On Tuesday explosions rocked Iraq, from one end to the other, killing at least 106 people and injuring 337 more. It was some of the worst violence of the 8 year old U.S. war and occupation of Iraq and it took place despite a heavy U.S. military presence.
But thousands of miles away, along Pacific Coast Highway in the Los Angeles area, Korean War veteran John Fortier and I held a vigil for peace, to remind everyone of the severe price that has been paid and will be paid yet by others as long as these wars are allowed to continue. Despite the magnitude of this tragedy, the U.S. news media seldom covers any of it.
"We support the veterans," said an 80 ish woman, a car passenger. "I'm a Korean War veteran," said her 80 ish husband, as he spoke of being in the Navy during that war. At that point, John Fortier stepped into the street and shook his hand. "My nephew was shot to pieces in Vietnam," the woman added. "His mother was frantic," but he did survive.
"May they rest in peace," shouted a 25 ish woman from her driver's seat, after her 25 ish female passenger gave us a two fingered peace sign.
"Do you take donations," asked a muscular 45 ish man with his 35 ish blond wife, powerfully built like two Viking warriors, after reading the sign. We don't accept donations we replied, but thanked them for caring for the people the sign references. "It is very nice of you guys to do this," he stated. "We don't see anything about these wars."
"I've been in the Air Force for 16 1/2 years," he continued. He said his wife graduated from the Air Force Academy and had been in the Air Force for five years. His dad had been in the RAF (the British Air Force) during the Korean War. Then he and his wife shook our hands and thanked us for the vigil.
Afterward, a 73 year old Welsh man, a competitive soccer player since childhood, with the most muscular legs I've ever seen on a man that age, walked up, took his wallet out and tried to donate money to us which we again declined. "I'm used to seeing you out here," he remarked and he joined the vigil for several minutes. Late in the vigil, a 65 ish man, also an athlete and a former neighbor of mine joined us.
An hour into the vigil, there came a series of horns blasting and hands waving from several cars, one after the next. We waved back and on that supportive note, we ended the vigil.
In these vigils, I give my heart in an appeal for peace, a peace that will come either when the American people unite to demand it or when our nation goes broke, the victim of its own massive attempt to build an empire at a prohibitive cost in lives and money.
Dick
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