She didn't need an explanation. She didn't want an apology. She was not seeking justification for the death of her son. Amy Galvez, who met with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday, already felt she knew. Her son, Adam, died fighting for a cause he believed in. He died trying to bring freedom to an oppressed people. He died because he chose to serve a noble cause.
   
    Others have come to differing conclusions about the deaths of their loved ones in Iraq. One of those, Cindy Sheehan, stirred opinions and emotions in Utah when she announced, earlier this month, that she would come here to help protest President Bush's visit.
    In the tumultuous days following Adam Galvez's death - a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee in Iraq's volatile Al Anbar province on Aug. 20 - Amy Galvez has found prominence as an anti-Sheehan force of sorts.
    And in the days leading up to Sheehan's anticipated arrival in Utah - she since has canceled the trip for medical reasons - Galvez's was the voice many war supporters were longing to hear.
    When American Legionnaires gathered Sunday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center to honor fallen service members, Amy and Tony Galvez were seated in the front row. Conservative pundits Tammy Bruce and Bob Lonsberry have written about the Galvez family's tragedy - and steadfast adherence to the Iraq War cause. And when Paul Holton, a Utah Army National Guardsman, decided to stage a "Freedom Rally" to counter Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's protest against President Bush, he found the Galvezes ready to support his efforts.
    It's unclear how much the Salt Lake City family's allegiance to the Bush administration's Iraq ideology contributed, but they didn't so much as have to ask for the meeting they had with Rumsfeld, who was in town to speak to the American Legion national convention.
    Rumsfeld, upon learning of Adam Galvez's death in Iraq, specifically requested his schedule be moved back a short time so he could meet with the fallen Marine's family in private, an aide said.
    A private dialogue with Bush - who is due to arrive in Salt Lake City this evening - is also in the works, Republican Party officials have said.
    Sheehan first came into the national spotlight for her failed attempts to meet with Bush.
    But for Amy Galvez, time with the president is not an entitlement, regardless of the nature of her loss.
    "It would just be such an incredible honor," she said earlier this week.
    The grieving mother described her time with Rumsfeld in similar terms on Tuesday. She declined to say what was discussed. Rumsfeld simply said he "expressed our sincere condolences to them," noting the family "had suffered a terribly unfortunate loss."
    But as Salt Lake City takes center stage in the Iraq War debate - the president will arrive tonight following a day in which thousands of protestors and counter-protestors are expected to converge downtown - Amy Galvez won't be available to help push for troop support.
    She will be burying her son. Services for Adam Galvez will take place at 2 p.m. at the McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 S. Redwood Road.
    But those who know her plight say Amy Galvez, if she wishes to, can continue to carry the banner for the many mothers like her who don't see the world as Sheehan does.
    Standing just feet away from Adam Galvez's flag-draped coffin during a viewing at the mortuary Tuesday evening, a gathering of parents who also have lost sons in battle acknowledged that, for those who choose to share their grief with the public, being a "Gold Star" family can be a full-time job with unwelcome and unending demands.
    "But," said Robert Lehmiller, whose son Michael was killed last year in Afghanistan, "it is our duty."