Mother blames (Stop-Loss) policy for son's Iraq injuries (Lost legs/arm) [View All]

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7210522p-7122975c.html

The soldier son of an Anchorage poet, playwright and anti-war activist was critically injured in Iraq two weeks into a second tour of duty he did not want to serve, his mother said.

Latseen Benson, in the 101st Airborne, was struck Sunday by a roadside bomb in Tikrit, north of Bagdad. Monday night, the 26-year-old he had not regained consciousness, Diane Benson said from her Eagle River home.

Benson said her son's first four-year tour was over Oct. 31 and that he was forced to extend his service under the controversial Stop-Loss Program.

"My son is now fighting for his life with half a body left," Benson said.

Benson had this to say about Bush visit Monday to Anchorage.

"I would have appreciated a little house call while he was here," she said. "To tell me why a very fine boy has to be fighting for his life."


Diane Benson speaks at a "Bring the Troops Home" rally Oct. 25, 2003, put on by Alaskans for Peace and Justice at Town Square in Anchorage. She holds a photo of her son, Latseen Benson, who was seriously injured Sunday while serving a second tour of duty with the Army in Iraq.