In a September 29 article, the New York Post reported that “Barack Obama apparently broke his promise to the family of a fallen Wisconsin soldier when he mentioned the slain sergeant's name in his Friday debate with Sen. John McCain.” The article added that “Brian Jopek, the father of the late Ryan David Jopek, told National Public Radio in March that the family asked Obama to stop wearing his son's bracelet, but the Illinois senator continued to do so.” However, the Post provided no evidence that Obama ever “promise[d]” the Jopek family that he would “stop wearing” Ryan Jopek's bracelet. In fact, during the March 20 interview with Wisconsin Public Radio, Brian Jopek made no such claim. Further, according to the Associated Press, “After Tracy Jopek gave Sen. Barack Obama a bracelet in honor of her son who was killed in Iraq,” she “e-mailed the Obama campaign through its Web site asking that he not mention it during debates or speeches” but “never got a reply.”

Moreover, the Post did not mention until the eighth paragraph that Tracy Jopek and her daughter -- Ryan's sister -- were reportedly not upset over Obama's mention of Ryan Jopek's bracelet: “Tracy, who has been divorced from [Brian] Jopek for six years, said Obama's mention of her son in the debate was OK because he was responding to McCain, who first brought up that he was wearing a soldier's 'hero bracelet.' Tracy, who backs Obama, said she was 'ecstatic' that the Illinois senator had used her son's name and did not believe he was doing so for political purposes.”

During the September 26 debate, McCain asserted that in August 2007 at “a town hall meeting in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, ... a woman stood up and she said, 'Senator McCain, I want you to do me the honor of wearing a bracelet with my son's name on it.' ... And then she said, 'But, Senator McCain, I want you to do everything -- promise me one thing, that you'll do everything in your power to make sure that my son's death was not in vain.' ” McCain added: “That means that that mission succeeds, just like those young people who re-enlisted in Baghdad, just like the mother I met at the airport the other day whose son was killed. And they all say to me that we don't want defeat.” In response, Obama stated:

I've got a bracelet, too, from Sergeant -- from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, given to me in Green Bay. She asked me, can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I'm going through.

No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided. Our troops have performed brilliantly. The question is for the next president, are we making good judgments about how to keep America safe precisely because sending our military into battle is such an enormous step.

The AP reported on September 28 that Tracy Jopek “gave Obama the bracelet at a Green Bay rally in February.” But a “few days” later, she “had a change of heart” and “realized it could be interpreted as a protest against the war, a statement that made her uncomfortable because other military families who suffered losses still supported the conflict.” The article added: “So she e-mailed the Obama campaign through its Web site asking that he not mention it during debates or speeches. She never got a reply but said she didn't hear of him mentioning it after that -- until Friday, when Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain appeared in their first debate.” The AP reported further: “Obama's comment sparked a number of angry comments from bloggers who suggested Obama was exploiting her son's death to score political points. Jopek said those bloggers might have heard comments that her son's father made on Wisconsin Public Radio on March 20.” During the interview, Brian Jopek, who is a staff sergeant in the National Guard, reportedly claimed that “his ex-wife asked Obama not to wear the bracelet at any further public appearances. But Obama was still apparently wearing it, he said.” However, according to the AP, “Tracy Jopek said she didn't hear the interview but that her ex-husband, who is currently stationed in Cuba, mischaracterized her viewpoint.' ... I think he knew my intention, he understands it was a gesture between me and Sen. Obama,' she said. 'It was just little piece of peace for us. I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet.' ”

Also, the subhead of the Post article read “GI's Kin Irked Over Bracelet.” But other than citing Brian Jopek's March 20 remarks, the article provided no evidence that Jopek family members had been “irked” by Obama's mention of Ryan Jopek. Indeed, the Post reported that Brian “Jopek could not be reached for comment. His stepdaughter, Morgan, said he is with the military in Cuba,” and cited Tracey and Jessica Jopek's support of Obama's actions.

From the September 29 New York Post article, headlined “Bam's Bangle Bungle: GI's Kin Irked Over Bracelet”:

Barack Obama apparently broke his promise to the family of a fallen Wisconsin soldier when he mentioned the slain sergeant's name in his Friday debate with John McCain.

Brian Jopek, the father of the late Ryan David Jopek, told National Public Radio in March that the family asked Obama to stop wearing his son's bracelet, but the Illinois senator continued to do so.

Jopek said his ex-wife, Tracy, was upset that Obama had made her son's death a campaign issue.

In the March 20 NPR interview, Jopek, who lives in Madison, said his ex-wife had e-mailed Obama, asking him not to wear the bracelet.

“She has turned down any subsequent interviews with the media because she just didn't want it to get turned into something that it wasn't. She had told me in an e-mail that she had asked, actually asked Mr. Obama to not wear the bracelet any more at any of his public appearances,” he said.

“But, the other night, I was watching the news, and he was on, uh, speaking somewhere, and he was still wearing it on his right wrist. I could see it on his right wrist. So . . . that's a choice that he continues to wear it despite Tracy asking him not to.”

Jopek could not be reached for comment. His stepdaughter, Morgan, said he is with the military in Cuba.

But Tracy, who has been divorced from Jopek for six years, said Obama's mention of her son in the debate was OK because he was responding to McCain, who first brought up that he was wearing a soldier's “hero bracelet.”

Tracy, who backs Obama, said she was “ecstatic” that the Illinois senator had used her son's name and did not believe he was doing so for political purposes.

Her daughter, Jessica, who is Ryan's sister, told The Post: “When Obama used it after McCain mentioned it, that was fine. We're very happy with his response. It was the perfect response.”