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| Fifth Column |
| More troop wives get hoax casualty calls |
| 2003-04-11 |
| Edited for brevity. Wives of Camp Pendleton Marines involved in the war in Iraq have been receiving crank calls from individuals claiming to work for the Red Cross who regretfully, and falsely, inform them that their spouses had been killed in action. In a statement, Camp Pendleton reminded military families that genuine casualty notifications are not made by telephone or by the Red Cross. "Individuals falsely identifying themselves as Red Cross representatives have made prank calls to Camp Pendleton spouses claiming that their loved ones overseas have been killed," the Marine Corps said in a brief statement. "The Marine Corps does not utilize the Red Cross for casualty notification. Marine Corps and Navy representatives conduct all casualty notifications in person for Camp Pendleton." "I honestly can't even fathom someone with that mentality," a Marine wife named "Julia" told The San Diego Union-Tribune Thursday. "I can't even go there in my mind. I would assume that a young spouse could believe that kind of call and her world could be shattered," she added. The Red Cross said last week that families of service members in Michigan, Delaware and Alabama had reported receiving similar calls following the outbreak of the war. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #11 During Vietnam those who oppose the war but support the troops used this tactic. The government should enact a law with a 10 year mandatory sentence for such a crime or a$50,000 fine, payable to the victim. Failing enactment, I'm all for some German villager violence out of Frankenstein. |
| Posted by: TJ Jackson 2003-04-12 00:48:27 |
| #10 There are ways to track these calls back to the caller. Too bad that the don't pubish the persons name. I would love to pay that person a visit. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2003-04-11 22:30:52 |
| #9 Here in America, you have to report 3 such calls to the phone company, who may or may not report it to the police, who may or may not elect to investigate. Even if they do, there are no circumstances whatsoever that the victim will be told the identity of the perpetrator. Well, the identity *might* come out after court proceedings, but it's kind of a long shot. Just one of the sad situations that arise from our vaunted rights of free speech and privacy. |
| Posted by: therien 2003-04-11 21:55:08 |
| #8 Here in Canada, after you get an abusive call you can let the operator know and they will send the trace directly to the police, but only if you intend to follow thru with your complaint. I'm sure this technology exists everywhere and should be used in this case. If only to reveal who the a@@holes are. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-04-11 13:32:57 |
| #7 What these people (I use that term loosely) are doing to these wives/husbands is wire fraud, right? I say throw the book at 'em... prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law... A few weeks in the pokey (and... I mean that term literally) for a few of them will put a stop to all this BS... |
| Posted by: -----------<<<<- 2003-04-11 12:12:06 |
| #6 Put these sick f***s in the basement & give them the Zed treatment (from Pulp Fiction). |
| Posted by: Raj 2003-04-11 11:50:09 |
| #5 Fred: Indeed, someone should be able to trace one of these sick bastards. Then, retribution is off the record...and should occur deep inside an abondoned shipyard. |
| Posted by: defscribe 2003-04-11 11:43:03 |
| #4 Sick! How could anyone do such a thing!? I think a good lawyer could help those who were hurt by these "pranks"… |
| Posted by: KP 2003-04-11 11:31:29 |
| #3 Sounds like a job for Caller ID... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-04-11 11:16:14 |
| #2 This is not new behavior for the rabid anti-American left. My wife got two such calls while I was in Vietnam. Whoever is doing this needs to be caught, and turned over to the WIVES of military servicemembers. They will do more, and nastier, than anything the uniformed services would tolerate. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-11 11:11:51 |
| #1 Someone needs to dial "Star-6-9" next time a call like this occurs. Get the phone number at the other end and call it in -- not to the police, but to the Marine camp's CO. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-04-11 10:37:04 |