CRUEL AND SICK

And in my view worthy of passing eternity in Hell.

A phone call to Eddie Valentin saying that his wife, a U.S. Army Reserve sergeant, had been killed in an explosion in Iraq turned out to be a hoax.

But it took Valentin nearly 24 hours to find out that the report of Sgt. Betsy Valentin's death was false.

"I went crazy. I banged my head against the wall," Eddie Valentin said Thursday.

The caller Wednesday claimed to be a colonel with the Defense Department and knew personal information about Betsy Valentin, including her Social Security number, her husband said.

On Thursday afternoon, another call to Eddie Valentin cleared things up. It was his 37-year-old wife telling him that there had been no explosion and no injuries.

If you are related to a soldier serving in the war zone...please take a moment to find out what the notification procedures are under circumstances like this. This information is most easily obtained through your soldier's Rear Detachment.

I know in our brigade, a report of a death will never be made over the phone if it is humanly possible for the Army to send an officer to your door.

If you know such things...and you develop a relationship with the Rear Detachment...you know when to be properly skeptical and where you can quickly call to get the facts.