VIDEO | A Mother's Prayer

Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom

A Film by Rebecca MacNeice

Friday 10 November 2006

Orangeburg, South Carolina - Elaine's son, Spc. Darius Jennings, age 22, was killed in action in Iraq on November 2, 2003, when his Chinook helicopter was shot down, taking his life and the lives of fifteen other soldiers.

The war in Iraq has also been devastating for Elaine's community: "There were four soldiers from the same area as my hometown killed in a short time, and Darius was one of them," she said. "This has been a great loss for the community and has hit hard, because a lot of young men go into the military."

Three graduates of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School (South Carolina), where Darius went to school, were killed in Iraq in the space of just three months. Ms. Johnson, who works at an industrial plant in the Orangeburg area and is a member of Gold Star Families Speak Out, spoke out immediately after her son's death, questioning why U.S. troops remained in Iraq. She publicly challenged Bush a week after Darius was killed, questioning why he could come to South Carolina for a $2,000-a-plate Republican fundraiser, but could not bother to contact her and offer his condolences.

"I forced the president to meet with us," she said. "I asked him why soldiers like my son were still dying in Iraq, and he said 'to finish the mission'. I asked what the mission was, but he was already leaving the room."

LinkHere