Justice for MAJ Stone & CPT Seifert
Justice for
Major Gregory Stone
&
Captain Christopher Seifert
Air Force Major Gregory Stone, attacked March 23, 2003, died March 25, 2003 from wounds received in attack. Maj Stone, 40, was a son of Oregon, but resided in Boise, Idaho. He was a graduate of Benson High School and Oregon State University. He served as the air liaison officer for the 101st Airborne Division, 1st Brigade.
Army Captain Christopher Scott Seifert was murdered on March 23, 2003. He served with the 101st Airborne Division, 1st Brigade. He was 27 and from Easton, Pennsylvania.
Headstone in Arlington Cemetery for Maj Stone.The beautiful service can be seen at his Arlington page.
Memorial Service for Captain Christopher Seifert.
SGT Hasan Akbar, murderer
Above - His capture at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait
Below - Being led from the courtroom
Everyday I see Major Stone's face on my sidebar, and everyday I recoil in horror for the atrocity committed upon him and Captain Seifert by Hasan Akbar. Akbar, a SGT in the US Army and convert to Islam, was so horrified by war against a Muslim nation, that he took it in his own hands to kill his commanders.
On the night of March 23, 2003, SGT Hasan Akbar, disabled the generator, plunging the command tents and the area around them into darkness, threw grenades into three tents of sleeping officers, and shot those who ran from the tents. He shot CPT Seifert in the back. Maj Stone was shredded by a grenade.
During his court martial, the chief prosecutor Lt Col Michael Mulligan said, "He is a hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer." In his diary, Akbar wrote, "My life will not be complete unless America is destroyed." In 1996, he wrote, "destroying America was my plan as a child, and as a juvenile and in college. Destroying America is my greatest goal."
SGT Hasan Akbar was tried for two counts of premeditated murder and fourteen counts of premeditated attempted murder. In addition to the deaths of CPT Seifert and MAJ Stone, fourteen were wounded, five severely.
April 21, 2005 - SGT Hasan Akbar was convicted of two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder.
April 28, 2005 - SGT Hasan Akbar is sentenced to death by a unanimous vote of a military panel.
November 20, 2006 - Lt Gen John R Vines, commander of XXVIII Airborne Corps and court martial convening authority approved the death penalty.
Next - The appeals case will automatically be heard by The U. S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and if upheld, with a petition to the United States Supreme Court. If upheld along the way, he cannot be executed without an order from the President of the United States.
While the wheels of justice move slowly and thoroughly, SGT Hasan Akbar has not been a model prisoner. He stabbed one of his guards and has caused other problems while incarcerated.
The families have suffered an unbelievable loss at the hands of this hateful man. The Stone family had to endure further suffering at the hands of Michael Moore who included unauthorized tape from Maj Stone's funeral in his hate filled film Fahrenheit 911.
'Hasan Akbar stole my love, my family, my dreams and my future ... but he could never steal my spirit' said Maj Stone's fiance. "A sacred trust was broken that night. That night that band of brothers was broken," said CPT Seifert's wife. "And I am terribly lonely. I have a wonderful family and lots of friends, but I never knew you could be in a room filled with people and still feel alone."
These two remarkable men, willing to fight for their country, willing to give freedom to those who were oppressed, were taken from us in the most horrible of ways. We keep our prayers for the families. We wait for the final outcome of the justice system to punish the crime. And, now I can see Maj Stone's face and feel that the justice his life and memory deserve have been granted.
Is this another example of the Religion of Peace?
16 comments:
Thank you for posting this. My husband knew CPT Seifert and I personally hope the sentence is followed through on!
Thank you for stopping by and sharing that... I send my condolences to your husband for his loss.
I hope he gets what he earned for himself, too.
I will never forget this! This kind of thing is so scary to me. I wish there was a sure-fire way of checking on the Muslims who join to murder us.
There are not enough words of sympathy to extend to these families. I'm just so sorry for them and for the survivors of these fine officers' unit.
Thank you for this post.
I also found you through Amy's Iraqi Freedom blogroll. I read this earlier today but was too angry to comment. I did not know that this killer had harbored hatred for America from an early age. He must be executed before he kills a prison guard.
BTW Those snow pics that you saw on my blog are of my farm on the southwest coast of Oregon. It snowed all the way down to the beach on Thursday courtesy of Al Gore's Global Warming.
De'on - this bothers me so much - how someone could take advantage of the blessings of this country, then hate it so, and to kill people he didn't even know...
Patrick - Angry - you bet... I will always be angry over this. Akbar is a worthless excuse for a human being.
I was in Camp Pennsylvania, serving with 1st brigade when this happened. Indeed, I was only a few tents down from where this took place. The night was a scary one for all on camp. Not only was this going on (gunfire, grenades exploding) but at precisely the exact same time, a SCUD missile was shot at our camp and intercepted directly overhead by one of our Patriot missiles, this in turn rained shrapnel down upon the entire camp. Another thing that was happening, at the EXACT same time as these two events, was a tent caught on fire (totally unrelated to the other events) and people were running around, looking for water to put it out.
Prognosis for most soldiers on the camp? We thought we were being heavily attacked and/or overrun. Anyways, Mr. Akbar had to be (most expediently) removed from the camp for fears that retaliation would be commenced upon him which would result in his death, can't say I blame my leaders for making that decision. Justice would have been "had" already if he was not removed, this "peeved" (to put it lightly) everyone off to no end as we were JUST about to invade. CPT Seifert and MAJ Jones were, sadly, the first casualties of the 101st ABN, and we hadn't even set foot in Iraq yet. Wow, yeah, this post brought back a flood of bad memories, but memories I need to keep nonetheless, thanks for telling it.
Sgt White-
Thank you for your addition to the story. I can't imagine what that night must have been like for all of you.
We are all thankful that you are keeping us safe and free. Thank you doesn't seem enough.
Wow, after reading the story and then the comments by Sgt White, I'm speechless. To be able to shoot a man in the back is a true act of cowardice (along with throwing grenades into the tents of unexpecting solders), but to do that to the men you swore you would fight with, not against?
Sometimes I feel that everyone in the US needs to take some kind of "test" to determine their loyalties to the US, and give them the boot if they have even the slightest bit of hatred towards the United States.
Thanks for posting this!
I just had Anonymous leave a disgusting comment here. It has been deleted and I will delete all crap like this put on my blog.
I was visiting again and found this thread. I was glad to learn that he is being held accountable for his actions. The Sgt was once my son's platoon leader at the 101st. This incident took place when my boy was stationed in Korea.I wont print what my son said about the character of this person as it could be construde as libel. I have way too much support to lend to our troops serving to waste time on traitors.
I was also assigned to HHC, 1st BCT during the attack. During this time I was the NCOIC of the Brigade Legal Team and was the guard assigned to ensure Akbar's safety after his capture. I also testified in his trial. There were plenty of verbal threats made toward (Then SGT) PVT Akbar, but only in the brief moments following his capture. He was not removed quickly. I stood guard on him for 6 or more hours until Military Police and CID could secure him. There was never any sort of vigilante style threat on him at any time. Emotions were high, but most soldiers in the area had little idea of what was actually happening. My primary mission was to make sure that this did not happen to prevent any sort of grounds for appeal. He acted like a coward, when I drew down on him with my weapon he had two choices, fight for his ideals or give up like a coward. You can see what he chose when his life was on the line. There has not been a day that has gone by that I have not considered how much better the world would be if only I was cut from the same cloth as him, if I could have turned away from my ethics, oath to my orders and UCMJ and shot him when I had the chance. But I am not and will never be like him. I watched this coward cry and try to spill the same propaganda that someone filled his head with. I listened to him complain about the pain he was suffering from the shrapnel wound to his leg caused by his own grenade. CPT Seifert and I had had a conversation that day about why I was in the Army and not in college. I told him that wanted the chance to make a difference. That conversation went through my mind while I was guarding Akbar.
Justice, to many people, is the same code in which was handed to Hammurabi in the set of laws by the same name. We know those as the “eye for an eye” rule. It is primitive, but effective. But in the few thousand years since that code was set, we have evolved as a species and have seen the flaws in this type of justice. Justice is not always swift and affords the guilty with many roads to avoid justice, but it is the system that works best in most cases. If there ever was a case where swift justice were the best choice this would be it, but even when this coward eats his last meal and strapped to a table to receive that justice, it will not bring the victims of his acts back. By the same token, it will not fill the hearts and minds of those that lost friends, brothers, husbands and fathers that night. Justice will be served to Akbar when he realizes that there is no place in heaven for those that murder in God’s name. Akbar’s justice will be in hell where the time he is afforded for appeals will seem like only a moment compared to the eternity of his damnation.
Let us also remember that this was not the act of man of any true religious conviction. This is not what the Koran teaches and he should not be judged based on his claim to be a Muslim. The U.S. Army contains thousands of Muslim who fight and die for the United States and would quickly condemn Akbar for his actions, especially using Islam as an excuse for this. Soldiers are brothers to one another and religion has nothing to do with that, only an unwavering since of duty and service. There is no reason to believe that radical Islam has infiltrated the military any more than any other extremist group. God bless our soldiers regardless of their religion.
Eric~
Thank you so much for adding your story to this thread.
Thank you also for your assessment and opinion.
History is the stories that we assemble and then they can be cherished by people who would otherwise not know. I cherish each of you who have lived up to your ethics and codes and brought such honor on our country.
Love and remembrance sent to his family and friends today.
I served in Kuwait during this horrible event. As one of the few Air Force members at Camp Doha, my commander and i were called out to the CSH because Maj Stone is Air Force. I was there and my Colonel and I held his hands when he passed away. Here it is, 2012 and I still am overcome by emotion because of this sensless death and other events that occured in 2003 when I served. That event is burned in my mind and I will never forget Maj Stone - who I only came to know after he was injured and when he passed away - yet he's forever a part of my life.
MSgt Gordon
USAF
OIF Veteran Jan 03 - Jul 03
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