WASHINGTON, DC - At three events on June 15th and June 16th, members of

Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO)

will travel to Washington, DC to press for answers regarding the so-called

Downing Street Memo and for the truth about the decision to invade Iraq.

Wednesday, June 15th

Members of Gold Star Families for Peace, a national organization of

families whose loved ones died as a result of the war in Iraq, will meet

with Members of Congress on June 15, 2005 to call on them to support a

"Resolution of Inquiry" into the so-called Downing Street Memo. Members of

Gold Star Families for Peace believe that the Downing Street Memo is a

"smoking gun" and validation that the invasion of Iraq was based on

prefabricated intelligence. GSFP members who have lost their dearest

family members believe that their loved ones died needlessly, senselessly,

and avoidably in the aggression against Iraq.

Gold Star Families for Peace members who will be available to speak with

the press prior to, as well as following, their Congressional visits,

include:

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, CA whose son Army SPC Casey Sheehan was killed

in Sadr City, Baghdad, on 04/04/04. Ms. Sheehan's sister Dede Miller of

Bellflower, CA, aunt of Casey Sheehan, will also be present.

Bill Mitchell of Atascadero, CA whose son Sgt. Michael Mitchell was also

killed in Sadr City on 04/04/04.

Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia, PA whose son Sgt. Sherwood Baker, the

first Pennsylvania National Guard soldier to die in combat since 1945, was

killed on April 26, 2004 in an explosion in Baghdad while guarding the

Iraq Survey Group who were looking for weapons of mass destruction.

Dianne Davis Santorello, of Verona, PA mother of Lt.Neil Anthony

Santoriello, KIA 8-13-04

Roxane Kaylor, of Virgnia, mother of Sgt. Jeff Kaylor, KIA 4-7-03

Tia Steele, of Baltimore, MD stepmother of David M Branning KIA 11-12-04

in Fallujah

Liz Sweet, lives in DC area, mother of Thomas J Sweet, died on 11-27-03

WHAT: Members of Gold Star Families available for interview and comment

before and after visits with Congress

WHO: Families whose loved ones were killed in Iraq

WHEN: June 15, 2005 at 10:30a.m. and 4:00p.m.

WHERE: Near the Congressional Office Buildings at the Bartholdi Park

Fountain; Independence and First Street at Washington Ave SW, Washington

D.C.

Thursday, June 16th

On June 16th at 2pm (location to be determined) GSFP co-founder Cindy

Sheehan will join others in testifying at a Democratic hearing before Rep.

John Conyers, Jr, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and

other Members of Congress.

After the hearings a rally will be held at the White House at 5pm in

Lafayette Park. Members of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military

Families Speak Out, an organization of over 2,200 military families who

are opposed to the war in Iraq, will accompany Congressman Conyers and

others in delivering a petition demanding that President Bush answer

questions and tell the truth about the justifications for and the lead-up

to the war in Iraq. Representatives of GSFP and MFSO who will be available

for interview include:

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, CA whose son Army SPC Casey Sheehan was killed

in Sadr City, Baghdad, on 04/04/04. Ms. Sheehan's sister Dede Miller of

Bellflower, CA, aunt of Casey Sheehan, will also be present.

Bill Mitchell of Atascadero, CA whose son Sgt. Michael Mitchell was also

killed in Sadr City on 04/04/04.

Al and Dante Zappala of Philadelphia, PA whose son and brother Sgt.

Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guard soldier to die in

combat since 1945, was killed on April 26, 2004 in an explosion in Baghdad

while guarding the Iraq Survey Group who were looking for weapons of mass

destruction.

Stephen Cleghorn, member of Military Families Speak Out from Washington,

D.C. whose stepson in the U.S. Army served in Iraq and received the Bronze

Star. Mr. Cleghorn was one of fifteen parents who brought a lawsuit

against President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in

February, 2003 seeking to prevent an invasion of Iraq absent a

Congressional Declaration of War.

Details on time and place of these two events will be posted on

www.mfso.org and www.AfterDowningStreet.org when they are available.

www.gsfp.org

www.mfso.org

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See also:

http://www.mfso.org