Families walk in remembrance of dead Bragg babies

About 50 people walked from Womack Army Medical Center for the "Walk To Remember," an observance normally for parents of children who died in a miscarriage or from illness shortly after birth. Participants used this year's walk to honor 13 babies who have died under mysterious circumstances in military housing on post in the last five years.

Three of the infants died in the same house in the Ardennes neighborhood on Fort Bragg, prompting a review by the Army's Criminal Investigation Command.

The CID and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission conducted tests on the house and others on post where youngsters died of unknown causes, but they found no environmental link to the deaths.

The mothers of the dead infants refuse to believe nothing was wrong with the housing.

"I've pressed them for everything," said Melissa Pollard, whose 2-month-old son died in April 2009. "I went up there and raised havoc, yelled and screamed and cried and begged and everything. It's as if they don't care. It's not their family. It wasn't their child."

Top officials at Fort Bragg and in the Army have expressed frustration, saying they have done everything they can do. CID in May closed the case on the investigation into 10 of the deaths.

Three others have died of mysterious causes since November, the latest last month. Those cases remain under investigation.

Jamie Hernan, an Atlanta attorney who represents several of the families, said there are no lawsuits in the works, but he continues to advocate for the families. Solving the mystery will take someone coming forward with a new piece of information, he said.