Nadia McCaffrey

Who is Nadia McCaffrey?

Nadia McCaffrey was born April 17, 1945 in Paris, France and married an American, Bob McCaffrey; then she immigrated to the United States. She is the founder of Angel Staff, a group of volunteers who bring a caring presence to terminally ill patients and their families. Her son and only child, Sergeant Patrick R. McCaffrey Sr. and his supervisor First Lieutenant Andre D. Tyson were killed while serving in Iraq, in an ambush near Balad, Iraq on June 22, 2004.

She has campaigned against the war in Iraq along with Cindy Sheehan in Crawford after her son's death when the Pentagon would not give her more details surrounding her son's death.

On June 20, 2005, the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division concluded that the Iraqi Security Forces, ICDC officers patrolling with her son's unit had killed Patrick and 1st Lt. Andre D. Tyson. Scott Lindlaw from the Associated Press wrote: "TRACY, Calif. — He'd trained as a combat lifesaver. Now Sgt. Patrick McCaffrey lay gravely wounded, his blood pooling on a street in Balad, Iraq. Eight bullets had found flesh between the heavy body-armor plates meant to protect the California National Guardsman's torso. They sliced into his lungs, liver and other organs and struck two vital arteries, including his aorta. Lt. Andre Tyson sprawled next to him, a round having pierced his forehead. He was gasping for breath. Despite medics' frantic efforts, McCaffrey, 34, and Tyson, 33, soon died. But with their deaths a strange subplot in the Iraq war was born — a legal case still quietly unfolding today, as the U.S. Army pursues a murder trial. McCaffrey and Tyson were slain by enemies posing as "friendly" Iraqi national guardsmen, according to Army investigators. The Iraqis patrolled alongside the Californians, then betrayed them when they turned their backs, investigators say."