Fourth Annual Memorial Day For Peace Draws Veterans And Peace Activists Together
BOSTON/Long Wharf – Some of those standing in the hot sun in Christopher Columbus Park on Monday have been protesting the war in Iraq for twenty years; since the U.S. attacked that nation in January 1991. All of the hundred or so activists and veterans young and old were there to pay tribute to the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan or those who have committed suicide as a result of post traumatic stress or severe brain injuries as well as the innocent civilians killed or injured simply for living in a country facing U.S. occupation and civil strife and years of devastating economic sanctions. While hundreds of residents and tourists walked along the wharf enjoying the warm holiday local Veterans for Peace coordinator Pat Scanlon introduced speeches by several veterans and the annual calling out of names of all the Massachusetts soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Supporters took turns tossing flowers into the harbor as a bell was rung to represent each man and woman named. Peace groups represented included Military Families Speak Out United for Justice with Peace Gold Star Families for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee. Scanlon also introduced a group of about ten Iraqi families with their children. Oday Mahmoud read the names of thirteen of his countrymen – killed as a result of the war and occupation – to represent the hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives in his country. In a brief interview following the memorial Pat Scanlon said he knew Memorial Day tributes to fallen soldiers would continue next year and many years after that but he said "eventually we won't have to do this...you know Memorial Day will always be; hopefully it will not have this emphasis...in the future.” OMB Audio: Radio story produced by Dave Goodman for “THICKLY SETTLED.” Airs Tuesdays 6-8am on 88.1 FM WMBR Cambridge. (Length: 28:23) Bookmark/Search this post with: Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Newsvine Facebook Google Yahoo Technorati
