| Page 3 of 3 < |
A Mother Fights for a Soldier Who Said No to War
Carolyn Ho, Phoebe Jones and others lobbying in support of Ho's son, an officer who refused to go to Iraq.
(By Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
She left with little more than encouragement and good wishes. A high school counselor, Ho had been on leave since the end of September. She had to get back to work.
She is divorced. Her ex-husband, Bob Watada, has also been out drumming up support, speaking to churches and civic organizations around the country. She spent October and November on the West Coast and much of December on the East. At one event she shared a podium with Cindy Sheehan, who refers to the moms-against-bombs instinct as "matriotism."
Ho went back to Hawaii for Christmas, but is in the Seattle area this week for the hearing.
On the phone from Fort Lewis, Ehren Watada explained how he decided while still in college -- in the aftermath of 9/11 -- that he wanted to serve his country in the military. He walked into a recruitment office in Honolulu and said he wanted to go to officer candidate school. He failed the physical because of childhood asthma. "I was heartbroken," he said. "I paid out of pocket for a breathing test to prove I had no breathing problems. I passed the test with flying colors and was eventually accepted at the end of March 2003."
Though Watada's father did not serve in the military, several uncles were in World War II. One of his uncles was killed in Korea. Another relative was in Vietnam. "There is a history of service in our family," he said.
When he signed up, "I didn't know the things I know today. I believed the military and the government when they told me that Iraq posed an imminent threat."
Watada said it took him a couple of years to realize that the United States should not be in Iraq. He submitted his resignation in January 2006. "The commanders of my unit were not too happy about it," he said. They were surprised, he said, because until that point he had received positive evaluations.
"I can't stop the war," said Watada. "But if Americans believe the war is wrong, they should be doing everything they can to stop it."
His mother is doing what she can. "People are stepping gingerly," she said yesterday about legislative action. "There's a wait-and-see approach."
She was in Tacoma, Wash., yesterday for a press conference when she received a personal letter from Rep. Maxine Waters. Ho read an excerpt over the phone:
"The issue that [1st Lt. Ehren Watada] has raised deserves to be publicly debated and considered. And I will use my platform as a member of Congress and chair of the 'Out of Iraq' caucus to highlight the failed policies of this administration and stimulate discussion. . . . Your son has shown great integrity and dignity in his objection to the war in Iraq, and I commend you for working so hard on his behalf."
Ho sighed and said she found the letter to be "disappointing."
But it was something.
