Slain Soldier’s Two Sisters Grieve

The soldier sisters of a National Guard member killed in Iraq are weighing whether to return to the war zone or stay home in Wisconsin with their grieving family.

Rachel and Charity Witmer were granted leave after their sister, Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, died when her Humvee was attacked April 9 in Baghdad. The two returned home Monday.

“We are conflicted because we have two families and we can’t be with both at the same time,” said a statement read Tuesday on behalf of the women by a family friend.

Rachel, 24, serves in the same military police unit that Michelle did. Charity, Michelle’s twin, is a medic.

“Rachel and Charity would like to express to their fellow soldiers in the 32nd MP Company and Company B 118th Medical Battalion, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Not a minute goes by that we don’t think of you,” the statement said.

Defense Department policy allows soldiers from the family of one who dies while serving in a hostile area to request an exemption from serving in such an area. The request must come from the soldiers themselves. The family said the sisters are deferring a decision for now.

The teary-eyed sisters leaned on their parents, Lori and John Witmer of New Berlin, as the statement was read to dozens of reporters Tuesday at a church in suburban Milwaukee. Their two brothers also were with them.

The family did not answer questions. A memorial service for Michelle Witmer is scheduled at the church tonight.

In the family statement, the Witmers expressed gratitude for the prayers and support they’ve received from around the world, and sympathy to other families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

Wisconsin National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Donovan said that the sisters would not be pressured to make a quick decision and that their 15-day leave could be extended.