Father of fallen Marine upset by president's letter
A man who lost a son to the war in Afghanistan is disappointed in the condolence letter he received from President Barack Obama.
Tom Logan, a Willis resident, calls the note late, impersonal, disrespectful and essentially a form letter.
"It opened up a wound in our heart you can't fix. You can't send another letter. You can't make it right," Logan said.
Logan's son, USMC Cpl. Joseph D. Logan, was killed Jan. 19, 2012, along with five other men when the helicopter they were in crashed.
Joey Logan was 22.
"He would have been more mad about this than I am," Tom Logan said.
Tom Logan said he believes Obama did little more than sign his name to the document. He believes his son deserved more.
Local 2 Investigates examined two other letters sent by Obama to families of soldiers killed in action. The one-page typed condolence letters were identical other than names, ranks and service branches.
There is no standard or written protocol that we could find dealing with presidential condolence letters.
"Different presidents have approached the task in ways that are unique with their personalities and their priorities," University of Houston Professor and Historian Nancy Beck Young said.
Young examined the letter written to Tom Logan, which arrived by UPS truck four months after his son's death.
"I would agree, this is a personal sacrifice and an impersonal condolence," Young said.
Young said that it appears Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, wrote more personal, individualized, sometimes hand-written notes to the families of soldiers.
Young also said that form letters, condolence, or otherwise, are a function of the modern age we live in.
"I think it's an indication of how of how the office of the presidency works in the early 21st century," Young said.
Tom Logan is convinced it shouldn't work like that, not now, not ever.
"Where are the representatives of our government? Where is the honor and the respect that all of these soldiers deserve?" Logan asked.
Local 2 Investigates attempted to contact the White House for comment three times. We have not received a response.
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