Gold Star and Military Families Call for Truth Regarding Downing St. Memo

WASHINGTON, DC - At three events on June 15th and June 16th, members of
Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO)
will travel to Washington, DC to press for answers regarding the so-called
Downing Street Memo and for the truth about the decision to invade Iraq.

Wednesday, June 15th

Members of Gold Star Families for Peace, a national organization of
families whose loved ones died as a result of the war in Iraq, will meet
with Members of Congress on June 15, 2005 to call on them to support a
"Resolution of Inquiry" into the so-called Downing Street Memo. Members of
Gold Star Families for Peace believe that the Downing Street Memo is a
"smoking gun" and validation that the invasion of Iraq was based on
prefabricated intelligence. GSFP members who have lost their dearest
family members believe that their loved ones died needlessly, senselessly,
and avoidably in the aggression against Iraq.

Gold Star Families for Peace members who will be available to speak with
the press prior to, as well as following, their Congressional visits,
include:

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, CA whose son Army SPC Casey Sheehan was killed
in Sadr City, Baghdad, on 04/04/04. Ms. Sheehan's sister Dede Miller of
Bellflower, CA, aunt of Casey Sheehan, will also be present.

Bill Mitchell of Atascadero, CA whose son Sgt. Michael Mitchell was also
killed in Sadr City on 04/04/04.

Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia, PA whose son Sgt. Sherwood Baker, the
first Pennsylvania National Guard soldier to die in combat since 1945, was
killed on April 26, 2004 in an explosion in Baghdad while guarding the
Iraq Survey Group who were looking for weapons of mass destruction.

Dianne Davis Santorello, of Verona, PA mother of Lt.Neil Anthony
Santoriello, KIA 8-13-04

Roxane Kaylor, of Virgnia, mother of Sgt. Jeff Kaylor, KIA 4-7-03

Tia Steele, of Baltimore, MD stepmother of David M Branning KIA 11-12-04
in Fallujah

Liz Sweet, lives in DC area, mother of Thomas J Sweet, died on 11-27-03

WHAT: Members of Gold Star Families available for interview and comment
before and after visits with Congress
WHO: Families whose loved ones were killed in Iraq
WHEN: June 15, 2005 at 10:30a.m. and 4:00p.m.
WHERE: Near the Congressional Office Buildings at the Bartholdi Park
Fountain; Independence and First Street at Washington Ave SW, Washington
D.C.

Thursday, June 16th

On June 16th at 2pm (location to be determined) GSFP co-founder Cindy
Sheehan will join others in testifying at a Democratic hearing before Rep.
John Conyers, Jr, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and
other Members of Congress.

After the hearings a rally will be held at the White House at 5pm in
Lafayette Park. Members of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military
Families Speak Out, an organization of over 2,200 military families who
are opposed to the war in Iraq, will accompany Congressman Conyers and
others in delivering a petition demanding that President Bush answer
questions and tell the truth about the justifications for and the lead-up
to the war in Iraq. Representatives of GSFP and MFSO who will be available
for interview include:

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, CA whose son Army SPC Casey Sheehan was killed
in Sadr City, Baghdad, on 04/04/04. Ms. Sheehan's sister Dede Miller of
Bellflower, CA, aunt of Casey Sheehan, will also be present.

Bill Mitchell of Atascadero, CA whose son Sgt. Michael Mitchell was also
killed in Sadr City on 04/04/04.

Al and Dante Zappala of Philadelphia, PA whose son and brother Sgt.
Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guard soldier to die in
combat since 1945, was killed on April 26, 2004 in an explosion in Baghdad
while guarding the Iraq Survey Group who were looking for weapons of mass
destruction.

Stephen Cleghorn, member of Military Families Speak Out from Washington,
D.C. whose stepson in the U.S. Army served in Iraq and received the Bronze
Star. Mr. Cleghorn was one of fifteen parents who brought a lawsuit
against President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in
February, 2003 seeking to prevent an invasion of Iraq absent a
Congressional Declaration of War.

Details on time and place of these two events will be posted on
http://www.mfso.org and http://www.AfterDowningStreet.org when they are available.

http://www.gsfp.org
http://www.mfso.org

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See also:
http://www.mfso.org