I received a letter today asking that I sign on a petition to ask Cindy Sheehan to sell her land in Crawford TX and let it be used for a Memorial for our fallen sons and daughters. After reading the letter and petition, it is my view to not join this petition, for two reasons. First, it is not a place where I want to go to be asking favors of Cindy Sheehan. Second, anything she did, would be in my opinion, at best patronizing, and most likely her only goal would be to make a buck and laugh all the way to the bank.
Where I come from we might not wish evil on you, but if you have crossed us, we aren't going to help you prosper either. Cindy Sheehan made her call to take the position she did, I am not looking to see her be "one of us" nor help us. She had her message and chance, and so did I. I got along fine without her help, and I sure don't need her help now to put a memorial out there for my son, nor do the others. In my way of thinking, it wouldn't be a place I could call honorable after the dishonor she perpetrated on that ground. It is tainted and I don't see any good trying to change that. Having said that, I respect the view of those who want to sign this petition and I wish them luck in their endeavor. However, the Stokely's will sit this one out and would prefer that Mike Stokely's name and service for his country not be connected in any way to this Crawford TX property or Cindy Sheehan.
A final thought in closing on this entire matter: as a parent, I would rather be remembered by few and my name known in the faintest of whispers only because I was lucky enough to be the father of a soldier who believed strongly in the three words: DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY and was willing to die JUST BECAUSE...than to be the discarded darling of political opportunists who would cut and run while dancing in the MSN limelight which nurtures the passion of those who not only seek to harm our military personnel but would then follow them home to our own shores.
Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 16 AUG 05 near Yusufiyah Iraq in the Triangle of Death
US Army E Troop 108 CAV 48 BCT GAARNG
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