Come to Fayetteville on March 19
Support the Troops: Bring Them Home Now!

March 19, 2005 marks the second anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Perhaps no place in the United States has been affected to a greater degree by that war than Fayetteville, NC. The US government continues to deploy soldiers stationed at nearby Ft. Bragg to fight and die in a country that doesn't threaten our security and probably never did. Many from the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army's Special Forces Command realize that those who really support them are their families and their community. The appeal of the empty slogans and the yellow ribbon magnets of the right-wing pro-war zealots faded long ago. In 2005, real support for the troops means Bring Them Home Now!

On March 19, 2005, Fayetteville Peace With Justice, a small group of veterans, military spouses, community activists and even an occasional paratrooper in conjunction with Quaker House, the legendary home of GI organizing in the South invites all people of conscience to join with us in historic Rowan Street Park for a peace gathering like none you've ever seen. Speakers from groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and many others promise to deliver a message from their experience that promises to resonate around the world.

We also need the support of our allies in communities of faith, trade unions, local peace groups and anyone else who realizes that The World Still Says No to War.

In this, the richest country in the world, soldiers return home from war to an uncertain economic future. Their teenage children see no way to enter college without also bartering their lives in military service for a small slice of the GI Bill. Americans applaud the $335 million promised to tsunami victims, but the US spends that amount every three days in Iraq. We need Money for Jobs and Education, Not for Wars and Occupations.

Come to Fayetteville this year. Come and hear from parents whose children died in Iraq because this war continues. Come and see children growing up while their fathers and mothers are trying to survive in a country where they are not wanted and where they do not want to be. Your support can make a difference. Your presence can save lives.

For more information, contact Lou Plummer, Fayetteville Peace With Justice (lou.plummer@mac.com (910) 433-9053) or Chuck Fager, Quaker House (chuckfager@aol.com (910) 323-3912)

Peace,

Lou Plummer,
Military Families Speak Out
Bring Them Home Now!
Fayetteville Peace With Justice

posted 23 january 2005

IVAW And MFSO Members Connect With Growing Movement In England And Scotland

At the invitation of Iraq Occupation Focus, a London based anti-war group, Michael Hoffman, co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and I spent the first week of December in the UK Speaking at public meetings and doing media outreach. I was invited as a member of Military Families Speak Out and Bring Them Home Now!

One of the more jarring elements for both of us was the presence of Iraqis at almost every venue we visited. On three occasions there were Iraqis on panels with us and in other places they were vocal members of the audience. In the work I've done in the US, I have yet to encounter an Iraqi citizen. Fear of government reprisal seems to be a major reason why this is true, in addition to simple demographic explanations.

It's quickly evident that there can't be much of a comparison between American/British military experiences and the experiences of a doctor from the hospital in Falluja. Yes, it's true that the troops who are undersupplied, poorly led, overused and sometimes dead or maimed present us with a cause worth struggling for. That's not the same experience as watching your house get blown up with your wife inside in or watching an angry and scared American teenager with a gun to your 66-year-old father's head. Michael and I were treated with respect from the Iraqis we met, much to their credit. Still we were repeatedly asked to apologize for America and its military by people struggling to find some justification for the presence of foreign occupiers in their country.

Rose Gentle lives in Pollok, a (barely) working class neighborhood in Glasgow, Scotland. She is unquestionably the most well known military family member in the movement in the UK. Her 19-year-old son, Gordon was killed in Basra in late June. He was the last soldier to die before so-called sovereignty was handed over to the Iraqis in June. Her meetings with government officials, the arrogant and unfeeling letter she received from Tony Blair himself and her daughter's eloquent but furious reply to that letter are practically legendary already. Every anti-war group in the UK wants her to speak at their meetings.

Mike and I spent several hours with her when we visited Edinborough and Glasgow. She met us at the train station accompanied by the media and three Scottish MPs, members of the Scottish Socialist Party, who were elected on an anti-war platform in an election held the day after George Bush conducted his infamous "Mission Accomplished" propaganda session on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. While Rose Gentle's thick Scottish accent is hard to understand, her righteous fury and drive are apparent to any one she meets. She asked probing questions about our work in the US. She is determined to reach out to the members of Gordon's unit, the Black Watch, as they return home this month.

Eddie Cherry served in the British Army in Northern Ireland for two years. He is the co-founder of Veterans and Military Families for Peace in the UK. We met with him in London. His dream is to establish something similar to the GI Rights Hotline we have in the US. The British system for conscientious objection is even more Byzantine than what we have here. Eddie also wants to convince people in the movement to provide meaningful psychological counseling for returning vets. British soldiers who seek aid for combat stress from the military are obligated to call the counselors "Sir." Obviously this could get in the way of a good therapeutic relationship.

The analysis of the activists we met on the current situation in Iraq is quite good. They really feel that convincing the British government to withdraw its troops could sound the death knell for Bush's imperial plans in the Middle East. All of the meetings we appeared at were well attended, well organized and contained a good cross section of the community, including Muslims. Organizers are promoting the March 19 demo as hard as they can and will be disappointed if they draw less than 200,000 people to London. They feel that it would be a demoralizing defeat for the movement if the demo that day isn't huge.

If I were asked to make this trip again, I'd certainly do it. British activists, including the Iraqi ex-pats we met seemed very encouraged at the presence of Mike and I and by our experiences organizing in our respective communities in the US. There were many thoughtful discussions on how to deal with tough issues, such as the Iraqi resistance. The audiences were genuinely interested in learning ways they could assist people like Rose Gentle and Eddie Cherry. When I shared that it was absolutely necessary to let unique groups, like military families and veterans, come to their own conclusions on issues, I felt as though people were listening. I don't think anyone is going to push them into any particular line. Amazingly, both Rose and Eddie are stridently anti-racist and have reached the conclusion that Iraqi resistance fighters are reacting in the only possible way to the occupation.

We have allies in the UK and we can do tangible things together to pressure our respective governments into stopping the madness.

Peace,
Lou Plummer

posted 13 december 2004

NYC Statement by Military Families and Veterans

On Saturday, December 11, a meeting of 350-400 veterans, military families and supporters took place in NYC and adopted the following statement:

We are veterans, military families, and supporters who have assembled at a public meeting and speak out in New York City to express our opposition to the illegal and unjust occupation of Iraq.

We do not believe our servicemen and women should be sent overseas to kill and die or be maimed to protect politicians' credibility. Real support for the troops means insisting that they be brought home now and that they, along with veterans of previous conflicts, receive the care and assistance they need and are entitled to, upon their return.

We also stand in defense of our civil rights and liberties, including the right of the troops themselves to speak out against mistreatment, incompetent leadership, corporate corruption, the "back-door draft" or illegal orders.

We know this is a long-term struggle and pledge to continue organizing against this folly and those who dragged our country into it. We do this in solidarity with the men and women they have put in harm's way, and with the ordinary citizens of Iraq who are suffering under foreign occupation.

posted 12 december 2004

Beat the Back-Door Draft! Join the Suit!
Class Action Lawsuit to Defend Troops Under Stop-Loss!

For Immediate Release

Any soldiers presently in Iraq or home on leave who are under Stop Loss Orders:

A class action lawsuit is being brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of GIs stationed in Iraq who are under Stop Loss Orders.

If you want to join on to the Class Action lawsuit against Stop Loss, please contact Staughton Lynd immediately at

330-652-9635
SALYND@aol.com

The Center for Constitutional Rights will file a lawsuit in federal district court for the District of Columbia on Monday December 6, requesting an injunction hearing December 9th or 10th.

If you or a family member can attend the press conference on December 6th, please contact Staughton Lynd or CCR, 212-614-6464.

posted 22 november 2004

News Flash—Troops Rebel Against Suicide Run!!

A report in the daily Clarion-Ledger of Jackson Mississippi tells a story that spells a whole new world of trouble for the administration and the Pentagon. For the first time in the war (that we know of) a whole unit has refused orders to carry out a mission. Ordered imprisoned, they got their story back to family through other troops with Internet connections. Now it's up to us to spread the word!

Platoon defies orders in Iraq Miss. soldier calls home, cites safety concerns
By Jeremy Hudson

A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.

The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq - north of Baghdad - because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.

Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C., were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday.

The platoon could be charged with the willful disobeying of orders, punishable by dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and up to five years confinement, said military law expert Mark Stevens, an associate professor of justice studies at Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C.

No military officials were able to confirm or deny the detainment of the platoon Thursday.

But today, Sgt. Salju Thomas of the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad issued a statement saying that an investigation has begun.

"The Commander General of the 13 Corps Support Group has appointed a deputy commander to lead an investigation into allegations that members of the 343 Quartermaster Company refused to participate in theri assigned convoy mission on Oct. 13," Thomas' statement said.

The investigation team is currently in Tallil taking statements and interviewing those involved, Thomas said in the statement.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said he plans to submit a congressional inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an investigation into whether they are being treated improperly. "I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous situation ill-equipped," said Thompson, who was contacted by families. "I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in Iraq.

"President Bush takes the position that the troops are well-armed, but if this situation is true, it calls into question how honest he has been with the country," Thompson said.

The 343rd is a supply unit whose general mission is to deliver fuel and water. The unit includes three women and 14 men and those with ranking up to sergeant first class.

"I got a call from an officer in another unit early (Thursday) morning who told me that my husband and his platoon had been arrested on a bogus charge because they refused to go on a suicide mission," said Jackie Butler of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Michael Butler, a 24-year reservist. "When my husband refuses to follow an order, it has to be something major."

The platoon being held has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., whose daughter Amber McClenny is among those being detained.

McClenny, 21, pleaded for help in a message left on her mother's answering machine early Thursday morning.

"They are holding us against our will," McClenny said. "We are now prisoners."

McClenny told her mother her unit tried to deliver fuel to another base in Iraq Wednesday, but was sent back because the fuel had been contaminated with water. The platoon returned to its base, where it was told to take the fuel to another base, McClenny told her mother.

The platoon is normally escorted by armed Humvees and helicopters, but did not have that support Wednesday, McClenny told her mother.

The convoy trucks the platoon was driving had experienced problems in the past and were not being properly maintained, Hill said her daughter told her.

The situation mirrors other tales of troops being sent on missions without proper equipment.

Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body armor because the military didn't provide them with adequate equipment have been included in recent presidential debates.

Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well the severity of disobeying orders. But he did not feel comfortable taking his soldiers on another trip.

"He told me that three of the vehicles they were to use were deadlines ... not safe to go in a hotbed like that," Patricia McCook said.

Hill said the trucks her daughter's unit was driving could not top 40 mph.

"They knew there was a 99 percent chance they were going to get ambushed or fired at," Hill said her daughter told her. "They would have had no way to fight back."

Kathy Harris of Vicksburg is the mother of Aaron Gordon, 20, who is among those being detained. Her primary concern is that she has been told the soldiers have not been provided access to a judge advocate general.

Stevens said if the soldiers are being confined, law requires them to have a hearing before a magistrate within seven days.

Harris said conditions for the platoon have been difficult of late. Her son e-mailed her earlier this week to ask what the penalty would be if he became physical with a commanding officer, she said.

But Nadine Stratford of Rock Hill, S.C., said her godson Colin Durham, 20, has been happy with his time in Iraq. She has not heard from him since the platoon was detained. "When I talked to him about a month ago, he was fine," Stratford said. "He said it was like being at home."

posted 15 october 2004

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Under a July sun that scorched Boston's City Hall Plaza, five young veterans of the Iraq war just made history. "Today, we are announcing the formation of Iraq Veterans Against the War," proclaimed Mike Hoffman, a former Marine who took part in the initial invasion of Iraq last year.

Hoffman was followed at the microphone by Tim Goodrich, an Air Force veteran who was based in Saudi Arabia and Oman, Kelly Dougherty, who served as a military police officer in the Colorado Army National Guard, and two of Hoffman's fellow Marines, Alex Ryabov and Jimmy Massey.

One after another, the young vets stood before 901 pairs of empty combat boots and declared their determination to end the occupation of Iraq: "We want our brothers and sisters back home before any more of them are killed and before they kill any more Iraqis."

The new group has several dozen members, including active duty troops statoned in Iraq. It has a draft mission statement and a brand-new website. "We want to enlighten the public and other veterans about the war," declared Alex Ryabov.

The formation of Iraq Veterans Against the War was announced at a press conference called to coincide with the annual convention of Veterans For Peace, being held this year in Boston. Attendance by the media was sparse. Jimmy Massey denounced the media for lying about the war before it started (and Massey knows lying when he hears it--he was a US Marine Corps recruiter for three years). He cobserved, "I am scared. I thought the media would be here."

But media white-out or not, word of IVAW is already spreading. The website, just established, is already starting to get hits and email.

Boston's elite like to boast to tourists of the city's history as the birthplace of American liberty. Their enthusiasm for militant popular movements that aim to change the world does not extend past the eighteenth century, but the time may come when there is a stop on Boston's "Freedom Trail" at the plaza where Iraq Veterans Against the War first announced itself to the world.

Dennis O'Neil
posted 22 july 2004

Do Not Give Up On My Son's Struggle

by Maritza Castillo

My name is Maritza Castillo, a member of “Military Families Speak Out”, and mother of Sergeant Camilo Mejía. On the 21 of May, after a trial carefully scripted by the Army, my son was found guilty of desertion and sentenced to one year in prison. In their continuing efforts to punish him, a few days following the trial he was shipped to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to serve his sentence thousands of miles from his young daughter, his family, his lawyers and the peace organizations and friends that support him.

He was sentenced for disobeying an order to return to Iraq to kill people of a sovereign nation; sentenced for returning to the army to denounce abuses being committed against the civilian population, young soldiers, and prisoners of war; sentenced with the same sentence given to a soldier who, following orders of superiors, participated in the abuse of prisoners.

I am announcing to the people of the United States of America, of Iraq and the world that I am not giving up my struggle for my son and against this immoral and disgraceful war; I’ll not rest until my son receives justice and this illegal, immoral war has been ended!!!

I am asking people who support Camilo to write to General William G. Webster, Jr. (address below) to ask him to reduce my son’s sentence out of consideration of his request to be considered a conscientious objector. Camilo decided not to return to Iraq for moral reasons, not from cowardice. General Webster has the power to reduce his sentence. In addition, please ask Gen. Webster to make a transcript of the trial available as soon as possible because my son’s appeal cannot be presented without it. Send a copy of this letter to Camilo’s lawyer (address below) so support for the sentence reduction can be documented.

We are also asking that you write letters of support to Camilo (address below), with a copy to me (address below) so we can be sure that his correspondence is not being destroyed – a violation of his rights and another method of making his punishment more severe.

We are also asking that people around the world contact the Costa Rican embassy in their respective countries and urge them to demand that the treaty between Costa Rica and the United States of America, which clearly establishes that a Costa Rican citizen can not be forced to extend his military service, be respected. The North American government has ignored this treaty, first ordering Camilo to go to war, then arbitrarily extending his term of service, and finally denying defense lawyers the use of this treaty during his trial at Ft. Stewart on 19 May 2004. This treaty takes priority over “Stop Loss”, the order that the U.S.Army uses to retain U.S. citizens in military service in times of war. Stop Loss should not apply to Camilo because he is a citizen of Costa Rica and not the United States of America. As a sovereign nation, it is important that the government of Costa Rica enforce this treaty. Contact information for the Costa Rican embassy or consulate nearest you can be found at http://costarica-embassy.org/ .

We’re also asking for your financial support to continue working to free Camilo, to continue working for peace and to guarantee that justice will prevail. You can make donations to the Peace Abbey/Free Camilo. (Address below).

At the bottom, you will find the addresses of Gen. William G. Webster, Louis Font, and Gale Glazer (Camilo’s lawyers), Lewis Randa, The Peace Abbey, Camilo and myself. There are also websites listed that offer information about Camilo.

Peace for the people of Iraq! Peace for the world!
Bring our soldiers home now!

Sincerely yours,
Maritza Castillo, mother of Camilo Mejía

Major General William G. Webster, Jr.
Commanding General, Fort Stewart
42 Wayne Place
Ft. Stewart, GA 31314

Louis P. Font and Gale Glazer
Font &Glazer
62 Harvard Street, Suite 100
Brookline, MA. 02445

The Peace Abbey
Two North Main Street
Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770
508-650-3659

Pt. Camilo Mejia
Building 1490
Randolph Rd.
Fort Sill, Ok 73503

Maritza Castillo.
201 178 Drive # 323
Miami, FL. 33160

Bush and His Military Puppets

by Fernando Suarez de Solar

The court martial of Camilo Mejia turned out to be as much of a farce as the Bush presidency itself.

In just two short days the entire future of a young man as brilliant as Camilo was decided. This by ten high-ranking military officials who, between them, determined that Camilo's life should be ruined, that he should be separated from his daughter, from his mother, from his dreams....and for what? For being brave enough to stand up to the U.S. military system?

It's absolutely unconscienable that a soldier with more than 9 years of service, and with an impeccable service record, can be so vilely punished for realizing that he must follow the orders of human decency and his own conscience rather than the morally-bankrupt orders of his superiors.

But let me give you a bit of history and the details of this infamy.

Wednesday, May 19th

Sargent Camilo's defense team invoked a bi-national treaty between Costa Rica and the U.S. in which it was established that no Costa Rican national can be forced into military service in the U.S. when American citizenship has not been solicited.

Camilo Mejia is a citizen of Nicaragua by virtue of his father, and a citizen of Costa Rica by virtue of his mother. He has never applied for citizenship in this country, and his 8 year contract with the U.S. Army expired in May of 2003. His continued tour in Iraq, after May of 2003, was due to 'stop loss' orders and were, therefore, a form of forced conscription.

The military judge did not accept this motion by the defense.

The defense asked that Camilo's declaration as a Conscientious Objector be submitted as evidence that he is not a desertor. The military judge denied this motion as well and instructed that Sargent Camilo Mejia be charged with Dersertion and with Military Bad Conduct.

Thursday, May 20th

The jury was presented, obviously all high-ranking officers, ten in all, and in an act that was clearly theatrical and hypocritical, the judge granted the defense's objection to two of them, leaving a total of eight military jurors.

The judge refused to admit testimony by telephone of two university professors who are experts in both military and international law and who had made declarations in Camilo's defense.

Camilo's family members and supporters were subjected to an endless number of indignities designed to hinder their access to the courtroom such as being made to park a 15-minute walk from the proceedings when there is a parking lot adjacent to the military court.

Friday, May 21st

The prosecution argued that Camilo Mejia should be declared guilty of desertion and given the maximum punishment allowed by military law because, the prosecutor deduced, Camilo is a bad soldier who took advantage of the military system, reaped benefits from it, and gave nothing in return. He contends that Camilo's five month absence proves this bad conduct.

The defense presented the testimony of Professor Boyle of the University of Illinois and Harvard who is, among other things, an expert of military law. Professor Boyle demonstrated, with documentation, why Camilo should not be found guilty, much less sentenced.

Also testifying was a Professor of Camilo's from the University of Miami where he had been studying before his mobilization to Iraq. As with Professor Boyle, she was of impeccable reputation and espoused the magnificent human quality of Camilo.

Mr. Fernando Suarez del Solar, testifying as a family friend, asked of the jury, "How is it possible that this noble and valuable young man is sitting there in the chair of the accused when, without even being a U.S. citizen, he gave more than 9 years of his life to military service and fought in a war in the name of this country when people of much greater political and economic power have, in the past, eluded their civil, military and patriotic responsibility to serve in the Vietnam war, and this person was rewarded with the presidency." "Who is the bad soldier?" he added.

The jury, after a 15-minute recess for deliberations, delivers their traitorous verdict, "GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS"

The judge instructs them on the differing penalties subscribed by the law and the men of the jury retire once again to deliberate. After 30 minutes they deliver the maximum sentence, "ONE YEAR OF CONFINEMENT AND A BAD CONDUCT DISCHARGE"

The press, whose presence was scant, was nonetheless restricted from filming or taking photographs, while the 'military press' was allowed to film and take pictures as they wished.

And, at 5:45 PM, Camilo Mejia was led from the courtroom, hand-cuffed like a criminal, and taken to his imprisonment.

***

People of the USA, we cannot continue to permit this exploitative squandering of our youth! How is it possible that a soldier in Iraq, obeying orders to abuse and humiliate other human beings, is declared guilty and sentenced to a year in prison? And Camilo, who denounced these abuses in his declaration as a Conscientious Objector, saw these abuses occuring since May of 2003, refused to obey this type of order, and is now to receive the same punishment? Is this not telling them, us, the world that the soldiers, the troops, are less than people to us, are no more than pawns in the hands of omnipotent dictators that hide behind them in order to commit all manner of unspeakable crimes?

Where is the Justice and Democracy that Mr. Bush proclaims to the four winds?

People of Costa Rica, of Nicaragua, of the Hispanic community, of the human community......

I beg of you,
Let us cry out:

War Crimes must STOP!
Injustices to our youth must STOP!
The immoral and illegal occupation of Iraq must END!

Let us require:

JUSTICE for Camilo Mejia!
JUSTICE for the people of Iraq!

Let us demand:

Jail-time for Bush and his criminal republican accomplices!

***

In the name of thousands of innocent children in Iraq,

In the name of the orphaned American children who lost their fathers to this immoral war,

In the name of hundreds of fallen soldiers,

In the name of TRUTH and JUSTICE,

WE MUST RAISE OUR VOICES AND CRY OUT
ENOUGH!!

Please come to Ft. Stewart, GA from May 19-21 to support the trial of my son, Camilo Mejia Castillo

Dear Friends,

I want to thank the thousands of people who have expressed their support for my son's decision not to return to the war in Iraq, and invite you to attend his trial in Ft. Stewart, GA that begins on May 19. My son, Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, is a soldier with the Florida National Guard who has served in both the Army and National Guard for over eight years. He served in Iraq from March to October 2003. He returned to the U.S. for a two-week leave in October and decided he could not, in good conscience, return to the "illegal and immoral war in Iraq." He went AWOL and then on March 15, reported back to the military authorities and applied for conscientious objector status. On March 25, the Army charged him with desertion and placed him in military custody at Ft. Stewart, Georgia. His trial will begin at 9 am on Wednesday, May 19 at Ft. Stewart, and it will be open to the public. On behalf of my family, I am asking the organizations and individuals who support my son's case to join us at this historic trial. The trial will last at least three days. If you are flying in, the closest airport is Savannah, GA. There are several inexpensive hotels near the base in the town of Hinesville. We plan to hold vigils in the evenings, starting the evening of May 18. In the BTHN! calender you will find more information about the trial and logistics.

Camilo is the first Iraq War veteran to publicly refuse further military service. We will have many expert witnesses testifying on behalf of our argument that his orders to deploy were illegal under US and international law. The most recent US polls show that the majority of the public are now starting to oppose this war. Camilo's trial can contribute significantly to the growing momentum to end the occupation and bring the troops home. This is why it is so important to show strong public support for his courageous stand. Together we can say NO to this immoral war, and YES to granting Camilo conscientious objector status. Together we can say bring our soldiers home, and return sovereignty to the Iraqis. Thank you so much for your support. If you have questions or plan to join us, please contact me at SolaBay@aol.com .

In peace,

Maritza Castillo

Photo Gallery & Reportbacks:
The World Still Says No to War

The Bring Them Home Now! Campaign is collecting photos and reports from March 20th actions in which veterans and military families participated. Send us yours.

All files load in new window:

NYC, New York
updated 05 april 2004

San Diego, California
updated 26 march 2004

Seattle, Washington
updated 26 march 2004

New Orleans, Louisiana
posted 23 march 2004

Houston, Texas
updated 23 march 2004

Crawford, Texas
updated 22 march 2004

Fayetteville, North Carolina
updated 22 march 2004

Gainesville, Florida
posted 22 march 2004

Augusta, Maine
updated 22 march 2004

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
posted 22 march 2004

Portland, Oregon
posted 21 march 2004

Salt Lake City, Utah
posted 21 march 2004

Military Families, Veterans Take It to Bush's Doorstep

Sunday, March 14 was overcast in Dover, Delaware. The chilly weather seemed somehow appropriate as 300 men and women took part in a solemn memorial procession from the Quaker House in nearby Camden to the gates of Dover Air Force Base.

The marchers were there, on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, to bear witness to the needless deaths--Iraqi, American and more--that keep mounting as the US occupation of Iraq threatens to drag on for years to come.

Marchers carried a temple bell which sounded hollowly as we walked. At the gates of Dover a bagpiper played and family members who had lost loved ones spoke briefly, then read the names of other troops and of Iraqi civilians now dead. Fernando Suarez de Solar, whose son Jesus was one of the first to die in the invasion. Jane Bright, whose son Evan Ashcroft was an Army Sergeant. Lila Lipscomb, whose son Michael Pederson died in a helicopter crash, carrying a sign reading "Black Hawk Down is not a movie to this mother." Sue Niederer, who says she talks to her dead son Seth Dvorin every day. And more.

Dover was the target because it is where the bodies come home--under cover of darkness, and under a press ban which prohibits the American people from seeing images of flag-draped coffins day after day, which might remind them of the war this administration.

On Monday, demonstrators regathered in Washington, DC where they began with a protest at Walter Reed Military Hospital. Just as the Dover procession sought to spotlight the deaths the Bush administration tries to shroud in secrecy, this rally protested another hidden coast of the war--the thousands of young men and women who have been wounded, physically and psychologically, during the war and the occupation. The Administration won't even release complete figures on the horrifying toll.

From Walter Reed they marched, 200 strong, many of them military families and veterans like the day befoe, through the streets of the nation's capital to the gates of the White House. They tried to deliver a small replica of a coffin containing the names of 900 dead US and coalition troops and Iraqis to the Presidential residence. It was refused by security guards.

But inside the White House, they Knew that Dover to DC was happening. They had to, because it made news across the USA and the world. To get a sense, just go to the Nows section of the Google search engine website: http://news.google.com/ and type in the words: dover military families.

Military Families vs. the War
Organized Opposition Is Small, but Some See It as Historic

By Paula Span
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 11, 2004; Page A01

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — On the night last month he learned that his son had died in Iraq, Richard Dvorin couldn't sleep. He lay in bed, "thinking and thinking and thinking," got up at 4 a.m., made a pot of coffee. Then he sat down at the kitchen table and wrote a letter to the president.

When the invasion of Iraq began, Dvorin — a 61-year-old Air Force veteran and a retired cop — thought the commander in chief deserved his support. "I believed we were destroying part of the axis of evil," he says. "I truly believed that Saddam Hussein was a madman and that he possessed weapons of mass destruction and wouldn't hesitate to use them."

By the time Army 2nd Lt. Seth Dvorin was sent to Iraq last September, however, his father was having doubts. And now that Seth had been killed, at 24, by an "improvised explosive device" south of Baghdad, doubt had turned to anger.

"Where are all the weapons of Mass Destruction?" Richard Dvorin demanded in his letter. "Where are the stockpiles of Chemical and Biological weapons?" His son's life, he wrote, "has been snuffed out in a meaningless war."

His is not the only military family to think so. In suburban Cleveland a few days later, the Rev. Tandy Sloan tuned in to the "Meet the Press" interview with President Bush and felt "disgust." His 19-year-old son, Army Pvt. Brandon Sloan, was killed when his convoy was ambushed last March. "A human being can make mistakes," the Rev. Sloan says of the president. "But if you intentionally mislead people, that's another thing."

In Fullerton, Calif., paralegal student Kimberly Huff, whose Army reservist husband recently returned from Iraq, makes a similar point with a wardrobe of homemade protest T-shirts that say things like "Support Our Troops, Impeach Bush."

The number of military families that oppose Operation Iraqi Freedom, though never measured, is probably small. But a nascent antiwar movement has begun to find a toehold among parents, spouses and other relatives of active-duty, reserve and National Guard troops.

A group called Military Families Speak Out — which will figure prominently in marches and vigils at Dover Air Force Base, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the White House next week — says more than 1,000 families have signed up online and notes that new members join daily. Other outspoken family members — Dvorin, for example — have never heard of the group but, for a variety of reasons, share its founders' conviction that the war is a "reckless military misadventure."

Most frequently cited, when military families explain their antiwar sentiments, is the absence to date of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. "They'd have these inspections and they'd find nothing," says Jenifer Moss, 29, of Lawton, Okla. Her husband, Army Sgt. Keelan L. Moss, died in November when a missile downed his Chinook helicopter, leaving her with three children and the belief that "he was sent out there on a pretense."

They are also angry at the Bush administration's insistence that its policies are nonetheless justified. Cherice Johnson's husband, Navy Corpsman Michael Vann Johnson Jr., was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade last March. "I'd love to say I back [the president] 100 percent, but I can't," she says, weeping during a telephone interview. "How many more people are going to die because he can't say, 'I'm sorry, I made a terrible mistake'?"

In interviews, families complained about the continued unrest in Iraq; worried about whether their service members had adequate equipment and supplies; feared post-traumatic stress syndrome. One mother who lost a son in Afghanistan last March took deep offense at the launch of a subsequent war when, she feels, the first remains uncompleted.

And, of course, they all watch the casualties mount, to 553 deaths and nearly 3,200 wounded, the Pentagon says.

In South Haven, Mich., Marianne Brown, 52, has joined the weekly peace vigil in front of the closest thing her small town has to a federal building: the post office. Most of the vigil-keepers — who number 10 or 15 at most, shrinking to three or four stalwarts on the bitterest winter days — hold a memorial photo of the faces of service members killed in Iraq. But Brown holds a photo of her stepson, Army Reserve Pvt. Michael Shepard, 21, an MP stationed west of Baghdad.

South Haven has not been uniformly receptive. Brown has had her Jeep scratched with a key. She's been shouted at when she goes to the bank. She's been called a traitor. "It's kind of scary, but it's changing," she says. "We used to get a lot more attitude. Now we're getting more thumbs-ups. I think it's slowly seeping in that this [war] was based on something other than what we were told."

A Way to Connect

It's the power of the Internet that's allowed relatives in far-flung places to know that others are also suspicious, bitter or ready to march on Washington. "That kind of sentiment has probably been there in every war we've ever had, but this time they have a ready means of identifying one another," says John Guilmartin, a military historian at Ohio State University and a decorated Vietnam War veteran.

Military Families Speak Out started before the invasion with two families, added 200 more when the first troops crossed into Iraq and another 200 when the bombing began. There were spikes in Web traffic and membership registration when the president declared the end of major combat and when he invited Iraqi insurgents to "Bring 'em on."

Even those who aren't affiliated with a peace group (Moss and Johnson are not; Brown is) use the Net to bolster their opinions, stoke their outrage or find others who share their beliefs.

When Seth Dvorin died, sympathetic Web sites picked up local newspaper stories about his divorced parents' outspoken responses. A few days after his funeral, his mother, Sue Niederer, was startled to get a call from a stranger in Columbus, Ohio. Jackie Donoghue has a son serving in the same region of Iraq and had looked up Niederer's phone number online. "I just wanted to console her,"

Powerful Tributes to Needless Death Challenge "State of the Union" Speech

At opposite ends of the country, military families with loved ones in harm's way in the Middle East or facing immediate deployment to Iraq joined last week with veterans and other supporters in a living rebuke to President Bush's State of the Union speech.

While Bush glossed over the lies he told last year about weapons of mass destruction threatening the US and wheeled out new whoppers about how well the occupation is going, participants in the vigils stood as witnesses to the truth--more than 500 American soldiers and thousands of Iraqis have died and thousands more will die until this unjust and unjustifiable occupation is ended.

The following reports from the Washington Post and the San Diego Union-Tribune describe the powerful tribute paid to the lives so casually sacrificed by the administration.

Vigil Gives Voice to War Dead
Names of Hundreds Echo During Speech

By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 21, 2004

First, a name was read aloud. Then came a single resonant beat of a drum. And finally a breath, turned frosty in the cold night, blew out a candle.

That ritual — the reading of the name of every member of the U.S. armed forces killed in Iraq and names that symbolized Iraqi dead as well — was repeated hundreds of times last night on the Mall, in a protest timed to coincide with the State of the Union address.

As the nation's political leaders applauded the president in the Capitol, more than 300 people cocooned in hats, blankets and heavy jackets against the 24-degree weather joined to read the names of those killed since the invasion of Iraq began.

"It's cold out here," said Doug Nelson, 56, of McLean, a veteran of the Vietnam War. "But those kids are out there . . . being fired on and killed. This is the least we can do."

Nelson read out the name of a young man he never had met. "Brendan C. Reiss. Twenty-three years old. U.S. Marine Corps," Nelson read from the card given him by the organizers. "May he rest in peace."

Nelson described himself in the same way as many of those out on the mall last night did: a military veteran who remembered past wars and disagreed with the need for this one.

"I go to the Vietnam memorial at least once a week, and I always come back crying." he told a reporter. "We didn't learn anything from that."

The protest was organized by the group Military Families Speak Out. Stephen Cleghorn of Washington, whose 39-year-old son is serving in Iraq, said he organized the vigil for the group a week ago when he concluded that the move to war began with the president's 2003 State of the Union speech.

"President Bush deliberately frightened the American people and rushed into war based on 16 words," Cleghorn said, citing the sentence that linked Iraq with an attempt to obtain uranium.

Some people came last night to honor a fallen friend. Jeni Spevak, 28, of the District wore the camouflage jacket of her best friend, Gregory E. MacDonald, who she said was a Marine reservist killed in Iraq in June.

Others wondered about the person whose name they held.

"Daniel Francis Cunningham. Thirty-three. U.S. Army," said Tom Willging, 63, of Washington, reading the name of a young man he said he never knew but will always remember. For Willging, last night's protest also recalled the days of Vietnam.

"I did this same thing in 1969," he said, "when my wife and I walked all around the Mall and up to the Capitol, where we threw the names we carried into a giant coffin. I remember my name from back then. He was Ronald Moon. From Denver."

And there were the Iraqi names, which some protesters struggled to pronounce. Each Iraqi name stood for 200 Iraqis who had died since the invasion, they said.

"We feel very strongly that there was no reason to go to war and these people all died so unnecessarily," said Anne Elder of University Park. Placing a red-mittened hand to a name pinned to her chest — Sufian al-Batayneh — Elder said: "This person shouldn't have died."

War dead honored in Oceanside
Crosses, candles, other memorials are arrayed on beach near city pier

By Lola Sherman
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
January 21, 2004

OCEANSIDE — More than 500 candles flickered in red plastic cups on the sand at the beach last evening to commemorate the lives of each serviceman or servicewoman lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Each candle stood before a wooden cross, Star of David or Muslim crescent. Each memorial bore the name, rank, age and home state of a member of the armed forces who did not make it home alive.

It took nearly two hours to set them up in neat rows on the beach just south of the Municipal Fishing Pier, which provided a dramatic backdrop, along with the setting sun.

Shelli Hallidy of Carlsbad, coordinator for the co-sponsoring North County Coalition for Peace and Justice, said a display like this one is presented on a California coastline on the 20th day of every month. The next one is scheduled for Feb. 20 at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.

The beach scene presented a picture worth more than any thousand words in President Bush's State of the Union address, which was being delivered at the same time, Hallidy said.

She said the date, the 20th, is even more meaningful because it coincides with the day ˆ March 20, 2003 ˆ that U.S. troops invaded Iraq.

Although both groups staging the event are opposed to that action, Jim Brown of Encinitas, head of the co-sponsoring Veterans for Peace chapter, said the beach tableau was not meant as a political statement but as a "somber memorial" to those who died.

Among them was Cpl. Jesús Suárez del Solar of Escondido, represented not only by his cross in the front row but by his father, Fernando, an activist for peace ever since his only son was killed March 27.

Last month, he journeyed to Iraq and visited schools and hospitals, as well as the place where his son died. "Five hundred and six crosses behind me," Suárez said. "American boys who died for what?"

Thirty-five of the crosses honored servicewomen killed in the war, and 20 stood for service personnel who committed suicide.

About two dozen people attended the event, most of them participating in the reading of all the names, ranks, ages and hometowns of every person commemorated. The task took well over an hour.

There were a few visitors, such as Marine Master Sgt. José Chavez of Oceanside, who carefully inspected a panel of photographs erected by Suárez and then went over to offer his condolences to the grieving father.

Chavez, an active-duty Marine, served in the Persian Gulf War, in Somalia and in Iraq. He said he had come to honor his fallen comrades.

Also not part of the initial group was 4-year-old Ryon McGarry of San Marcos, who ran around straightening the crosses. "He always likes to help," said his father, Joe.

Joe McGarry, originally from New York, said he knew people who lost their lives in the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

As Ryon scampered among the crosses, Leonie Tremaine from the North County Coalition shouted that she hoped his name would never appear on such a war memorial.

New Jersey Reservist Leads Protest to Bring Troops Home

On Friday October 3, a demonstration took place at the Newark offices of NJ Senators Corzine and Lautenberg led by Army reservist Frank Mendez, along with 25 family members, friends and members of Veterans For Peace (VFP), to demand the troops be brought home.

It was Mendez's 23rd birthday and he is home on a thirteen day leave from the 310 Battalion which is deployed in Iraq. Since 9/11/01, his unit has been on active duty almost two years, first at Fort Tyler and Fort Drum and now in Iraq.

GI Frank Mendez (2nd left) along with Vets Dave Cline, Alan Reilly and Gene Glazer. (Photo by Madelyn Hoffman, New Jersey Peace Action)

Mendez stated, "I had no problem going into this. I knew the mission going in: We were going to find weapons of mass destruction. Only there weren't any, then the mission became bringing democracy to Iraq. But now we're just in the country sitting on our butts wasting taxpayers money and wasting our time."

A banner read "God Bless America-Bring The Troops Home Now" and demonstrators chanted slogans and displayed signs, receiving numerous thumbs up and horn blasts of support from the motorists driving by. Only one motorist voiced opposition, shouting "It's better to fight in Iraq than here." Most people walking by signed petitions calling for a return of the troops and several joined the picket line as well. One veteran joined VFP on the spot.

After demonstrating for an hour, a representative for Senator Jon Corzine came down to speak to Mendez who explained the situation he and his fellow reservists are in and the many problems they face. Mendez said he represented many of his fellow reservists who asked him to speak out on their behalf while he was on leave.

Corzine's aide asked a number of questions about conditions the troops faced and expressed the Senator's opposition to the war but made no commitments about when the troops would be brought home or how the senator would vote on the $87 billion more now being asked by the Bush administration to continue the war.

Soon after that Senator Frank Lautenberg came out and spoke to Mendez as well, stating that originally he had been for the war but now was opposed to it. He said that much of what Congress had been told were the reasons for war have turned out to be misrepresentations and falsehoods. He also stated that he did not see how the Bush administration could get out in less than five years.

As the protest ended, we presented a VFP "Support the Troops-Bring Them Home Now" lawn sign to the family. I also gave Frank a "Bring Them Home Alive" button and asked him to take it back to Iraq and show it to his comrades to let them know that we are in sympathy with them and against the occupation as well as those politicians who are responsible for this unjustified military adventure.

Frank Mendez returns to Iraq next Tuesday. He has shown real courage by speaking out while home on leave. The more our servicemen and women take actions like this, it will broaden the antiwar movement and hasten the day when all our troops are brought home.
by David Cline   
posted 06 oct 2003