Remember last year, when RightMarch.com traveled to Crawford, Texas to confront all of the left-wing loonies led by Cindy Sheehan, who were there to protest President Bush and the War on Terror?
One of the great men I got to know there was Gary Qualls, the father of Marine LCPL Louis W. Qualls, who saved the lives of 21 Marines and 37 Iraqi National Guard troops before falling to insurgent fire in the Battle of Fallujah. This father of a fallen hero was outraged that Cindy Sheehan’s cohorts had put his son’s name on one of their crosses and stuck it in a ditch to protest the war, at what they called “Camp Casey”.
Gary Qualls went to Sheehan’s site, yanked up his son’s cross, and took it to his own site. When they put up another one, he yanked that up too, and another, and another. As a result, parents came from around the country and followed his example, and all of those crosses were put together at what came to be called “Fort Qualls”. It was a magnificent sight to behold.
But the fact is, none of these parents should have had to go through what they did. Their fallen heroes should have been protected from that kind of exploitation by the radical leftists like Cindy Sheehan.
Now, they can be — with your help.
U.S. Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-LA) and U.S. Representative Geoff Davis (R-KY) have introduced legislation that would ban the unauthorized use of a deceased soldier’s name or image for commercial or political purpose. The “Military Fallen Heroes Protection Act” (H.R. 5772) comes in response to recent commercial and political use of names and images of fallen soldiers without the expressed consent from their families.
“America’s fallen soldiers, and the families they leave behind, deserve to know that their names and images will be protected from this shameful exploitation,” said Boustany. “While there is no way to ever express in words the significance of their sacrifice, we have a duty to honor and protect their memories.”
Boustany introduced the measure at the request of several families who have lost loved ones in Iraq, particularly the mothers of Pfc. David Burridge (U.S. Marine Corps) and Corporal Joseph Thibodeaux (U.S. Army), both of Lafayette, LA. Pfc. Burridge and Cpl. Thibodeaux were both killed in Iraq in September of 2004.
Their families were shocked and appalled to discover that the names of their sons had been printed on the back of anti-war t-shirts being sold for profit. They subsequently called on their state and federal lawmakers to prevent this unauthorized business practice. Similar legislation has been signed into law in Louisiana which makes the unauthorized use of the identity of a deceased soldier a crime.
It’s about time. We need to PUSH HARD to make sure this bill is quickly made into law when Congress returns from their recess.
TAKE ACTION: It’s unfortunate that the “anti-war” leftists have sunk to a new low by choosing to use the images of our fallen soldiers for their political gain. No one who is shameless enough to dishonor the memories of these brave men and women should ever be allowed to benefit from such an act, either by commercial or political means.
Please CLICK HERE to send a free message to your Representative, telling him or her to pass the “Military Fallen Heroes Protection Act”
Thank you Jack ( Conservative Insurgent) for sending this Alert to me.
* Basil’s Blog…thank you Basil