The Press-Enterprise May 04, 2003
Families want the truth
The delay in finding out the cause of a loved one's death can add to the tragedy
By Gregor McGavin
Jacqueline Stokes remembers that March day 12 years ago when two soldiers came to her Riverside home, and how she knew without a word they had come to say her son, Adrian, was dead.
What she still can't understand is why it took the U.S. military another five months to admit that her youngest child was killed by his own side, not the enemy.
"It wasn't until (the following) August that they told us," said Stokes, 59. "They should have been more truthful."
U.S. Army Sgt. Adrian Stokes, 20, a Ramona High School graduate who went with the 3rd Armored Division to Iraq, died on Feb. 26, 1991, when his tank was mistakenly bombed by an American warplane.
He was one of 35 U.S. troops killed by friendly fire in the Persian Gulf War. And though the military has since admitted it knew in March 1991 that friendly fire killed those troops, relatives of almost all the 35 had to wait nearly half a year to learn the truth.
This time, investigators say at least 12 U.S. servicemen may have been cut down by friendly fire in Iraq. And while military officials hail the lower fratricide rates from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jacqueline Stokes hopes the military has made similar strides in owning up to mistakes on the battlefield.
"My heart goes out to all those families," she said. "I pray for all of them."
Still waiting
At her in-laws' Rialto home, meanwhile, Jasty Gonzalez is waiting for any news about the death of her husband, Marine Cpl. Jorge Alonso Gonzalez, 20.
The Marines who appeared at her door with the bad news told her that her husband was one of nine men from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division killed in an ambush March 23 near An Nasiriyah.
Gonzalez said the lack of details from the military isn't helping her cope.
"They asked me if I wanted a detailed report. I said yes, I did, and they said it will take a while," she said. "All these thoughts in my head; it's kind of confusing. I just want the details. I want the truth, not some kind of cover-up."
Also under investigation is the death of another Marine corporal from the Inland area. Jesus Angel Gonzalez, 22, was shot to death April 12 while manning a checkpoint in Baghdad, relatives have been told.
Marine Col. Keith Oliver at U.S. Central Command in Qatar said friendly-fire investigations take time, and military officials want to be sure before they declare any death a fratricide. He said there is no time frame for completing the investigations.
But one analyst said the military's first reaction is to deny that mistakes such as fratricide were made, to avoid embarrassment and criticism.
"I think it's a cultural problem that most institutions have," said Tim Brown, an analyst at the military think tank GlobalSecurity.org in northern Virginia. "There's always a tendency on their part to cover up, to minimize, to delay, to stonewall."
Helicopter attack
William Middleton of Oxford, Kan., was one of the few relatives of servicemen killed in the Persian Gulf War to learn soon after that friendly fire was involved.
His son, Jeff Middleton, 23, died when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle came under friendly fire from Apache helicopters.
With the help of former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a fellow Kansan, Middleton tracked down the voice tapes from the cockpit of the helicopter whose pilot killed his son. He listened to them over and over.
"I wanted to know what happened. There is a very big need to know how, what happened," Middleton said.
Jacqueline Stokes learned how her son died a few days before the military's August announcement. She read a magazine interview with a soldier who described the partner who'd served with him and had been struck down by friendly fire. The dead soldier was a young black man who loved to sing 1950s songs, and the interview described his injuries in horrifying detail.
"That's how we knew that was Adrian," she said.
Copyright © 2003, The Press-Enterprise
