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

June 14, 2005



To: National and Assignment desks, Daybook Editor



Contact: Cindy Sheehan, 707-365-7750;



or Celeste Zappala, 215-570-5484;



or Wade Fletcher, 703-795-4242,



All for Gold Star Families for Peace

and Military Families Speak Out;



Web: http://www.gsfp.org;

or http://www.mfso.org



News Advisory:

Gold Star and Military Families Call for Truth Regarding Downing St. Memo, Members to Visit Congress



At three events on June 15 and June 16, 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 15:



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.





WHO:

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, at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.



WHERE:

Near the Congressional Office Buildings at the Bartholdi Park Fountain; Independence and First Street at Washington Ave S.W., Washington, D.C.





--

Thursday, June 16:



On June 16 at 2 p.m. (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.



Downing Street Memo/Minutes