Family of slain soldier records TV spots By Ben Antonius/Reporter Intern

An ambush outside southern Baghdad claimed the life of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan on April 4, about two weeks after the Vacaville soldier first arrived in Iraq and nearly a year after the official end to major combat. Now, four months after his death, his mother and sister have recorded television spots for the Web site RealVoices.org, decrying the military campaign in Iraq as unjust and unnecessary and criticizing President George W. Bush.

Pointing to the fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction and the continuing threat of terrorism, Carly Sheehan, Casey's sister, and Cindy Sheehan, his mother, said they have been struggling to understand why Casey was in Iraq at all. "Every time I hear a soldier or Marine died it just breaks my heart," Cindy said. "We don't think Casey died in vain because he was saving American lives, but we don't understand why they were there in the first place."

Carly's TV segment, titled "Big Brother," has been completed and Cindy said she expected hers to be done soon.

When finished, the segments will air in battleground states around the country, showing participants criticizing presidential policies on Iraq, the economy and the environment. California is not considered a battleground state, but Cindy said it was possible some ads would air in the Bay Area. The spots are presented as messages directly to Bush, and Cindy said she used her time on camera to talk about her son. "I wanted the president to know how hard it is to lose a child," she said.

In June, the family sat down with Bush for a brief, private talk - one of 17 families of fallen soldiers to do so that day. In that instance, they decided not to challenge the president, instead talking about Casey.

But Carly said she would not be so restrained if she had the same opportunity again. "We're getting to the point in the grieving process where we're angry," she said. "I would demand honest answers from him. Why are we still there? Why was my brother still there?"

Ultimately, Carly and Cindy said, the RealVoices.org spots were a chance to show that "real people" were dying in the conflict. "I hope people would know Casey was a real person, not just a number, or a casualty or a dispensable figure," Cindy said. "He left a real hole in the world and his family's hearts, and he's indispensible to us."

Ben Antonius can be reached at newsroom@thereporter.com.