In an act of what can only be considered true compassion the pro-troop organization Move America Forward has offered to bail anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan out of her financial troubles by buying a 5-acre tract of property Sheehan owns near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

The proposal from MAF also includes plans to erect a monument on the property to the heroes of the Afghanistan and Iraq fighting in the War on Terror.

The artists' rendering of the monument:

Sheehan rose to national prominence as the darling of the left-wing anti-war media when she accused President Bush of needlessly causing the death of her son Casey who died fighting terrorists in Baghdad.

She camped out on the road leading to the Bush property attempting to recreate a 60s era anti-war movement. Although some fringe elements did join here there, she also was opposed by many Gold Star families, whose sons and daughters also were killed in the fighting, and Blue Star families whose sons and daughters are fighting the terrorists and who opposed her stance on the war and the president.

On Memorial Day this year Sheehan announced that she was stepping down from her leadership role in the flailing anti-war movement, after she had begun questioning Democrats in Congress as she had previously questioned Republicans, and was roundly criticized by her own backers for her statements.

Move America Forward is chaired by Melanie Morgan, who with co-author Catherine Moy, wrote the book American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs which compares how two American families reacted to the loss of their sons in combat in Iraq.

The book relates how Cindy Sheehan's reaction was so different from Joe Johnson, whose son Justin was Casey Sheehan's best friend and who also died in Iraq a few days after Casey. Morgan, co-host of the morning drive-time radio show on KSFO in San Francisco, with Lee Rodgers, sent me the following news release from Move America Forward:

SACRAMENTO - The nation's largest grass-roots, pro-troop organization, Move America Forward - www.MoveAmericaForward.org - is announcing today its plans to acquire the 5 acres of land in Crawford, Texas that had been used by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and her supporters.

Move America Forward has retained the services of award-winning real estate agent, Holly Williams - www.HollyCountry.com - to broker the deal. Once the land has been obtained, Move America Forward plans to erect a "Monument to America's Heroes" on the property.

"I'm honored to be able to broker such a deal, and help turn this piece of land into a memorial that honors our brave men and women who fought for our freedom overseas. I am familiar with the land having spent time in Crawford and seeing first hand how Sheehan used the land to undermine the mission of our troops. I can't think of a better use than to buy the land that was used to defile our troops and turn it into something beautiful that honors them," said Holly Williams.

Sheehan acquired the 5-acre plot of land in July 2006 for $52,500 using insurance money from the death of her son, Casey Sheehan, in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cindy Sheehan declared at that time that the land would be used, "until George's (Bush) resignation or impeachment." However, this Memorial Day weekend Sheehan reversed course and gave her "resignation" as the face of the anti-war movement, announcing that the 5-acres in Crawford, Texas were up for sale.

"This land has been used as a staging ground for anti-war activists to denounce and denigrate the heroic service of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. It is our intention to turn this around and make this the site that will honor the heroic accomplishments of the men and women who have fought with honor and courage in the war against Islamic terrorism," declared Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward.

Robert Dixon, Executive Director of Move America Forward, said the money to purchase the land would come from the financial contributions of Move America Forward's one-million members.

"We've already raised the initial sum to kick-start this effort and we will be collecting donations to fund both the purchase of this land and to pay for the construction of the Monument to America's Heroes," Dixon said.


As I said at the outset, this is obviously an act of compassion with a true sense of honoring the troops. The biggest question now, however, is how will Cindy Sheehan respond to an offer to permanently honor her son, and the other men and women who served as well.