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A Letter to the President: "Mr. Bush, You'd Have Liked
My Brother"
Parents of U.S. Soldier Killed In Iraq: "My Son Was
Betrayed By the Bush Administration"
Bill Moyers: "Our Democracy is in Danger of Being Paralyzed"
A Letter to the President: "Mr. Bush, You'd
Have Liked My Brother"
Dante Zappala recently wrote a letter to President Bush:
"My brother, Sherwood Baker, died in Iraq last week.
I tried to call you and I tried to write to you, but you never
responded. I'm writing to you again because I believe had
you known him, you would have liked him... And maybe if you
knew him, if you knew the other soldiers, you'd have thought
differently about sending them.
Sherwood was a foster kid, and he came to our family before
I was born. He had limited contact with his biological family.
Our parents never let him go. They received him, raised him,
and he was their child. He was their son and my brother.
In so many ways, Sherwood represented the country he loved.
He was dealt a tough hand and turned it into opportunity.
Always struggling between optimism and reality, he seemed
to be on a life-long quest to codify a family.
When he became a father at 21, he embraced the role with
enviable enthusiasm.
He joined the Army National Guard in Wilkes-Barre. He wanted
to help his community, wanted to support his wife and his
son, and wanted to pay off his college loans. He discovered
brotherhood in the Army as well.
Now he was part of one more family. He found it whenever
he sat and talked.
I can certainly find things about him that you would appreciate.
I know you're familiar with fabrications. You remember the
things you said about the weapons and the terrorist ties ?
Well, he wasn't as good as you, but listen to him: He told
us he would be OK, he'd return safe, we'd see him soon.
And check this out - he was a "C" student, too.
When he was called up, I told him that if he wanted to get
out of guard duty, he, too, could apply to Harvard Business
School.
Sherwood just laughed. You made him laugh. Yet, he still
went to fight in your war. He never wavered, never cried,
never expressed a desire to somehow get out of this mess.
He went. Because he knew responsibility.
He knew it as well as he knew how irresponsible you had been
for sending him. He had honor, and he had pride. Sherwood
had commitment - to his country, to his job and to his unit.
Maybe not so much to his commander-in-chief, quite honestly,
but that's probably because he didn't know you. Because you
didn't sit down with him.
You just sent him a letter and a plane ticket to Baghdad.
I heard that you have yet to attended the funeral of a fallen
soldier. I, too, had never been to a soldier's funeral before
Tuesday. I fully understand why you're ducking it. It's tough.
I heard Sherwood lived two hours after he was struck in an
explosion. Long enough, I hope, to make his peace with everybody
he called family. But I can't say for sure if he made peace
with you. He didn't know you.
Sherwood is in a grave now and there's a folded flag in his
wife's arms. He's at rest, but he'd be happy to listen to
what you have to say. Even now, you can still help him to
make peace. You said we need to finish the work of the fallen.
You may be surprised to know that the real work he started
was not in Iraq. Sherwood's work is here. Mr. President, I
want you to look into the eyes of his nine-year-old son and
see his unfinished work. Feel free to get back to me. We ought
to talk. You won't have a problem finding me. I stick out
in a crowd these days. I'm the proud little brother of Sergeant
Sherwood Baker.
With hope,
Dante Zappala
Jerry Quickley and Christine Blosdale of Pacifica station
KPFK's Beneath the Surface recorded Dante reading this letter
and set it to music.
Parents of U.S. Soldier Killed In Iraq: "My
Son Was Betrayed By the Bush Administration"
On April 26, Sgt. Sherwood Baker was one of two soldiers
killed in a building explosion in Baghdad. Baker became the
first member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to die
in combat since 1945. He was 30 years old and leaves behind
a wife and a 9 year old son. Today his parents, Alfred and
Celeste Zappala, join us in our studio to talk about their
son, the war and the lies behind the war. [includes rush
transcript]
Last week, Sherwood Baker's family buried the Pennsylvania
Army National Guard soldier in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.
He leaves behind a wife and a 9 year old son.
The 30-year-old Baker was one of two soldiers killed in a
building explosion in Baghdad on April 26. He was the first
member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to die in combat
since 1945. His parents, Alfred and Celeste Zappala, raised
Baker from the time he was 13 months old, when they took him
in as a foster child.
Last night they came to New York for a special advanced screening
of Michael Moore's new film Farenheight 9/11. Moore invited
dozens of families who lost loved ones in Iraq to watch the
film ahead of its release later this summer. Al and Celeste
Zappara now join us in our firehouse studio.
- Alfred Zappala, is the father of Sgt. Sherwood Baker,
who was killed in Iraq April 26 in an explosion in Baghdad.
Baker was the first member of the Pennsylvania Army National
Guard to die in combat since 1945.
- Celeste Zappala, is the mother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker,
who was killed in Iraq April 26 in an explosion in Baghdad.
Baker was the first member of the Pennsylvania Army National
Guard to die in combat since 1945.
Bill Moyers: "Our Democracy is in Danger of
Being Paralyzed"
Journalist Bill Moyers recently gave the keynote address
before 2,000 people at the first ever National Conference
on Media Reform. He warned, "What we’re talking
about is nothing less than rescuing a democracy that is so
polarized it is in danger of being paralyzed and pulverized.
Alarming words, I know. But the realities we face should trigger
alarms. Free and responsible government by popular consent
just can’t exist without an informed public."
- Bill Moyers, host of "Now with Bill Moyers".
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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