2010 Commemoration of the War and Occupation of Iraq
EVENTS AND ACTIONS!
San Diego, CA
San Diego Veterans For Peace (Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter #91) observed the 7th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War with a variety of events in downtown San Diego, in front of the USS Midway, which has been retrofitted and docked permanently in San Diego as a military museum.
At 7 AM, chapter members set up our current version of Arlington West (500 crosses and other religious symbols), as well as several shade structures for informational outreach by our chapter and a local chapter of Vietnam Veterans Against The War. This year we also set up a shade structure with a reflection theme, which included candles, books for visitors to write their thoughts on the Iraq War (to be mailed to President Obama), and a "soap box" with microphone for people to express their thoughts. We also brought hundreds of sandwiches and other food items for the homeless who live in and around the USS Midway, which was received very well.
At 3 PM, members of the local peace community drove in caravan to our site and spent an hour "bannering" for peace on several corners.
At 6:30 PM, we listened to a local native American drummer, who spoke eloquently about peace and then performed 4 reverent songs for the 75-100 participants. At dark, after everyone took turns reading a dozen peace quotations, the participants conducted a candlelight vigil along the San Diego waterfront, while the chapter added a electronic candle to each of our 500 Arlington West symbols.
8:30 PM found Arlington West packed and on the trucks, and we headed for home, after a very long, but worthwhile day.
Submitted by Gil Field
Puerto Rico
> See more photos from IndyMedia
I was one of about 100 people who rallied against the war in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am enclosing some photos, and I hope you get them!
The activity was held near an Army Recruiting Office, organized by Mothers Against the War, and supported by local religious and political groups. It was dedicated to a soldier’s mother (the lady in the blue-green shirt); began with a prayer by an Evangelical priest, and ended with a message from Carmen Hernández (with yellow shirt and hat), whose eldest son died on March 20, 2005, in Iraq. A local representative of the American Lawyers Association, Hiram Lozada, Esq., pleaded for soldiers to abandon platoons, barracks and bases, as acts of civil disobedience; and affirmed his plea was illegal, but he was ready for arrest (this has not happened yet).
- Margarita M. Asencio López
Bandon, OR
To commemorate the Seventh Anniversary of the U.S. War in Iraq, twenty-five members and supporters of Veterans For Peace took a stand along Highway 101, the Coast Highway, on Saturday afternoon, March 20th. Most of us live in Bandon-By-The-Sea. Bandon is a small town, population 3,000, on the southern Oregon coast. Members and friends also came from Coos Bay, North Bend, to our north, Coquille to our east, and Bridge, Oregon which is over 40 miles away.
Laramie, WY
San Francisco, CA
Photos by Ed Flowers
Portland, OR
Anti-War March and Teach-In
Photos by Dan Shea
Austin, TX
Photo of NY Chapter 34 VP Bill Gilson, and others, at Texas State Capitol in Austin on 3/20
Philadelphia, PA
A nice spring day at the Army Experience Center
About 40 people, including several members of VFP31, took a few hours of their Saturday on March 20th -- the eighth anniversary of the "shock and awe" bombing of Baghdad -- to drop in on the Army Experience Center, located next to Dave And Busters fun emporium in the Franklin Mills Mall. The Philadelphia Police Department Civil Affairs squad was out in force, but everything was cordial and there were no arrests. The AEC was closed to visitors because, as I was told by an AEC officer before hand, there was "a special event for future soldiers." I looked but did not see anyone who fit that criteria inside the $13 million center that utilizes an array of state-of-the-art computer games and shooting simulators with human targets to sell kids as young as 13-years-old on the Army Brand. What the Center does is sell Militarism the same way Disney sells distraction and fantasy.
Iraq veteran Jesse Hamilton spoke to marchers at the Sunoco station at Knight and Woodhaven Roads. He told the group that he had experienced combat in Iraq and the loss of good friends from war violence, and that what the AEC was teaching kids had nothing to do with real "experience" in war. The "experience" in ARMY EXPERIENCE CENTER amounts to games that may jack up a kid's hormones and excitement level, but it tells him or her nothing about what to expect one the contract is signed and the kid is looking at deployment.
I told the group it is noteworthy that counter-insurgency theorists like Generals David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal emphasize how important it is in counter-insurgency warfare to control a culture's "grand narrative." In traditional cultures this involves myth and stories that tell a people who they are and how they fit into the world. In a consumer culture, the grand or master narrative includes aggressive brand marketing like that pumped into kid's brains at the AEC. These days, there is so much pro-militarism messaging going on a kid really doesn't have a chance.
It was a beautiful Spring day, and on the stroll to the mall there were lots of enthusiastic shouts of "Close the AEC" and "War Is Not A Game!" It was good to see old friends in what is becoming a small community of Philadelphians troubled by the AEC and what it means for today's militarized culture. Our leaders have no interest or clue how to respond to problems other than by the use of military threat or force. It is sucking the nation dry of resources that could be used to re-invest in jobs, infrastructure, education, alternative energy and a long list of neglected things.
Basically, it was 40 Americans calling for a cultural mix that focuses more on life, less on death -- or as Chris Hedges sketches it out using the old Greek terms in War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, a culture with more eros and less thanatos. John Grant
No one ruminates on this theme better than Walt Whitman. This is from "By Blue Ontario's Shore":
Oh I see flashing that this America is only you and me,
Its power, weapons, testimony, are you and me,
Its crimes, lies, thefts, defections, are you and me.
,,,
The war, (that war so bloody and grim, the war I will henceforth forget), was you and me,
Natural and artificial are you and me,
Freedom, language, poems, employments, are you and me,
Past, present, future, are you and me.
...
I now know why the earth is gross, tantalizing, wicked, it is for my sake,
I take you specially to be mine, you terrible, rude forms.
...
(Mother, bend down, bend close to me your face,
I know not what these plots and wars and deferments are for,
I know not fruition's success, but I know that through war and crime
your work goes on, and must yet go on.)
Washington D.C.
Photo by Mike Hearington - See more here!
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Los Angeles, CA - Chapter 091
NAME OF EVENT: Arlington West Iraq and Afghanistan war MemorialLOCATION OF EVENT: Santa monica pier
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: The lighting of the crosses on Santa monica Beach, north of the pier, will taske place at sunset, sat. the 20th of March.
TIME: Dusk
DATE: March 20th
CONTACT INFORMATION: Larry, larry@veteransforpeacela.org
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: VFP Los Angeles chapter
San Diego, CA - Chapter 091
NAME OF EVENT: 7 Years of WarLOCATION OF EVENT: USS Midway Museum, Downtown, San Diego, CA
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Chapter #91 (Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter) will be leading the San Diego peace community's observance of the 7 years since the start of the Iraq War. The day long event, to be held on the grassy area in front of the USS Midway Museum, will consist of: (1) A 8AM until 8 PM Arlington West Memorial for the fallen, with crosses, religious symbols, flags and candles at each marker. (2) Bannering and a anti-war caravan around San Diego sponsored by the San Diego Coalition For Peace and Justice from 3 PM until 6 PM (3) A remembrance table (Noon until 6 PM) also at the USS Midway grassy area where people will be encouraged to write their feelings about the war in one of several large books which will be immediately mailed to President Obama and (4) Native American drummers and a candlelight vigil along the city waterfront starting at 6 PM and going until 8 PM.
TIME: 8 AM until 8 PM
DATE: Saturday, March 20th
CONTACT INFORMATION: Gil Field 858-342-1964
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Chapter #91: Hugh Thompson Memorial Chapter
WEBSITE: www.sdvfp.org
New York, NY - Chapter 034
NAME OF EVENT: 7th Anniv Vigil at Army Career CenterLOCATION OF EVENT: Army Career Center, 143 Chambers St. in lower Manhattan
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Friday March 19th 12 Noon - On the 7th Anniversary of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, Veterans For Peace NYC Chapter 34 and War Resisters League (WRL), will conduct a vigil/demonstration in front of the Army Career Center, 143 Chambers St. in lower Manhattan. This will be in lieu of our weekly Thursday Noon vigil at the same location.
At 1PM, there will be a coffin walk to Ground Zero.
Subway:1/2/3, A or C to Chambers St.
TIME: 12 noon
DATE: March 29, 2010
CONTACT INFORMATION: Bob Keilbach, rakmet@msn.com
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Veterans for Peace, Chapter 034 New York City
WEBSITE: http://www.warresisters.org
Bandon, OR - Chapter 141
NAME OF EVENT: Seventh Anniversary Iraq War ProtestLOCATION OF EVENT: Bandon, OR Highway 101 in front of Bandon Shopping Center
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Seventh Anniversary Iraq War Protest
Saturday March 20, 2010
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Highway 101 in front of Bandon Shopping Center (Ray's Food Place)
On Saturday, March 20 anti-war protests will be held in cities across the U.S. to mark the seventh anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq with a call for an end to the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and for funds to be used for housing, education and human needs.
Iraqis and Afghan civilians and American troops are dying—and these wars and occupations cost billions upon billions of dollars while millions go without healthcare, schools and colleges face budget cuts, cities slash budgets and reduce services, and millions are losing their homes to foreclosure and evictions. To date, the US has spent nearly $966 billion dollars on the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan—with another $150 billion slated for military operations in 2011.
The U.S. is escalating the war in Afghanistan, as seen by the dispatch of over 30,000 additional troops and the recent attack on Marjah, Afghanistan. News reports indicate that the U.S. is planning further assaults on Afghan cities and towns in the months ahead. There is also open discussion of keeping thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely.
The wars raging on in the Middle East are unjust, unwarranted, and unacceptable. The corporate interests manipulating this war will continue to destroy for profit as long as the people continue to play their games and buy into their lies.
Join us — and thousands throughout this nation to mark the grim anniversary of seven years of war in Iraq.
End the Wars & Occupations Now! Fund People's Needs, Not Corporate Greed!
Sponsored by Chapter 141 Veterans For Peace — Everyone is welcome; you don't have to be a member of VFP.
TIME: Noon to 1:30 p.m.
DATE: Saturday March 20, 2010
CONTACT INFORMATION: Ed Poole, EDPOOL@earthlink.net
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Sponsored by Chapter 141 Veterans For Peace
Tampa Bay, FL - Chapter 119
NAME OF EVENT: Vigil for Peace/Iraq Moratorium Tampa, FLALOCATION OF EVENT: 3699 W GANDY BLVD, TAMPA, FL 33611
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Vigil for Peace and Iraq Moratorium in Tampa during the Seventh Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq at the Largest Airshow in the Country at MacDill USAFB
Everyone is welcome to participate in this peaceful VIGIL FOR PEACE / Iraq Moratorium in SUNNY FLORIDA ( alternative to the March in DC and LA) from 2 PM - 6PM March 20th and 21st, 2010. This event is sponsored by members of Veterans for Peace,Inc and many other Peace Groups who participate in the Vigil For Peace on the third weekend of every month in conjunction with the Iraq Moratorium.
This weekend marks the Seventh Anniversary of Shock and Awe - the US Military Invasion of Iraq. On this historic date is one of the largest airshows in the country at MacDill USAFB. There is and estimated 750,000 people lining the flightline this weekend weather permitting to see the US Navy's Blue Angels and other exhibits. FMI visit http://www.macdill-airfest.com/default.a
spx.
The Vigil for Peace/Iraq Moratorium will be observed on two days on March 20 and March 21, 2010 in Tampa, Florida on the sidewalks at the intersection of Dale Mabry Hwy and Gandy Blvd. located on the sidewalks in front of the CROSSTOWN MOBIL, 3699 W GANDY BLVD,TAMPA,FL 33611 Get Directions . We will be 2 kilometers North of the main gate of MacDill USAFB and the Administrative headquarters for U.S. military affairs in countries of the Middle East, Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa, including the Arabian Gulf @ www.centcom.mil.
We may send participants near the main gate at Interbay and Dale Mabry if we have a competent raod captain available.
We cordially invite US CENTCOM Commander 4-Star General David Petraus and any military personel out of uniform and folks in the Tampa bay region and the state of Florida to join in this monthly event to BRING 'EM HOME!
Please note...Lets be there to honor the Warrior, but not the War! We will vigil for those who do not have a voice from those who fell and the innocent civilians who perished over the seven years of war and occupation in Iraq. We know the cost of occupation is not job creation for Americans. And we are bearing witness to a bread and circus of our military might and the tremendous cost of our machines of war
I as a member of VFP, Inc and I am officially calling a meeting after the event on Saturday. As a social and dinner to reform VFP Chapter 119 at a nearby restaurant and all other participants are welcome to attend and may listen to poetry and music from fellow VFP members.
TIME: 2-6PM
DATE: 3-20/21-2010
CONTACT INFORMATION: Jay Alexander@727-525-8769, jayalexus@yahoo.com Mark Skogman@727-992-7171, matrix02ms@aol.com
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: VFP 119
Daytona Beach, FL - Chapter 136
NAME OF EVENT: 7 Years In Iraq: No WMD's, No Ties To Al Qaeda, No Reason To Be There!LOCATION OF EVENT: Daytona Beach, FL - 1000 W. International Speedway Blvd at Nova Road
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: The only thing worse than having sent our soldiers to die in vain in Afghanistan and Iraq is for the American people to, by their consent of silence and indifference, allow more of our soldiers to die there in vain.
Meanwhile our U.S. military has killed over 1 million innocent Iraqi’s and has displaced millions more.
What have you done today to end the senseless U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? Join us and get involved!
Call your Representative today at (800) 828-0498 or (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote NO on War Funding!
TIME: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
DATE: Thursday, March 18, 2010
CONTACT INFORMATION: Phil Restino, hm: (386) 788-2918, cell: (386) 235-3268
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Central Florida VFP Chapter 136
Washington D.C. - Chapter 016
NAME OF EVENT: DC VETERANS FOR PEACE - Meet Veterans in Town for the National MarchLOCATION OF EVENT: Church of the Holy City, 16th and Corcoran Sts., NW, Washington, DC
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Local veterans - meet other veterans who are in town for the National March and the Peace Of The Action activities
TIME: 4:00 – 6:00pm
DATE: MARCH 21
CONTACT INFORMATION: Patrick McCann, unityact2@aol.com 240-271-2246
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Chapter 016 (DC Metropolitan Area)
New Jersey
NAME OF EVENT: A.N.S.W.E.R. march in D.C.LOCATION OF EVENT: Washington, D.C.
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Members from Veterans For Peace, Chapter 021, New Jersey will be participating in the March 20th event in D.C.
TIME: 12 Noon
DATE: 3-20-10
CONTACT INFORMATION: Kenneth Dalton, njvfpken22@aim.com
Seattle, WA - Chapter 092
NAME OF EVENT: March & Rally Against U.S. War & OccupationLOCATION OF EVENT: Westlake Park, 4th & Pine, downtown Seattle
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti - END U.S. WAR & OCCUPATION, FUND HUMAN NEEDS -- March, Rally and Street Theater
TIME: 12 Noon
DATE: Sunday, March 21
CONTACT INFORMATION: 206-499-1220
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: 92
WEBSITE: www.vfp92.org
Traverse City, MI - Chapter 050
NAME OF EVENT: Protest against on-going wars in Iraq and AfghanistanLOCATION OF EVENT: DOWNTOWN TRAVERSE CITY MI
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Veterans for Peace Chapter 50 invites all interested to join them in a peaceful protest against ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the resultant suffering in deaths and wounds to service people and civilians. The walk will begin about 11:15 A.M. in front of the Horizon Book Store in downtown Traverse City. Questions may be directed to John Lewis at 947-9104.
TIME: 11:15 AM
DATE: SATURDAY MARCH 20
CONTACT INFORMATION: John Lewis
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Veterans for Peace Chapter 50
WEBSITE: http://www.vfp50.org/
Milwaukee, WI - Chapter 050
NAME OF EVENT: US Out of Iraq and Afghanistan
LOCATION OF EVENT: Downtown Milwaukee
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT:
First: Rally and speakers in front of the Federal Building.
Second: March to City Hall and back carrying our posters.
TIME: Noon
DATE: March 19
CONTACT INFORMATION: Mark Foreman, foremane1589@sbcglobal.net
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: VFP Chapter 102
WEBSITE:
www.milwaukeevfp.org
Iowa City, IA
NAME OF EVENT: Iraq War - Seven YearsLOCATION OF EVENT: Clinton St & Iowa Ave, Iowa City,IA
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: Candlelight vigils with signs and reading of Iowa soldiers and Iraqi civilian deaths.
TIME: 7AM - 8AM & 7PM-8PM
DATE: 3-19-2010
CONTACT INFORMATION: 319 621-6766; flahertyem@aol.com
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: PEACE Iowa
WEBSITE: www.Peaceiowa.org
Tacoma, WA - Chapter 134
NAME OF EVENT: War Costs...Who Pays? Who Profits?
LOCATION OF EVENT: In front of the Federal Courthouse, 1717 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT:
This is a rally, march and demonstration with freeway bannering to
follow.
Vietnam Vet and former DSHS director Lyle Quasim will be speaking
of the social costs of the wars, as well as a father of a soldier killed
in Iraq, and the spouse of an Iraq war veteran.
TIME: 4 pm rally; 5:30 pm freeway bannering
DATE: Friday, March 19th
CONTACT INFORMATION: Kristi Nebel, kristinebel@msn.com
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER:
VFP Chapter 134 and IVAW Fort Lewis
WEBSITE: www.UFPPC.org
Northampton, MA - Chapter 141
NAME OF EVENT: End To Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan and Bring the Soldiers and Money HomeLOCATION OF EVENT: Northampton, MA
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT: At 11am, rally on King & Main Sts.,
march to City Hall and speak on the steps.
TIME: 11am
DATE: 3/20/10
CONTACT INFORMATION: George A. Williams, gawilliams44@hotmail.com
SPONSORED BY / VFP CHAPTER NUMBER: Wally Nelson Ch 95
City, State - Chapter 000
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