Marine left off memorial because of how he died

[unhappycamper]

Rick Schumann holds a photo of his son, Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann, who died with 31 Marines in a helicopter crash over Iraq in January 2005. Schumann, who lives in Hampton, Va., would like to see his son memorialized on the expansion to the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.


Marine left off memorial because of how he died
By Louis Hansen - The Virginian Pilot via AP
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 19:55:21 EST

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.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_marine_recognition_111908/%2e

[tekisui]

1. That doesn't make sense to me.

If they died in service, they died in service.

[patrice]

2. SHAME on them!

"State officials" must be very SMALL minded people with PETTY hearts.

[Crowman1979]

3. This really pisses me off!

There was a Sgt. I knew from my Ordnance shop who died in a helicopter accident over in Afghanistan back in 2005. Our squadron had a memorial plaque for him in the hangar at NAS Atlanta. Any death in war deserves recognition for their sacrifice regardless of how it happened!

[saigon68]

4. It is done TO HIDE the true sacrifice

The NEOCONS, Dick (5 deferments) Cheney and the AWOL Chimp don't want the sheep to get upset at the true cost of war