Bush Legacy Tour

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - We were invited to join The American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees (AFSMCE) this weekend for their annual convention in San Francisco. AFSMCE has been one of the Bush's Legacy Tour's biggest sponsors and we were thrilled to be there. We kicked off the weekend in front of the convention center with a press conference Saturday morning. Speaking at the press conference were Gerald McEntee, International President of AFSCME and Nadia McCaffrey, the mother of Patrick McCaffrey Sr. a soldier who was killed in Iraq, whose story we tell on the bus.

President McEntee spoke about the desperate need we have in this country to organizer workers, provide quality health care, end the war, and start the process of reversing the devastating policies of the last eight years. His speech was met with loud cheers from the audience of AFSCME members.

Nadia McCaffrey gave a speech that brought several people in the audience to tears. She started by talking about her son Patrick's reasons for joining the National Guard. He was a husband and a father of two, making a great living.

The McCaffrey's were living the American dream. Then 9/11 happened and Patrick felt compelled to do something, He wanted to help in any way he could. He joined the National Guard and was eventually sent to Iraq.

While he was serving in Iraq in 2004, some of the Iraqi security forces that he and his unit were training turned on his unit and open fired. They killed Patrick and one other soldier Lt. Andre D. Tyson.  Nadia and her family were devastated. As if losing a son, father, husband, and brother were not enough,the McCaffrey's did not even get the piece of mind of knowing how Patrick died. The Pentagon kept this information from the family for two years and did not disclose the nature of his death because they knew it was evidence, in the most horrific way possible, that we were not always being greeted as liberators. Nadia persisted and contacted Senator Boxer and the process began for notifying the family and the public of the truth.

The cover-up was a big national story when it broke. Nadia turned the media attention into a spotlight on soldiers and veterans issues. She has completely devoted her life to veteran and soldiers. She started the Seargent Patrick Ryan McCaffrey Sr. Foundation For Combat Veterans and www.veteransvillage.org which helps veterans and current soldiers deal with many of the issues they face like homelessness, PTSD, unemployment, and the many psychological issues that come with returning home. Nadia was on her way the next day to New York state to open seven new homes that the foundation had built to help veterans and their families with affordable housing.

Many of the AFSCME members who attended the press conference commented on how moved they were by Nadia's story and the way Patrick's family has been able to carry on in spite of their tragedy. The exhibit we have on Patrick McCaffrey Sr. is the part of the bus that gets the strongest reaction from people and tells the most personal story. We are incredibly appreciative of Nadia's and Patrick's wife Sylvia and their children Janessa-Marie and Patrick Jr.'s willingness to let us tell their story. Nadia has been supportive from the time this project started. She event brought some pictures with her to the press conference that we have now incorporated in the exhibit.

Please log onto www.veteransvillage.org to support the work they are doing or to refer a soldier or veteran you know that is in need.