From page 18 (as of April 9, 2005) of the online guestbook for the Maine Army National Guards Headquarters of the 133rd Engineer Battalion, a Heavy Combat Unit:
5.Jul.2004
23:37
From: Lavi
To: My HSC friends
lavinia@maine.rr.com"Thank you for being true friends to my Baby, Chris, by being good friends to me. I don't think I've ever been or I'll ever be surrounded by so much darkness as I am now. Thank you for lighting up a candle in my heart with your caring messages. I am sure that, if my Baby can see us from his far away home, he would have a big, thankful smile on his lips; the same healing smile most of you saw on his face every day; the same smile that became "contagious"... Love and peace, Lavinia Gelineau"
It is, perhaps, one of the most tragic stories I've read in relation to the ongoing war in Iraq.
Lavinia Gelineau was the young widow of Sgt. Christopher D. Gelineau, the 100th person killed in combat, on April 20, 2004. Sergeant Gelineau died at age 23.
His wife became an outspoken opponent of the war. Her grief was palpable, and seemed unending.
From an article posted online at CBS4, New Hampshire News:
"...She stood next to widows at the graves of soldiers who had gone to Iraq to fight with her husband a young Romanian woman who lost her one true love and became the face of a grieving homeland in the aftermath.Lavinia Gelineau attended those funerals always clutching a bright pink teddy bear her husband had given her on Valentine's Day before he deployed. She cried and could have blended in among the black-clad mourners. But her intense brown eyes hinted at the intensely personal reason for coming: Their agony was hers..."
Eighteen days shy of the one-year anniversary of Sgt. Gelineau's death, on April 2, 2005, his wife Lavinia was found dead.
From the Guerilla News Network, an article posted online April 4, 2005 :
"...(P)olice 'have a very good idea of what went on inside the house.' However, (Police) declined to reveal details until the state Medical Examiner’s Office determines the cause of death(...) It was her last day at work and her friends were holding a party for her. They were concerned when she did not show up, said Westbrook Police Chief Paul J. McCarthy..."
The war widow wrote poems for her fallen soldier, and others like him. At the blog fondofelves.com, the blogger posted a poem by Lavinia on July 4, 2004:
To the 133rd and all other deployed soldiers with lots of loveContinued on the next page Page 1 — Page 2
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Article comments
1 - Pumpkin
My friend Lavi sent me her poem and I forwarded it to fondofelves.com to be posted.
I am heartbroken once again. Rest in peace, My Dearest Lavi.
2 - sonngwriter2
Hello Pumpkin~
Thanks for all of you kind words about Lavi and Chris. I knew her for 11 months and already miss her terribly. She was so dear to all of us and so kind to her kitties. I have adopted Shoo-Shoo and he is just fine. Sasha was adopted by one of her girlfriends and has adjusted well into her new home. Their spirits will watch over us all.
We feel sad for what we have lost,we feel poor for the empty spaces.Wee feel rich for we have each other,We will cry for what we can't have.We will laugh, for our memories abound. We will hrt,for the love we can't give.We will rejoice for the love we have received. We will be restless,for our lives are not whole.We will be peaceful,for we know it is not forever.
Nannette Hamilton
3 - Rocket Wong/Lilly Acuna-Wong
We 'met' Lavi while visiting my mother's grave the last two years. Although we never spoke to her, we could see the love and grief she felt. We were shoked and shattered to see her grave last weekend beside her husband. We will miss her and her heart shaped flowers for the rest of our lives. We will alos always visit her and her husband.
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