Monday, July 20, 2009

News Article Archive for 'Wilton Sekzer, Father of Jason, Got a Bone, an Inch Long Back'

He says, from the "pit"---or was that a "pile?"---or maybe it was from the Fresh Kills dump on Staten Island, all that was left after the World Trade Center towers were demolished on 9-11, killing nearly 3000 innocent people. This is all the forensic evidence he had that his son Jason really died that day. But I'll have to ask---show me the bone please. What if instead of being killed, his son had been "disappeared"---or should that be called "rendered," something I'd never conceptualized prior. How about "hondled?" Or "protected?"


Midway in this CNN news video, Wilton, a retired New York City cop, says rumors that 4000 Jews stayed home from work in and near the towers that day can't be proven, and he cites 400 Jewish fatalities in New York City that day as a counter argument to Jewish foreknowledge. But in an event which left 3000 people dead, only 12 corpses could be visually identified, and only one open casket funeral followed. I wonder how many Jewish body parts can be identified?

I have known for awhile that I had to continue testing my theory, that many of the 9-11 dead were in fact, alive---what now seems like such a commonsense cornerstone to understanding the 9-11 conspiracy. Having first visualized Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell, one of the very lightly burned victims at the Pentagon, as having willing submitted to his wounding, I thought fake wounding made fake death logical---especially in the closed-shop world of the United States military. When I published these theories online on this blog, and I wasn't struck immediately by lightning in return, I began to slowly inch toward intellectual consistency, i.e. in New York City.

It is now absolutely evident that the New York City uniformed services were in on the conspiracy---but not straight across the board necessarily, which needs to be kept in mind for every category---especially the final predictable category consisting of those workers on floors above the level of the first plane crash in tower one---the people who could be guaranteed to lose their lives with near 100 percent assurance.

Chief among them is Cantor Fitzgerald's office on the 101st-105th floors, which lost 658 employees (all of the employees in the office that day), or about two-thirds of its workforce. That statistic alone bears study. How many employees are normally out of the office on any given morning due to illness, appointments, or vacation. Also to be studied is the rationality of the company being able to bring its trading markets back online within a week, and any dips in the market share they handled.

But I know that Cantor's CEO and chairman, Howard Lutnick, was a willing co-conspirator, if only by dint of the common narrative factor of his brother being among the dead. No human being could be so evil as to consider the possibility that such victimization as losing one's sibling, or spouse, might have come about in a knowing conspiracy. Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer also lost his brother after watching him go up the stairs in the North tower on 9-11---or did he die in Building 7? Accounts vary.

But unique unto himself is the Cantor employee whose father was a Jewish New York City cop. A distraught father who said, "[a]fter 9/11, I couldn’t work. But I thought, I gotta do something. Somebody has to pay for 9/11. I want the enemy dead. I want to see their bodies stacked up for taking my son," so he started a campaign to get his son's name written as an honorific on 2000-pound bombs dropped in Iraq, and a publicity campaign to let Americans know of it.

Even more unique would be the father whose son's story would be made into an award winning documentary by Eugene Jarecki, "Why We Fight," winner of best documentary at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Newsday

But beyond the pale of unique-ity would be the father who when things started to seriously go south in Iraq in 2006, would have a media blitz on the September anniversary, telling all who would listen, "I was shocked when I heard George Bush say there was no connection between 9-11 and the Iraq war!" Parade Magazine, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune



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Parade Magazine

A former New York City cop tries to do right by the son he lost on 9/11.

‘‘At First, I Wanted Revenge’’

By Wilton Sekzer as told to Eugene Jarecki
published: 09/10/2006
That Tuesday morning, I was riding the subway to work in New York City. It’s an elevated train, so through the windows you can see the skyline. Suddenly everyone in the car jumped up and gasped. I looked up, and there was the World Trade Center with smoke pouring out of it. I didn’t know if it was my son’s building, because Tower One and Tower Two were in perfect symmetry. So I could not tell which tower I was looking at.

At that point, the train went into a tunnel. And I was thinking, How did my son get out of there? He can’t be in there. ’Cause anybody who’s in there is gonna die!

Jason worked on the 105th story of Tower One as a vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald. He was 31 years old and had been married less than nine months. God gave me two of the greatest sons any parent could ever ask for. Why He took one back, I’ll never know.

When Jason was born, we gave him the middle name Maxwell, so he was Jason Maxwell Sekzer. Sounds nice, right? You could see him signing papers as a corporate executive: JMS.

I am a retired New York City cop. I mean, who am I? I’m nobody. But who could believe what my son became? Vice president at one of the largest bond-brokerage firms in the world. He started out as an entry-level clerk. Four years later, Jason was Vice President of Operations. Just listen to that title!

The Bugle Calls
I volunteered for Vietnam in July 1965. It was quite an experience for a 21-year-old kid. You’re involved in taking people’s lives.

I grew up knowing that you were expected to answer when your country made the call. There was no such thing as, “Well, I wonder if my country’s right? Is anybody lying to me about this?” You didn’t grow up thinking that. You grew up saying, “If the bugle calls, you go.”

When I came home, I met Evelyn. Things blossomed, and we got married. And that made me the luckiest guy in the world. When we lost our son, it was obviously a terrible time for both of us. To make matters worse, three days later, Evelyn came home to tell me she’d been diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly, not only was she grieving over her son, but she had to start battling for her own life. She is so strong.

Somebody Has To Pay
When Jason was a little kid, the game was always the same. He’d come running in in his pajamas and jump on top of me. “Dad! Dad! Wake up! Wake up!” “What?” I’d say. “What’s the matter?” “You gotta go get the bad guys!” he’d say. “Don’t forget to get the bad guys.”

After 9/11, I couldn’t work. But I thought, I gotta do something. Somebody has to pay for 9/11. I want the enemy dead. I want to see their bodies stacked up for taking my son.

That’s when the President said, “Iraq.” On the basis of that, I thought we should go in there and kick Iraq’s ass. And I wanted Jason to have a part in it. And that’s when I said, “Put his name on a bomb.”

I first got the idea reading about the bombing in Iraq. I remembered in Vietnam, sometimes we used to get requests: “Can you put my father’s or my son’s name on a rocket?” And I thought, That’s a good idea. I’m gonna try to do that.

So I sent out e-mails to the secretaries of all the armed forces: “My name is Wilton Sekzer. I’m a retired New York City Police Department sergeant and a proud Vietnam veteran. I lost my son on 9/11. I can’t tell you in words what his loss means to me. I would respectfully request if you could put his name on some piece of armament in the Iraq war.”

At first, I didn’t get an answer. Then they came in a flood. From the private to the corporal to the captain, there must have been 42 e-mails up and down the chain of command asking, “Do you think we can do something like this? Normally, we don’t take personal requests, but this one seems worth doing.”

Finally, a Marine air division answered, “CAN DO, SEMPER FI!” with a report that a 2,000-pound guided bomb “was dropped on April 1st on forces of the Republican Guard and met with 100 percent success.” Attached to the e-mail was a picture of the bomb, and written on the side of it was “In Loving Memory of Jason Sekzer.” It was unbelievable.

Before long, I started getting other pictures with Jason’s name in them from units all across the services. Gen. Tommy Franks’ personal bodyguard made a sign with Jason’s name on it, and wherever Franks went in Iraq, the bodyguard took pictures of him holding this sign. A group of Hollywood actors—Robert De Niro, Gary Sinise—went over to Iraq, and I got pictures of all of them holding the sign too. How great is that?

Something Wrong With the System
Months later, I was watching TV when President Bush came on and said he didn’t know why people connected Iraq to 9/11. He said: “We’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th [attacks].” I said, “What did he just say?” I mean, I almost jumped out of my chair. I said, “What is he talking about? What the hell did we go in there for? If Saddam didn’t have anything to do with 9/11, then why did we go in there?”

I’m from the old school. Certain people walk on water. The President of the United States is one of them. It’s a terrible thing if someone like me can’t trust his President. I began to wonder what the hell’s with the whole system. There’s something wrong with the entire system.

I feel that the government exploited my feelings of patriotism. But I was so insane with wanting to get even, I was willing to believe anything.

Undoubtedly, there are people who may read my statements and think that I’m no good. I’m an SOB. I’m a warmonger. I should never have put my son’s name on the bomb. Am I sorry? No, because I acted under the conditions at that time. Was it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong. But I didn’t know that.

It’s not easy to be calm when you lose your child. You want revenge. When people heard my story, I got a lot of e-mails. One guy wrote: “What about the other fathers whose sons were killed by that bomb?” You know what? He has a right to say that, because we were lied to. And if I found out the bomb killed innocent people, I’d feel terrible that I put my son’s name on it. I’d say, “Oh, my God, what did I do?”

A Sense of Pride
After all that, I still wanted to find a way to honor my son. A lot of street memorials were put in place to honor rescue personnel after 9/11. I thought about my son and that perhaps he’d be worthy of a street sign. So again, I started sending out letters to officials.

I live in Queens, N.Y., and that street sign now stands here: Jason M. Sekzer Memorial Place. It’s a real definition of “bittersweet.” There are times when I come home, and I look up at that sign and have such a sense of pride that Jason is being honored that way. And then there are times when I see that sign, and it’s really very painful.

People ask me which I’m more proud of—putting his name on a bomb or putting it on a street sign. The answer obviously is the street sign. The bomb was a reaction to anger. The street sign will be here forever. Two different categories.

Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki met Wilton Sekzer while conducting research for his award-winning documentary Why We Fight, now on DVD. The film examines U.S. foreign and military policy since World War II.

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Out of grief,'Why We Fight'

Award-winning documentary examines 9/11 loss and America's war mentality

"Why We Fight"

From the Movie entitled "Why We Fight. " (Sony Pictures Classics)


Just shy of a year ago, on a Saturday night in January, Eugene Jarecki was in Utah. Wilton Sekzer was at home in Queens. Jarecki was warming the edge of his theater seat. Sekzer was watching the phone.

"We're all sitting around, waiting for it to ring," said Sekzer, Vietnam vet, retired city police officer and a man of finite patience. "Somebody'd call, I'd go 'Who's this? ... Joe? Talk to you later.' Click.

"Finally, it was him. Eugene. And he says, 'Hi, Will. How's it going?'" I said, "Fine ... Never mind! How'd we do?"

And he said, "We won."

It's hard to say whether the triumph of Jarecki's "Why We Fight," winner of best documentary at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival (it's released into theaters today), was the conclusion of anything for either man. But it certainly had been a journey. For Sekzer, it began Sept. 11, 2001, when his son, Jason - a 31-year-old vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald - died in the World Trade Center. It has continued throughout his intimate participation in Jarecki's provocative look at neo-conservative politics and the philosophy of perpetual warfare.

For the director, in some sense, his journey began when he met Sekzer.

"I think the film was sort of a rock in a storm for Wilton," said Jarecki, 36. "For me, Wilton was, and is, a force in my coming of age. He opened my eyes to just how textured the thinking has to be about America now, about the grief that Americans feel, the desire for revenge, and not allowing myself to have any kind of distance from that, or ignore it - which is too often the mistake of those who do not - shall we say - concur with policy."

Inspired by Ike's farewell

Jarecki's movie is titled after the propaganda films commissioned from director Frank Capra by the U.S. government during World War II, and was inspired by President Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address in 1961 warning of "the military-industrial complex." Amid the lofty talking heads from whom Jarecki gleans his material - everyone from former Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle to writer Gore Vidal - is Sekzer. The ex-cop's now notorious request - granted - was to have his son's name written on a bomb that was dropped on Iraq. But he ends up questioning almost everything about the war, and becomes, in his transformation, the most eloquent element in Jarecki's film.

At a diner just west of Jason Sekzer Place and Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, Sekzer sat in front of a Diet Coke on a recent afternoon. He said Jarecki had initially found him through the NYPD's fraternal society of Jewish police officers, of which he's a past president. ("I didn't know there were Jewish cops," Jarecki said.)

"I said, 'So you're making a documentary about what?'" Sekzer said, in a tone that would have scared off most filmmakers. "He explained it, and I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but I said, 'Look, let's not waste each other's time: Is this like Michael Moore Part II? Because if it is, we've already been talking five minutes too long.'"

Jarecki assured him it wasn't. "And for whatever it's worth," Sekzer said, "cops have a sixth sense about people; we definitely know when people are trying to [mislead] us. 'Oh no, I found that dope.' 'It's not my gun.' So I said, 'The guy sounds sincere. What's the worst that can happen?'"

As it turns out, Sekzer's trip to Sundance for last year's festival (he and wife returned before the awards) was "one of the greatest experiences of our lives," he said. "It was just great. Beautiful hotel. You open the curtains in the morning and those snow-capped mountains ... It was like something out of a movie."

And "Why We Fight"?

Jarecki is a "family" member

"I'm happy it's coming out," Sekzer said, "but I'm happy for Eugene. We saw the film, it's out there someplace; what happens to it isn't of that much concern to me, except how it helps Eugene. And Eugene is now part of our family. But the very fact that a documentary was made, that it won a prize out in the snowdrifted mountains of Utah, that it's been purchased by Sony, that it's being released. I know people say, 'Oh, it's great just to be nominated for the Oscar' and you say, 'You're full of --" but it was true for me. It's up on the screen. Jason's name is up there. The rest is whipped cream on the pie."

Last year at Sundance, "Why We Fight" had such an urgency, it seemed like it needed to hit theaters immediately. Ironically - sadly - the timing for it seems to get better and better. Jarecki calls it "macabre."

"Nothing about the film has had to change, because nothing in the film has been disproven by the unfolding of events," Jarecki said. "The only thing, of course, is that we've had to adjust the casualty figures in the film, as the count escalates. Every time I've done that, I've felt in a small way how the man who closes up the morgue for the night feels. Or the people who write obituaries. It's an undertaker's job, what I've done for the past year."


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Mourning After 9/11, Outrage Ever Since

This was a perfect idea, Wilton Sekzer believed. His son’s name chalked onto a bomb headed to Iraq. When he served with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, those kinds of requests came in all the time. A husband, a brother, a son — could you please write their name on some artillery pieces? “No problem,” Mr. Sekzer recalled.

He wrote to the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, a decorated veteran who had returned from Vietnam whittled to 110 pounds by malaria, a retired police officer who had watched the World Trade Center burn from an el train in Queens. He had heard members of the Bush administration describe a web of ties connecting Iraq and Al Qaeda.

It was March 2003, and the war that will begin its sixth year next week was then being made out of 9/11 grief and its furies. Mr. Sekzer wanted to stake his claim.

“ ‘My eldest son, Jason, was murdered on 9/11,’ ” he said, reciting from memory his letters. “ ‘I would appreciate it if you could put his name on some piece of ordnance so his name stays alive.’ ” An old friend sent more requests.

Right around this time five years ago, just before the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Sekzer started getting answers.

“They wrote, ‘God bless you, and God bless your son,’ ” he said.

Then came an e-mail message with pictures of a bomb. He was told that it was dropped on April 1, 2003, targeting elements of “the Republican National Guard and it met with 100 percent success.” On the side, it was inscribed: “In loving memory of Jason Sekzer.”

Yet another e-mail message showed an Apache helicopter, with the same message written one word at a time across six Hellfire missiles. And a third picture arrived, of a bomb inscribed, “Regards from Jason Sekzer.”

By then, polls showed that much of the country believed that Iraq had been involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. To read again the statements made by the Bush administration is to see the verbal equivalents of dotted lines, pointing directly at Saddam Hussein. “If we’re successful in Iraq we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11,” Vice President Dick Cheney said in a speech in December 2002.

As a police officer, Mr. Sekzer spent most of his career in Brooklyn North, going home to Sunnyside, Queens, where he and his wife, Evelyn, raised two sons, Jason and Marc. After he retired from the Police Department, he took a job in Manhattan and saw the towers burning as the No. 7 train rumbled along the el. Jason, 32, worked on the 105th floor of the north tower as a vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald. “The breeze came along and blew the smoke, and you could see the giant hole,” Mr. Sekzer said Friday.

His father served in World War II; an uncle died in it. When Vietnam started, Mr. Sekzer said, he volunteered. His support for the war in Iraq was instinctive. “I’m just not questioning it,” Mr. Sekzer said. “It’s just a poor character trait of myself.”

That faith blended with rage and the feeling that he could do nothing to avenge his loss. “The level of anger was immeasurable,” Mr. Sekzer said. “I had a certain mind-set: Let’s kill everyone there, demolish it to the point where there’s nothing taller than six inches in all of Iraq.”

Six months after the invasion, President Bush answered a reporter’s question about Iraq. “No,” Mr. Bush said, “we’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with Sept. 11.”

Mr. Sekzer saw the exchange. “I heard the president saying, ‘I don’t know where people got the idea that Iraq was the culprit,’ ” Mr. Sekzer said. “I thought I would go through the roof.”

Americans had died; so had tens of thousands of Iraqis who had no hand in the attacks on America.

Mr. Sekzer says he is glad, if it is true as he has been told, that the bombs with his son’s name killed no civilians and contributed to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. His trust, though, collapsed. “Had Bush said precisely that they did 9/11?” Mr. Sekzer said. “He said everything else, everything that inferred that. Why the hell else did we go in there?

“We’re at 4,000 young men and women lost over there. What’s going on there now? You had the election. Here’s the country. Goodbye.”

Since then, Mr. Sekzer appeared in a documentary about the war, “Why We Fight.” He takes a measure of the world through different eyes.

“The next time something happens, let’s think hard about why we’re sending troops,” he said. “Is it because the American people want to send troops? Is it because the military wants to send troops? Is it because the military industrial complex wants them to go?”

E-mail: dwyer@nytimes.com

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APR. 17, 2003: HAVE WE FORGOTTEN?

Country singing star Darryl Worley joined me in the broadcast studio yesterday to sing his tribute to the troops called, "Have You Forgotten?" Darryl is the kind of guy you wouldn't associate with show biz. Unassuming, polite, and enormously talented, he wrote that song as a tribute to our troops after a visit with them in Afghanistan, and it's dynamite. I got two answers to the question the song posed yesterday. As you'd expect, the Marines haven't forgotten.

Everyone knows what the Marines' motto, semper fidelis, means. They are always faithful to their country and to their brothers in arms. I submit two proofs of this today. One is named Dan Roberts and the other named for Jason Sekzer.

If young Corporal Dan Roberts, USMC writes a memoir about the Iraq campaign, he could call it, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Iraq." Wounded near An Nasiriyah, Roberts was confined to a military hospital. After a few days, he deemed himself cured and, ah, without asking permission, took off. After getting a set of BDU's and a helmet somewhere, he thumbed a ride or two and found his outfit in the fight to take Baghdad. Roberts got an M-16 and some web gear from his pals, and rejoined the fight. When he was interviewed yesterday by Ollie North, Corporal Roberts sounded a bit unsure of whether he was in trouble for kinda, sorta, going AWOL from the hospital. His gunny may growl at him, but I don't think a courts martial is in Roberts's future. A promotion maybe, not a courts martial. You just gotta love these guys.

Jason Sekzer's father, Will Sekzer, is a Vietnam veteran and a retired member of New York's Finest. Jason was killed in the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center. His dad sent an e-mail over to the Marines. It was a simple request. Mr. Sekzer asked that his son's name be painted on one of the bombs or artillery shells being used in the Iraq campaign. The request went up through channels. Yesterday I received the pictures of a 2,000-pound JDAM that had, "In loving memory of Jason Sekzer" painted on it. The e-mail from one of the boss Marine fly-guys was apologetic for the delay in acting on the request.

Sorry for the delay but business is booming. The weapons don't stay still long enough to write on them. For the record: The weapon this tribute was written on is a 2000 pound, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GPS guided bomb. It's big, it's ugly and it's always lethal, just like we love them. It was dropped on the night of 1 April 03 against targets located east of Baghdad. The targets were associated with the Al Nida division of the Republican Guard. A United States Marine Corps F/A-18D flew the mission. The mission and the weapon were 100% successful. Let me know if there is any more I can do. It's my honor and pleasure.

By now, Saddam's half brother Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tirkriti has remembered. In a neat smash and grab yesterday, he was captured in the Baghdad area by spec ops in a joint operation with the Marines. Barzan's capture takes another card out of Vince Brooks's Doomsday Deck. Barzan--formerly one of the top guys in Saddam's Mukhabarat secret police--may have a lot to say. For example, he was in on the plan to assassinate George Senior. Someone should be reaching for the sodium amatol about now.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to give Little Jackie Chirac a little dose of it. President Bush's call to lift the U.N. sanctions yesterday met with predictable opposition from Chirac, who still wants the U.N. to run the reconstruction (meaning the oil revenues) and formation of the new Iraqi government. The reason for the sanctions--Saddam's WMD--is of course moot. But that won't stop the French from stopping any resolution to lift the sanctions unless they get their cut off the top.

The best news is that the citizen-inspired boycott of French goods is taking hold. The importers of French wine have noticed a significant drop in sales in America over the past couple of months. The whiners are meeting to whine about it and figure out how to get all these arrogant Americans to realize they're being unfair. This is only the start. No French goods should be bought here. None. I suggest they have some music at their meeting to set the mood. They should buy a copy of the "Have You Forgotten?" CD and play it over and over until they understand.

09:25 AM
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chicagotribune.com

'5 years later, father's pain remains'
By Radmilla Suleymanova
Special to amNewYork
September 7, 2006>

Wilton Sekzer glances toward the side of his Woodside apartment building, where the street sign above the passing cars bears his son's name, Jason, in memoriam.

"That sign to me is the true epitome of bittersweet," Sekzer said. "Sometimes I walk over and I feel overwhelmingly proud; other times it's just a reminder of what happened and I feel like climbing up there and ripping it off."

And there are reminders. On the same block, a movie theater is showing the Oliver Stone film depicting the historic day.

"It doesn't fail," the 62-year old retired police officer and Vietnam veteran said. "Whenever I open a paper or switch on the TV, I'm constantly reminded of my son's death."

His son worked on the 105th floor of Tower One as vice president of operations at Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm that lost 658 employees in the attack, Jason among them. He was 31.

On the fifth anniversary, Sekzer will visit the site, something he has done only four times before.

"It's hard to go down there. I know in my heart, no matter what kind of cleanup job they do, if they picked up every micro speck, a part of my son is always there no matter what they do or what they build."

In May 2002, the city called to say they found Jason's remains: a bone fragment 2 inches long and an inch in diameter. The family buried the remains in a cemetery where their own graves are reserved. "For the rest of my life, I'll question whether I wish they found it or not."

Sekzer's eyes are big with anger and betrayal but overlapped with the undying sorrow that has lived in them for the past five years.

"I hate the word 'closure,' there's no such thing as closure when you lose a child," he said. "People don't realize it's impossible. The pain just never stops."

Sekzer has appeared in "Why We Fight," an award-winning documentary that examines America's military power since World War II. Moreover, he is known for getting the Army to put Jason's name on a missile when the war in Iraq started.

"My original intention didn't work out," Sekzer said. "I wanted to drop the bomb on those who deserved it, those who killed my son."

Now he compares the war in Iraq to his experience in Vietnam because he say both were started on a lie.

"What are they going to do if they catch Osama bin Laden alive?" he asked.

"A trial that's three years long and listen to him spout his philosophical bull ---- and then demonstrations. And in the end, he'll get sentenced to death and then get seven years of appeal?"

He pauses and he knows the answer.

Half a decade after the attacks not only on the country and city he served, but on the family, the son and the soul he once had, the answer is still not appeasing to him.

"I'll definitely be in my grave before he is."

A Simple Request - Put My Son's Name on a Bomb

04/30/03 A retired New York City Police Department Sergeant lost his son on 9/11 at the WTC. He contacted the Marines requesting his son's name (Jason Sekzer) be written on one of the bombs we drop on Baghdad. To his surprise, Will received the following e-mail and 3 photos from Major Joe Boehm stationed in Kuwait. Gotta love our troops.....

From: ***@aol.com [mailto:***@aol.com] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 5:32 PM To: pao@centcom.mil Subject: Simple Request

Dear Public Affairs Officer:

If possible can this be relayed to a Navy, Air Force or Army or Marine unit in the Gulf Region. A simple request from a Vietnam Veteran and Retired New York City Police Department Sergeant who lost his son on 911 at the WTC. Simply to have his son's name put on one of the munitions (bomb, missile, artillery shell) that will be used on the war on terrorism including Iraq. His son's name was Jason Sekzer, the father is Wilton A. Sekzer and can be reached at ***@aol.com.

Thank you.

Gary Gorman Retired Police Officer NYPD ESS#1 Brooklyn, NY 11214

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From: Franzoni, LCDR Stephen J. Sent: March 17,2003 13:10 To: Compton, LtCol Martin B. (PKI) Subject: FW: Simple Request

Now here is a request I wish we could see through!

LCDR Stephen J. Franzoni CENTCOM Web Developer

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Caveats: NONE

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From: Compton, LtCol Martin B. (PKI) Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 5:01 PM To: Franzoni, LCDR Stephen J. Subject: RE: Simple Request

Forward to Thomas and Alderson.

Martin B. Compton Lt Col, USAF Public Affairs

**************

From: Franzoni, LCDR Stephen J. [mailto:***@centcom.mil] Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 6:19 PM To: 'COL Rick Thomas (***@kuwait.army.mil)'; '***@cusnc.navy.mil' Subject: FW: Simple Request

Sirs,

Normally we do not take personal requests, but I think this one is worth doing. I appreciate your help and thank you in advance for any assistance you could provide.

V/R

LCDR Stephen J. Franzoni CENTCOM Web Developer

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From: Nyhart Maj Jeffrey Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 9:40 AM To: Johnson Maj Thomas V Subject: FW: Simple Request

TV,

Your call below. Son died on 9/11 - wants to know if we could put name on bomb. May be worth a picture and sent email. Let me know if you can do it.

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From: Johnson Maj Thomas V Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 7:42 PM To: Boehm Maj Joseph R Cc: Nyhart Maj Jeffrey; Napper Sgt William A; Nuntavong Sgt Chanin; DiDomenico SSgt John C Subject: FW: Simple Request

Joe, fairly easy, don't you think? Could get one of my guys to snap the picture. Please advise when you have a moment. Thanks.

TV

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From: Boehm Maj Joseph R Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 3:15 AM To: Johnson Maj Thomas V Cc: Nyhart Maj Jeffrey; Napper Sgt William A; Nuntavong Sgt Chanin; DiDomenico SSgt John C; Reynolds LtCol Shaugnessy A Subject: RE: Simple Request

Can do.

Semper Fi Major Joe Boehm

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From: DiDomenico SSgt John C Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 6:23 PM To: Boehm Maj Joseph R Subject: RE: Simple Request

Sir:

Was wondering if you got the photos?

R/S and Semper Fi! SSgt. DiDomenico

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From: Boehm Maj Joseph R [mailto:BoehmJR@taoc.3mawdm.usmc.mil] Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 4:50 AM To: DiDomenico SSgt John C; Johnson Maj Thomas V Cc: ProudPD@aol.com; NYPD24423@aol.com Subject: RE: Simple Request

TV, SSGT,

Attached from yesterday. Hope this is satisfactory. Sorry for the delay but business is booming. The weapons don't stay still long enough to write on them. For the record: The weapon this tribute was written on is a 2000 pound, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GPS guided bomb. It's big, it's ugly and it's always lethal, just like we love them. It was dropped on the night of 1 April 03 against targets located east of Baghdad. The targets were associated with the Al Nida division of the Republican Guard. A United States Marine Corps F/A-18D based in Kuwait flew the mission. The mission and the weapon were 100% successful. Let me know if there is any more I can do. It's my honor and pleasure. Regards.

Semper Fi Major Joe Boehm

To: All

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