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| Mother of Slain Soldier Denied Gold Star Membership |
| 2005-05-27 |
| Rarely am I flat-out pissed off at a story, but this one did it. Regardless of the disagreements we have with the PI today, they suffered alongside us in WWII, and for many years (maybe still today)Filipinos have been permitted to join the US military even if they weren't US citizens. And in any event, this family thought enough of America to come here, legally and by the book - and their son thought enough of us to give his life to defend it. - Mike WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Everyone agrees that Ligaya Lagman is a Gold Star mother, part of the long line of mournful women whose sons or daughters gave their lives for their country. Her 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed last year in Afghanistan, but American Gold Star Mothers Inc., has rejected Lagman, a Filipino, for membership because — though a permanent resident and a taxpayer — she is not a U.S. citizen. "There's nothing we can do because that's what our organization says: You have to be an American citizen," national President Ann Herd said Thursday. "We can't go changing the rules every time the wind blows." That explanation isn't satisfying the war veterans who sponsored Lagman's application, some other members of the mothers' group or several members of Congress. "It is disheartening that any mother of a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine who has died in the line of duty would be denied membership in an organization that honors the memory of fallen service men and women," said Rep. Nita Lowey (search), whose district includes Lagman's home in Yonkers. Rep. Eliot Engel, who represents an adjoining district, said the group should change its rules immediately. "Whatever the excuse, American Gold Star Mothers' decision smacks of xenophobia and is in stark contrast to what Mrs. Lagman's son fought and died for," Engel said. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "We now have many noncitizens serving honorably in our armed services, and I hope that this can be satisfactorily resolved." A past president of the mothers' group, Dorothy Oxendine, of Farmingdale, said, "There's no discrimination in a national cemetery. There's no discrimination when they get killed side by side. So how can we discriminate against a mother?" Another past president, Ann Wolcott, of York, Pa., said, "Times have changed since this organization was started, and there are a lot of men and women serving today whose parents are not citizens. I think they deserve every honor and privilege that we have as Gold Star mothers." Oxendine and Wolcott said they believe that given the increasing diversity of the armed forces there have been noncitizens in the 1,200-member organization who overlooked or ignored the citizenship question on the application. Lagman has lived in the United States for more than 20 years. She was not at home Thursday, apparently tending to her husband, who is hospitalized. But her other son, Chris Lagman, said in Thursday's The Journal News that all she wants "is recognition as the mother of this fallen soldier." Lagman's application was initiated by Ben Spadaro, a veteran from Yonkers, who said he learned about the citizenship rules of the American Gold Star Mothers while working on a national cemetery committee of the Veterans Administration. When he learned of Anthony Lagman's death and saw Lagman was a citizen but his mother was not, he thought, "He's buried in a military cemetery, with full honors. She should be able to join. We decided to tell the absolute truth on the application. We put down, `I am not an American citizen.' It was a ploy to get them to reject her, and then we said they should change the rules." But the organization's 12-member executive board voted against any change. "We can't go changing the rules every time we turn around," said Herd, the national president. "When we have problems within our organization with people not abiding by the rules, we just get it straightened out, we don't change the rules." Oxendine, the former president, said she is sure the general membership would approve a rules change if the board did. "I can't believe that 12 intelligent women would ever not have it in their hearts to think about another Gold Star mother," Oxendine said. "You pay a high price to join the American Gold Star Mothers. I figure her dues were paid." Spadaro isn't giving up. He had his brother, a Florida lawyer, write to the Department of Justice, noting the mothers' organization has received federal assistance and demanding an investigation. And on Monday, during Memorial Day observances at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2285 in Eastchester, Lagman will be presented with a gold necklace bearing a simple gold star. |
| Posted by:Mike Kozlowski |
| #17 Its for mothers of US SOldiers that have died in wartime service to the nation. The citizenship of the mother has NOTHING to do with the honor and sacrifice of her sons, for which the nation is grateful. The "Gold Star Mothers" should wake the hell up and abolish this sitizenship rule. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-05-27 22:09 |
| #16 Here's the lovely and talented Ann Herd herself. eeeewwwwww. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2005-05-27 21:06 |
| #15 Food/drink alert: Here's the lovely and talented Ann Herd herself. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-05-27 16:25 |
| #14 You know, it occurs to me that there are shortcuts (via Congressional Acts and the like) to making people American citizens. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-05-27 16:08 |
| #13 This is about as disgusting a story as I have run across lately. It will make us no friends in a notably friendly country, one that is itself under siege by Islamic barbarians and their fifth column allies. I was not an American citizen when I enlisted in the US Army in 1969. I had a year of service in Vietnam and a Purple Heart before I took the oath of citizenship. Apparently, if I had been killed there, my mother would not have been eligible for Gold Star membership. If I had bought the farm later, in DS1 or Somalia, she would have been eligible since she was an American citizen by then. If the GSM cannot change their rules for this, rules that were idiotic in the first place, they are truly not worthy of anyone's support. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2005-05-27 15:50 |
| #12 I never got along with the DAR. They are a bunch of wackos! My first college roommate's mom was DAR. For some reason the stupid B. thought I was a commie and tried to have another roommate assigned. Had a couple of other run ins with them. Stuck up morons is the term that comes to mind. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-05-27 15:38 |
| #11 if you want to kn ow what Sock Puppet really said, highlight his comment - comes thru real clear...... |
| Posted by: Claviling Crart7700 2005-05-27 15:31 |
| #10 Somehow I don't think the Army cared if his mother was an American citizen. She is here legally, and can do pretty much everything a citizen can do except vote....and apparently, be a member of this organization. Truly pathetic. Normally, lawyers make me sick, but in this case....I hope that guy's brother really sticks it to them. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-05-27 15:28 |
| #9 You know.... I can't help but wonder of there are any mothers of illegal aliens who are members. If these were Mexican or Latino you just know that congress would be all over their 'rights' and the organization would be twisting the rules in knots to get her in. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-05-27 12:47 |
| #8 "We can't go changing the rules every time the wind blows." Correct. But you can change the rules when it's obvious that an old rule no longer serves a useful purpose, and this is one of those rules that must be changed. Change the rule. Today would be fine. God bless Sgt. Lagman, and an enormous thank you to Mrs. Lagman. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-05-27 12:10 |
| #7 These attitudes are the main reason I've never bothered to join the DAR - and yes, I am most definitely eligible. |
| Posted by: DAR eligible 2005-05-27 12:08 |
| #6 These stupid fucking cunts. I'll be making a call this AM and making sure they never get another dime of government money or the use of goverment property or recognition until they change this policy. While I honor the loss of these mothers the cause their children died for is against this stupid backwards racisim. I bet these fucking bitches are all members of the DAR too. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-05-27 11:12 |
| #5 "We can't go changing the rules every time the wind blows." What a nice analogy--comparing the loss of a son to a puff of wind. Ms. Herd, you are an embarassment. |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-05-27 11:06 |
| #4 I agree that the mother should be admitted and I wonder why the board can't see the other side of this argument. I think this change should have been made long ago and with respect to the Filipinos it should have been automatic since we share a special bond with that country. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-05-27 10:54 |
| #3 Someone grab these rectal orifices on the executive board by the sphincter to get their attention please. While I'm against illegal aliens crossing my border, a good number of servicemembers of Mexican origin have also given their last full measure of devotion as well whose parents are not citizens of the US either. They are Gold Star parents whether these ROs want to acknowledge it or not. Nearly every American conflict has had servicemembers who died though themselves and their families are neither citizens or even residing in the US. The color of the shed blood is always the same. |
| Posted by: Shaviling Thromotle9261 2005-05-27 09:56 |
| #2 JFM: Gold Star Mothers are so called because they lost a child in war. Parents of soldiers often put up service flags in the front window. A blue star means your soldier is still living; a gold one means he or she was killed in action. The organization Gold Star Mothers began after WWI, for those who had lost sons in the war to comfort each other and to offer various kinds of help to veterans and their families. The organization is connected somehow to the Dept of Veterans Affairs. They have a website, www.goldstarmoms.com Looks like a case of bureaucratic mentality at work in this case. Somebody's going to regret the comment about "We can't change the rules every time we turn around." |
| Posted by: mom 2005-05-27 09:46 |
| #1 Just a question. Whaat is that Gold Star thing? Is it a private or government funded institutiion? And what benefits does it give to members? |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-05-27 09:27 |