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Iraq

Bush: $100,000 for war dead

The president will propose an increased "death gratuity" for families of those killed in Iraq and other combat zones.

By GRAHAM BRINK
Published February 1, 2005

Army Sgt. Wentz Shanaberger, a former Tampa area resident killed by Iraqi insurgents last year, left behind a wife and five children.

The government sent the family the standard "death gratuity," about $12,000, but the money only went so far. Too many hungry mouths to feed and bodies to clothe.

Now the Shanabergers, and other families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, could get a dramatic boost in financial support.

Pentagon officials announced Monday that President Bush will propose raising the $12,420 benefit to $100,000. The proposal, which Bush is expected to submit to Congress as part of his 2006 budget next week, would also provide an extra $150,000 in life insurance.

"My son went because he felt it was his duty, no matter the benefits," said Shanaberger's mother, Cheryl Shanaberger of Fort Pierce. "But for his family, and the other families, the extra money would be a blessing."

Under Bush's plan, the increased benefits would be retroactive to Oct. 7, 2001, the day the United States invaded Afghanistan.

Supporters of the president's proposal estimated the increased benefits would cost $459-million in the first year, including about $280-million in retroactive payments. Some members of Congress would like to see the higher gratuity made retroactive but not the additional life insurance.

According to the Pentagon, 1,415 Americans have died in the Iraq war and 156 in Afghanistan and other locations deemed part of the war on terrorism.

"We can never in any program give someone back their loved one," said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "There is nothing we can do about the hurt, to make it go away. But we can make your circumstances reasonable, in terms of finances."

Only the families of service members killed in designated combat zones would receive the $100,000. Soldiers killed in training in the United States would still receive $12,420, though some members of Congress would like to see an increased gratuity paid for all deaths.

Service members can sign up for $250,000 in subsidized life insurance under the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance program. Bush's proposal would raise that amount to $400,000, and the government would pay the premiums on the additional $150,000 for troops in a designated combat zone.

Since the government would pay the premiums, even the surviving spouses of soldiers who opted not to sign up for any life insurance would receive $150,000, as long as the death occurred in a designated combat zone.

Wentz Shanaberger, who graduated from Zephyrhills High School in Pasco County, did tours in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, and in Bosnia, South Korea and Panama in his 14 years in the Army. Shanaberger, 33, was killed in an ambush March 24, 2004, while investigating a suspicious vehicle.

His mother called the proposed increases "excellent," though she would like to see more flexible housing benefits and health insurance made available to the spouses and children of soldiers killed while serving their country.

"I know a line has to be drawn somewhere," Cheryl Shanaberger said. "But some of these programs are really needed, especially for the children."

Bill Buesing III of Port Richey had mixed feelings about Bush's proposal.

His son, Brian Buesing, 20, was the first serviceman from the Tampa Bay area to be killed in the Iraq war, shot by Iraqis pretending to surrender.

"It tears you from the inside out," Bill Buesing said Monday. And for that reason, "any kind of benefit the family can get, especially the immediate family, is well deserved."

But on the other hand, Buesing wondered whether his son - who was not married and had no children - should receive as much compensation as a soldier with a wife and children.

He said $250,000 was "a little much to be giving away ... to a mom and a dad."

"You're giving money for a life then," Buesing said. "There's really no use. That money should go to families that have children. That's who you should be concerned with."

Four years ago, defense officials examined whether the $6,000 death gratuity paid at the time was too low. The gratuity was doubled in 2003 to $12,000, and then increased further for inflation. The 2003 law also made the payment fully tax-free. Before that, half was taxable.

Norma Aviles, the mother of slain Tampa soldier Andrew J. Aviles, said no amount of money will ever be enough.

Andrew Aviles, a Marine reservist, died when enemy artillery struck his vehicle on a bridge outside Baghdad on April 7, 2003. He was two weeks from his 19th birthday.

"Nothing could pay for his life, his precious life," Norma Aviles said.

Bush's proposal is "too little, too late," she said. "The right thing to do is not to send our kids to Iraq when it's not necessary."

--Times staff writer Ron Matus and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report, which includes information from the Associated Press.

[Last modified February 1, 2005, 05:32:11]