Posted By:
MAF Blogger Danny
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Controversy over this anti-war t-shirt being sold on the net is spilling into the courts this week. 

This is United States Army Specialist Brandon M. Read

Brandon was killed by terrorists in Qayyarah West, Iraq on Sept 6, 2004 when an IED exploded near the convoy where he was riding gunner-seat. 

Brandon comes from Greenville, Tenn., was stationed in Iraq with the 125th Transportation Company (Lexington, KY.), and was 21 years old when he gave his life for his country.

According to accounts, Brandon had volunteered for the very dangerous gunner position the day he was killed. 

From Honor The Fallen:

Army officials told his mother that Read had volunteered to exchange places with another soldier while they were on a dangerous convoy mission. He was gunner on a truck when the blast occurred.
“When the Army officers came to my house, they said he had saved someone else’s life,” Kelli Read, mother of the 21-year-old soldier, told The Greeneville Sun.

Read was told that her son had manned the gunner’s post on the truck during the first half of the Monday convoy mission and had been slated to drive the truck on the return trip while his partner manned the more dangerous machine-gun position.

Brandon volunteered to act as the gunner on the return trip as well.

Brandon is remembered fondly by friends and family. His mother wrote:

The 21 years that I spent with my son, Brandon, was not long enough but I can say that the joy, happiness and love that he showed me is more than I ever deserved. I love him more and more every day. He is, and always will be, my angel and my hero. My heart is forever broken.

I love you Brandon and I thank God that you died knowing how much you were loved. Please watch over all of us....especially your beloved brother and his daughter, Alexandra Brandon.

Read the rest at Iraq War Heroes . Org

After having to deal with the loss of their son, Brandon’s mother and father later learned that their son’s name came to be used to create an Anti-War t-shirt being sold off the website www.carryabigsticker.com

The shirt shows the names of 3,734 of the soldiers who have died in the war on Iraq. There are several variations of it, all featuring the names, but with different messages in red.

“Bush Lied…They Died”,

“Support Our Remaining Troops…Bring the Rest Home Alive”, and

“If Any Question Why We Died…Tell Them Because Our Fathers Lied”

The website also features much information about the t-shirt design, it’s history and a list of links to information regarding the controversy surrounding the design. Here is one tidbit, where the creators courageously pledge to keep selling the shirts (for profit) until all the troops come home ( why would anyone buy an t-shirt to protest a war that’s over anyways? Obviously they will stop because it won’t be PROFITABLE for them anymore…disgusting ):

Five states have passed legislation aimed at outlawing the sale of these shirts (Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arizona). Similar legislation has been proposed in Michigan and Maryland. Federal legislation is also pending. We continue to sell these shirts in all 50 states and will do so until the troops come home or they throw us in jail, whichever comes first.

The site also sells a bunch of other liberal wacko junk, like those COEXIST stickers, a lot of Obama paraphernalia and just about anything you can think of that you could expect to be shocked by.

Well when they found out that this awful website was selling these horrible shirts with their son’s name on it, Brandon’s mom and dad sent a letter to LIFEWEAVER LLC (the company that owns the carryabigsticker website) asking them to take Brandon’s name off the t-shirt.

After receiving no response, they filed THIS lawsuit, which I happened to see on The Smoking Gun today.

I am sure there are plenty of other Gold Star families out there who are equally offended by this and would LOVE to be involved in a class-action to stop these opportunists from using our hero’s names to promote their own agendas and make a profit to boot!

UPDATE:
The Jawa Report has blogged about this