veterans and support groups for families of soldiers in Iraq. They talk online about the war, about those who serve — and about those who have fallen, the ones who return home in flag-draped coffins.
As a contract worker in Kuwait last spring, Silicio helped send many of those coffins home on cargo aircraft that flew to Germany and then to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. In April, Silicio's life took a dramatic and turbulent turn after she photographed coffins lined up in an airplane fuselage and then e-mailed the image to a friend, Amy Katz, who passed it on to The Seattle Times.
On April 18 — with Silicio's permission — the photo was published in this newspaper and then worldwide. The publication drew new attention to a Pentagon policy that sought to prevent media coverage of the transport of military coffins. It also prompted the contracting company, Maytag Aircraft, to fire Silicio and her husband, David Landry, for violating company and government policies.
Silicio's firing gained as much media attention as the photo. She and Landry returned home to a frenetic round of media appearances. But the spotlight has long since dimmed. Silicio's savings have dwindled, and she still searches for a new job.
...
Since then, Silicio has become disillusioned with Bush administration policies and by the toll the fighting has taken in Iraq. In recent months, she emerged as a sharp critic of the war, speaking out this fall at a protest rally in Seattle and also meeting with Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, to voice her concerns.
"I would really like to know why we are really there," Silicio said. "I would like that question answered."
(more)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002130789_coffins26m.html
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