Fenton, Missouri (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
The widow of a local Marine killed in Afghanistan says that a Florida pastor's plan to burn copies of the Koran on September 11 endangers the lives of every U.S. service member in Iraq and Afghanistan."This is just hate and ignorance from someone who doesn't care about the job our troops are doing," said Amy Patton.
Her husband, Marine PFC Michael Patton of Fenton, was 19 years old when he was killed by a Taliban roadside bomb near Khandahar, Afghanistan in June, 2008.
"We are trying to do a good thing over there and we just don't need to deal with any more casualties than we already have. This will cause more."
Gainesville, Florida pastor Terry Jones says he plans to burn several hundred copies of theKoran at an outdoor ceremony on September 11. Everyone from Ptresident Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Afghanistan commander General David Petraeus and Sarah Palin have condemned the Koran burning, saying it could cause a violent backlash and further endanger U.S. troops.
Amy Patton agrees. "It's just selfish of him because he doesn't know the good our guys are doing over there and how long their days are and what they're going through and this negative thing this man plans to do could make things a lot worse for them. And he doesn't care.
"This is just a lot of selfish people who've never gone through losing a loved one in combat, and they don't care. They don't care how many American troops might be hurt or killed by their selfish and mean actions."
Jones says he plans to go ahead with the Koran burning, despite protests.
