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VETS HONOR FALLEN
Veterans for Peace Create Expanding War Memorial On California Beachhead
By Greg Szymanski
Marcus Erickson looked through the ocean mist while the ghosts of more than 1,500 dead Iraqi war veterans hovered over the California surf. Every Sunday morning for over a year, Erickson and other members of the nationwide organization, Veterans For Peace, have come to mourn the dead, placing white crosses in the Santa Monica sand as an ongoing memorial for those who have paid the ultimate price.
The number of crosses now totals more than 1,500 with over 5,000 people paying their respects on any given Sunday at the beach site called “Arlington West” after the military cemetery in Arlington, Va.
As the crowd gathered last Sunday morning, it was no different than any other, except it marked the second anniversary of the Iraqi invasion. The solemn gathering also came a day after millions around the world, in both large cities and small, staged organized protests to end the Iraq war in a day of solidarity.
Erickson, a Gulf War veteran and former U.S. Marine sergeant, joined in the Los Angeles march with an estimated 6,000 anti-war protesters who gathered at the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine in downtown Hollywood on a cold and rainy California morning.
The march, which coincided with marches held around the world, lasted for several hours, ending at the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd., where a number of speakers began sending a harsh anti-war message to President Bush and others backing his war efforts.
Signs declaring “Impeach Bush” and “American Freedom is Fascism” set the tone for the rally while Erickson and other Vets For Peace carried coffins draped with American flags.
Referring to the coffins, those at the rally claimed it “may be the only visible sign of the brutality behind the war,” since the Pentagon has not allowed pictures to surface of the returning war dead.
The government has also implemented “a behind closed door policy” concerning the wounded, only bringing them back to the states by the cover of night on flights from Germany.
At the Los Angeles rally, a host of speakers including injured Iraqi war veterans and several local politicians, took up the cause to “end the bloodshed” in what they called a war based on “President Bush’s lies and deceit.”
Most notable among them was former Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic, the soldier portrayed by Tom Cruise in the famous anti-war movie “Born on the Fourth of July.”
“This is an unjust war based on greed, not patriotism,” said Kovic, adding the Iraq war is not one of last resorts but of first resort to acquire oil.
“More importantly than protesting today at the rally, we must make our voices heard everyday throughout the year in order to end the unnecessary
bloodshed and brutality.”
It seems like only yesterday when American troops stormed Baghdad with guns blazing, tanks rolling and flags waving on the false premise that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction presented an imminent threat to the United States.
“I didn’t believe it from day one. I believe Bush also knew Iraq wasn’t a real threat and I can’t believe he isn’t being held accountable,” said Erickson, turning his attention to the white crosses in the Santa Monica sand.
“We kept adding a white cross for every fallen soldier and stopped at 1,000. Now we place a red cross for every 10 fallen soldiers and we are up to 52 red crosses. The blue crosses over there are placed to remember those who have fallen during the previous week. We are now averaging
about two blue crosses every day.”
After two years in Iraq, as Erickson illustrates using crosses, the cost of war in terms of military casualties is high, but military casualties only tells part of the Iraq tragedy. Behind the numbers of the fallen soldiers, lies more than 11,000 injured GIs and an estimated 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians.
A study regarding the high cost of war, recently completed by the Institute for Policy Studies, points out that over half the troops returning from Iraq, return home with low morale. It is also estimated that over 100,000 returnees now are in dire need of mental health care.
The study also cites a failed war strategy, since after two years, the number of insurgents and terrorists in Iraq have actually increased to an estimated force of over 35,000.
And in terms of strict dollars, the study estimates the war is costing each American family more than $3,000 each year, money the Policy Institute states could be used at home to hire 3 million new school teachers or provide health care for more than 27 million Americans.
Serge Louchnikov, a former U.S. Marine who served six months in Iraq and among the troops that originally stormed Baghdad, said after the Los Angeles rally that he holds Bush accountable for “all the needless deaths” as a result of the unnecessary Iraqi war.
“I didn’t see a just cause when I fought in Iraq. What are we defending? Are we defending the misplaced ideas of a few political leaders in Washington?” said Louchnikov, who is now dedicating much of his time to the anti-war movement as a member of Veterans for Peace.
“I feel sadness in my heart. I have lost close friends in Iraq. Personally, I don’t know the man, but I am holding Bush personally responsible for all those who died needlessly. I believe he has lied to the American people about the real reasons behind this war and I will not rest until the
truth is finally told.”
As a part of an ongoing war protest, Erickson, Louchnikov and other members of the Los Angeles Chapter of Veterans For Peace, now numbering more than 100, are leaving on a seven week cross-country protest.
They are scheduled to display their 1,000 white crosses at college campuses en route to Washington and then New York in hopes of gaining additional support to end the war while, at the same time, remembering the fallen soldiers.
“We’ll be making about 10 stops on our way to New York,” said Erickson, adding they are scheduled to begin the nationwide protest April 2. “We will be visiting Kent State University on the 35th anniversary in remembrance of the students who were shot and killed protesting the Vietnam War, as well as putting up our crosses in memory of those who have died in Iraq.”
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