By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-966534.mp3
Springfield, MA – The death of Osama Bin Laden is greeted with mixed emotions by a Massachusetts woman whose husband was killed on September 11th. WAMC"s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports .
Christie Coombs of Abington whose 42 year old husband Jeff was on American Airlines Flight 11 when it was crashed into the World Trade Center says she was stunned when she heard the news late Sunday night that US Forces had killed Osama Bin Laden
Coombs says Bin Laden's death is cause for America to celebrate and she salutes the military and President Obama for not giving up on the quest to hunt down the most wanted terrorist.
Coombs said she is genuinely concerned that more innocent lives could be lost through retaliations from Bin Laden followers .
Paki Wieland, a long time peace activist from Northampton, said she too had mixed emotions when she heard the news of Bin Laden's death.
Wieland says she hopes the death of Bin Laden hastens the end of the war in Afghanistan.
The Westover Air Force Reserve Base in Chicopee saw its overseas commitments increase significantly as a result of the troop surge a year ago in Afghanistan.. Hundreds of reservists were called to active duty, and many were sent overseas to help support the deployment of 30 thousand additional troops. Kimberly Babin is the city of Chicopee's Veterans Services Director
Since the September 11th terrorist attacks 34 soldiers from Massachusetts have died in Afghanistan, and 76 have been killed in Iraq. Seventy-eight Massachusetts residents died on September 11th.