Using $2 veto pen a priceless act for father of fallen Marine

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By Jon Ward

President Bush on Tuesday used a regular black-ink, felt-tip pen not his usual personalized Cross-brand pen when he vetoed a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The pen was a gift from Robert Derga, the father of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq. Mr. Derga of Uniontown, Ohio, gave Mr. Bush the pen after a speech by the president last month at the White House and had asked him to use it when he vetoed the timeline.

Mr. Bush had invited a number of "Gold Star Families" those who have lost a U.S. military member in Iraq to the speech April 16 and met with them afterward in the Oval Office.

Mr. Derga, 53, said the pen was the one he used to write letters to his son, Marine Cpl. Dustin A. Derga.

"It was just a common run of the mill I don't even remember the brand name," Mr. Derga said. "It was just a $2 pen. Nothing special."

Mr. Bush met with the Dergas and other families for about 45 minutes and spoke directly with each family.

"I looked the president square in the eye," Mr. Derga said. "I looked at him and said, 'Mr. President, if this Iraq supplemental comes down to a veto, I want you to use my pen to do it.'"

Mr. Bush "kind of looked at me funny for a moment and then said, 'Absolutely,' and then handed the pen to his assistant," he said.

"He assured me he would use it," Mr. Derga said.

Cpl. Derga was killed in Iraq on May 8, 2005, while leading house-to-house searches in Ubaydi, Iraq. He was 24.