The Sheehans and the Johnsons represent the extremes of grief-stricken parents in war. "American Mourning" is the story of two families -- the Johnsons and the Sheehans -- that lost sons in the war against terror. Their sons were buddies -- best friends since they first met at Fort Hood in Texas -- but the two families have little else in common.

Joe Johnson knew he would have to go to Iraq to see where his son spent his last days on earth. As he slugged through open sewers, he gagged at the stench that smothered the Iraqi slum. It was here that his son, Justin, died, a roadside bomb ripping through his patrol truck and killing him. Here Joe would avenge Justin's death.

Like Joe, Cindy Sheehan lost her son in the same Iraqi slums, but she wanted another kind of revenge. Blaming President Bush for Casey's death, she called the Muslim radicals who killed him "freedom fighters." As the suffocating summer humidity reached its peak in Texas, Cindy posted herself outside President Bush's Crawford ranch, demanding that he meet with her. She became a media phenomenon.

The Sheehans and the Johnsons represent the extremes of grief-stricken parents in war, both families magnifying the gap in how Americans view the war on terror. The way they handled themselves after Casey's and Justin's deaths stands in stark contrast.

Not having actually experienced the loss of a child to war, I can't say how I would react. People handle loss in different ways. Had I died in the service of my country I would hope my parents would have pushed through the loss and appreciated the sacrifice I was willing to make. But, I can't say for sure how I would react to the loss of my own child.


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