1. Anti-War Activist Cindy Sheehan did not raise her son–Fiction!
2. Cindy Sheehan is Going Through A Second Divorce-Fiction!
3. Cindy Sheehan’s Son’s Grave Does Not Have a Headstone-Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
Several eRumors regarding Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist who became famous when she camped near President Bush’s Crawford Texas ranch. One eRumor says is a divorcee who did not raise her son who died on active duty in Iraq. The email also says that her current husband has filed for divorce, making her a divorcee twice-over. Some versions of the story identify her as “Candy Sheehan.” Another email, and sometimes combinations of all the emails, says that after all her hooplah about her son’s death in Iraq, his grave doesn’t even have a headstone.
The Truth:
The story that Cindy Sheehan has been previously divorced and did not raise her son is not true. Cindy Sheehan has been married just once and did raise her son, 24-year-old Casey Austin Sheehan, who was serving in Iraq in the Army when he was killed in action in April, 2004.
It is true that her current husband has filed for divorce, but it’s not a second divorce. The couple had a total of four children, two sons and two daughters. According to records filed in Solano County District Court in California, Sheehan’s husband Patrick filed for divorce on August 12 saying that the couple had been separated since June. The document says they have been married for 28-years
Sheehan gained national visibility in the Summer of 2005 when she took up residence in a roadside tent outside of President Bush’s ranch demanding to talk to him about Iraq.
She is opposed to the war in Iraq and says Mr. Bush lied to her son and to the country about the justification for going into Iraq.
The story about her son’s grave not having a headstone is true. In a statement published by Truthout, Sheehan seems to indicate that the reason there is no grave marker is that it would be too painful for her to have one placed. She writes, ” For the first year after Casey was killed, I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to place a TOMBstone on my son’s grave. I didn’t want one more marble proof that my son was dead. I couldn’t even call where he was buried a “cemetery,” I had to call it “Casey’s Park.” I placed fresh flowers in the cup every week and journaled there almost on a daily basis, and often laid on it and fell asleep and dreamed of my needlessly killed son.”
Updated 9/6/05