Crank Caller Tells Marine Spouses That Their Loved One Died in Iraq

Someone posing as an American Red Cross worker has been calling spouses at Camp Pendleton and telling them their loved ones were killed in the war in Iraq.

Base officials, who don’t know who’s making the prank calls, issued a statement this week warning spouses and asking them to report the calls to authorities.

Officials emphasized that next-of-kin notification is done by the military and not the Red Cross.

And uniformed officers, usually including a chaplain, deliver the news in person.

Base officials said they know of only a handful of such calls, but that they would launch an investigation if more complaints arose.

News of the calls has spread quickly through the base’s various support groups for the wives of deployed Marines.

Officials say it has had a devastating effect on those families awaiting word of their loved ones’ safety.

The news that a spouse is dead, a prisoner of war or missing in action “is what they’re waiting for and hoping not to get,” said base spokeswoman 1st Lt. Lara Bennett.

“Some wives have required a few hours of consultation after getting [the fake] call,” Bennett said.

“This is a sick way of entertainment.”

Beyond Camp Pendleton, military and National Guard families in Michigan, Alabama and Virginia have also reported crank calls.

Although it’s unclear if the same person is responsible, the calls follow a similar pattern: A man identifies himself as a Red Cross representative, delivers the devastating news, provides a bogus phone number and hangs up.

“It’s a really mean-spirited hoax,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Devorah Goldburg, adding that complaints are still trickling in.

“How would you like it if you were the mother of a son fighting overseas and you take it to be true?”