8/17/05 The mother of a Lompoc soldier killed in Iraq wants her son's name removed from what she believes are anti-war memorials on a Santa Barbara beach and outside President Bush's Texas ranch.

Air Force Capt. Derek Argel's remains were buried with four of his comrades at Arlington National Cemetery last week. His mother, Debbie Argel Bastian, says the other memorials are an insult to his memory.

"I'm livid about it," Bastian said of the weekly beach display on Santa Barbara's West Beach and the smaller memorial in Texas, where the mother of another dead soldier has made headlines with a weeklong protest.

"Derek would not want to be remembered that way."

Argel, 28, and the others were killed in a plane crash on Memorial Day during a training mission northwest of Baghdad.

Almost every weekend since Veteran's Day 2003, volunteers with the Santa Barbara chapter of Veterans for Peace have erected in the sand a display of crosses - now numbering more than 1,800 - representing U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. The memorial has received international attention and other towns around the nation have replicated it.

While Veterans for Peace will not remove Argel's cross, it has decided to give Bastian the tag on the cross with his name on it, but only if she decides to visit the memorial, said Lane Anderson, a Veteran's for Peace volunteer.

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"We looking forward to greeting her, and if she would like the name tag we would give her the tag, no questions asked," Anderson told the Record.

Organizers say the display is not an anti-war statement but is intended to "make the consequences of war real, and to allow people to express their grief, respect and thoughts."

Still, Anderson said, the memorial "will persist as long as American military personnel are dying in Iraq."

"If the American public are aware of the true cost of the Iraq War, they would insist the troops be brought home," Anderson said.

Cindy Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., has attracted international attention for her vigil outside President Bush's ranch. Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in April 2004. Anderson accompanied Sheehan to Crawford and last spoke with her 10 days ago.

Anderson said Sheehan is a member of Veterans for Peace and had been visiting the Santa Barbara memorial.

Bastian said she thinks Sheehan's protest is inappropriate in a time of war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Staff writer Neil Nisperos can be reached at 736-2313, ext. 108, or at nnisperos@pulitizer.net.