You have to honor them!

  In the below you will read of a Marine who served his country honorably, did his combat tour and began the track home when tragedy struck.  The article focuses on if the Marines names should be added to the Virginia War memorial. The currently regulations state that memorial additions have to have died in “Hostile Combat”.  Perhaps the state officials should review the memorials of the Civil War. These names on the several hundred memorials throughout Gettysburg hold names of all that died including disease and old age during the civil war. Perhaps the state officials should review the federal stipulations of being awarded the Iraqi Campaign Medal for the armed forces as it only requires servicemembers to be in Iraq to receive the award. I think the Mr Schumann could have a valid argument if his son or his sons unit received the combat action ribbon during the deployment that would validate the current memorial stipulations. Otherwise the state officials should review the term “Memorial” and “War Memorial” and perhaps change the name of their structure because by all means those Marines died for their country, regardless if they died in an IED ambush or Helo accident. Last time I checked you don’t get to discriminate when the good lord takes you. The VA statesmen should ask themselves what should we do then tear down Gen Lee's house in Arlington, because he didnt die from the enemy direct bullets? Perhaps the Va statesmen should ask themselves the hard question, would the Marine be alive if he wasnt in Iraq fighting bad guys? Honor their service, they are heroes!

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.

The policy has changed since the memorial was erected, and the names of many service members who were killed in accidents are found on the wall.

Rick Schumann, Darrell's father, wants the policy changed again.

The memorial will soon undergo an $8 million expansion, funded mostly by taxpayers.

"We want them to do it right," Schumann said.

The state relies on the Defense Department's classification of deaths: killed in action, hostile casualty or nonhostile casualty. To be included on the Virginia memorial, a service member must fall into one of the first two categories.

According to a Virginian-Pilot review of Department of Defense records, at least two dozen service members with Virginia roots died in accidents or other noncombat scenarios related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. About 140 Virginians have died in the two conflicts since 2003.

"Our policy is that you must die from hostile action," said Del. Frank Hargrove, chairman of the Virginia War Memorial board of trustees.

The policy was tightened after the first Gulf War, Hargrove said. Both Hargrove and Schumann agree that the names of several veterans who died in accidents are found on the memorial.

Hargrove said he is sympathetic to Schumann's case. He suggested that Schumann ask the Defense Department to change the cause of the Marine's death.

"It's a damn tragedy," said Hargrove, a veteran who served in Japan immediately after World War II. "But I'm going to stick to our guidelines."

The Virginia War Memorial was established by the General Assembly after World War II. Set on a hill overlooking the James River less than two miles from the Capitol, it includes a flag display and an education area.

State officials expect to break ground next month on an expansion to the monument and a center to display artifacts and accommodate school and veterans groups.

The General Assembly earmarked $6 million for the expansion, to be released when private donations reach $2 million. The memorial is close to reaching that goal, said executive director Jon Hatfield.

New names will be added to the wall within the next two years, he said.

Rick Schumann visited the memorial in April for a ceremonial bill-signing. During the event, he spotted a sign listing Virginians killed in action in the two ongoing wars and the bombing of the Norfolk-based destroyer Cole. Their names would be added to the Virginia War Memorial.

He noticed that his son's name and several others were missing from the list. Memorial staff members told him about the policy.

Schumann, a retired Air Force chief master sergeant with 29 years of service, called the policy unfair to many men and women who have died in combat zones while on active duty.

"They all should be recognized, regardless of the conflict," he said.

Schumann returned to the monument a few days later with his laptop. He copied several names and checked them against a list of war dead on the Library of Virginia Web site.

In his small sample, he found several names of men killed accidentally, some even on U.S. soil.

He found one veteran killed in an accident in Miami Beach, Fla., in 1944. Several Vietnam veterans on the memorial died as a result of nonhostile actions, according to his research. He said he believes there are many more.

Del. Vivian Watts met Rick Schumann at the bill-signing ceremony. She said it's time to consider changing the memorial policy, even if that means the General Assembly has to pass new legislation.

"When we vote on something like that, we're not voting with a narrow, bureaucratic definition of 'veteran,' " she said, adding, "You want to make sure nobody suffers."

On Tuesday, Rick Schumann visited one permanent memorial in Virginia that bears the name of his son.

It is a white headstone, set in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery.

Comments

[David M]

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 11/20/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
http://thunderrun.blogspot.com/2008/11/web-reconnaissance-for-11202008.html

[Carol Barnett]

Run For the Fallen honored Darrell on Day 24 of the 4,000 plus mile run. An American flag & a card about him, was placed in Colorado, on July 8, 2008. The team ran a mile for him on their way to Arlington National Cemetery, arriving on August 24th.

1411-Darrell-J-Schuman

I will send my delegate his story.

[Carol Barnett]

Run For the Fallen honored Darrell on Day 24 of the 4,000 plus mile run. An American flag & a card about him, was placed in Colorado, on July 8, 2008. The team ran a mile for him on their way to Arlington National Cemetery, arriving on August 24th.

1411-Darrell-J-Schuman

I will send my delegate his story.

[Carol Barnett]

Run For the Fallen honored Darrell on Day 24 of the 4,000 plus mile run. An American flag & a card about him, was placed in Colorado, on July 8, 2008. The team ran a mile for him on their way to Arlington National Cemetery, arriving on August 24th.

1411-Darrell-J-Schuman

I will send my delegate his story.