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News :: Peace : Protest Activity |
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Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
Current rating: 0 |
by News-Gazette via PK
Email: herringb (nospam) prairienet.org (unverified!) |
29 Dec 2004
Modified: 02:15:24 PM |
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A locally stationed National Guard unit will depart from Willard Airport on January 8th. According to today's News-Gazette, these soldiers are heading to training camp and then to Iraq. AWARE has an anti-war demo scheduled for this date. Might the action be more effectively staged at Willard instead of at the usual Prospect Avenue location? |
According to the News-Gazette (12/29/04, p. A1), "National Guard soldiers headquartered in Urbana will be leaving for training, then Iraq, in little more than a week...Though the military avoids giving out details about deployments..., local veterans are planning on seeing off the troops from the 2nd Battalion, 130th infantry at Willard Airport on January 8."
The departure date coincides with the next scheduled anti-war street demonstration organized by the Anti-War Anti-Racist Effort (AWARE). AWARE's action is currently scheduled to take place at its usual location on north Prospect Avenue in Champaign.
Some activists have noted that Willard Airport might be a better place for a group of local anti-war activists to make a statement on January 8th, considering the coincidence of the departure of locally stationed troops from Willard on that day.
The change of location for the January 8th action is not yet on the AWARE agenda, but may be added soon. AWARE meets on Sundays at 5PM at the Independent Media Center, 218 West Main Street, Suite 110. |
This work is in the public domain |
Comments
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by sad citizen
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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Leave these people alone and let them say goodbye to their families. They will be away from their families for at least 18 months. They need support as they are taken away from their loved ones and their professions. One family is expecting a baby in a few months- imagine how they feel. I just read a wonderful article about someone who is trying to do something positive at the local county jail to support the mental health of those who are incarcerated. Let's do something for the troops' mental health as well. You have your right to protest - but leave these people alone! |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by Julia
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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I totally agree with Sad Citizen. What kind of public statement will AWARE make by marching around a bunch of tearful wives, mothers, fathers, and children? More importantly, what will the impact be on the women and men of the Guard and their families at this very traumatic time in their lives?
Protest this war at your Congressman's local office or on Prospect Avenue but don't add to the pain of the families by targeting the departure from Willard Airport. |
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Maybe They Just Want to Say Goodbye? |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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As someone who has a relative overseas in the military and who is against the stupid waste of life involved in Iraq, I see no problem with AWARE being part of the goodbye. This is clearly a divided country when it comes to this war. To assert that somehow the troops could be insulated from this reality is delusional.
People who oppose this war also support the troops, they are just not supporting the war the troops have been ordered to fight. Some people would rather confuse these two distinct issues.
And many in the military oppose this war and hope that it ends ASAP. |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by Julia
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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I oppose the war. I support the troops. There's no confusion, ML. We all have family, friends, neighbors who are serving in this stupid, wasteful war. I just don't see what AWARE would gain by picketing at Willard during what will be a very sad and painful time for the departing soldiers and their families. |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by goodriddancegipper
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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Let's remember that AWARE is protesting against the war, not the troops. Considering the current, intolerant political climate, such a demonstration is important not simply to exercise the right to demonstrate, but more importantly to convey support for the troops and their families who may see them off at the airport by demonstrating against this unnecessary war based on lies that is endangering the very troops who will leave the airport. When people in the 1960s went to draft centers, airports, and other military depots to demonstrate, let's remember that many departing troops and troops-to-be gave the demonstrators thumbs-up signs, peace signs, and friendly waves.
AWARE will be there understanding, not ignoring, the deleterious effects of this war on soldiers and their families. To argue that AWARE is somehow exacerbating the pain that families might feel ignores just how much AWARE and the participants in this and other demonstrations truly understand about the human costs of Bush's folly. We'll be there in empathy, not antipathy. Will others say the same? |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by sad citizen
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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How unfeeling and hurtful can a group of people be? You may fool yourself into believing that you are supporting the troops, but those who will be putting their lives on the line and their families will know otherwise and will be devastated by your insensitive actions. Shame on you!! |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by sad citizen
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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exposure at any cost? You could still work towards ending the war without disrupting these families last moments together. Do you expect these volunteers to just refuse to get on the plane? Be realistic and picket in another location. Let them be! |
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Actually, Yes |
by Dose of Reality
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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"Do you expect these volunteers to just refuse to get on the plane?"
Actually, yes, that could happen. This community has supported others who in the past have refused to join in this illegal war.
Most will go, but few at this point do so with the thought that their service, and possible sacrifice, is anything except a cynical political exercise by Bush and his cronies. How come none of those questioning the motives of those in AWARE are questioning the base political motivations of the administration? Because it is truly Bush, Rumsfeld, et al, who are endangering the lives of our troops at this point wihout any hope of gaining a definable objective.
Some people will swallow any kind of shit as long as it's wrapped in the flag. |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by wayward
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
30 Dec 2004
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It bothers me when people seem to think that caring about troops and opposing the war are mutually exclusive. Rightly or wrongly, there's concern that if the US pulls out now, there could be a civil war with casualties exceeding 100000. (Yes, I know that if we stay, that'll be bad too, and it's a matter of trying to pick the least of the evils.) It's not the fault of the troops getting shipped over there, though.
It is hard on the families too. One of my coworkers was deployed this year. He and his wife have four kids. I couldn't imagine what it was like for her. I'd like to also ask for sensitivity to the soldiers and their families.
Is there any way that we could dedicate January 8th to some kind of relief effort for the tsunami victims instead? The death toll is apparently over 116,000 and the situation is horrifying. |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by Paul Kotheimer
herringb (nospam) prairienet.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
03 Jan 2005
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The comments of "sad citizen" and "Julia" both seem to make assumptions which aren't necessarily the case:
Both seem to assume that just because I posted information from the Gazette to this site, and raised the question "Should AWARE go there?" that means that AWARE *will* go there. Please note that the original posting is just information plus question.
Both "sad citizen" and "Julia" seem to assume that AWARE participants are NOT veterans, NOT parents of troops, NOT relatives of troops about to be deployed. This is definitely not the case. Lots of military family members, locally and elsewhere, oppose the conquest of Iraq. In fact, a good number of the deployed troops *themselves* oppose the war!
Both commentors seem to assume that AWARE would automatically cause added unneccesary grief by putting an anti-war anti-racist message at Willard on the day of the troops' departure. This is a valid concern, but is not *necessarily* the case.
So far, AWARE has not announced an action at Willard to coincide with the January 8th send-off. Does this mean that AWARE agrees with "sad citizen" and "Julia"? No, not necessarily.
Similarly, I was the person posting the information about the January 8th departure. Does that mean I am in favor of AWARE demonstrating at Willard on the 8th? No, not necessarily.
So what's my point? My point is that when you go jumping to conclusions, you never come in for a smooth landing. |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by sad citizen
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
03 Jan 2005
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not an assumption- just thought it was a REALLY BAD IDEA! |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by Julia
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
04 Jan 2005
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Paul--You jumped to the conclusion that I made an assumption! The original article stated that some activists were considering demonstrating at Willard. My original post stated that I think it's a lousy idea that will just add to the families' stress. |
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G.I. Families United in Grief, but Split by the War |
by NYT via Joe Futrelle
futrelle (nospam) shout.net (verified) |
Current rating: 0
04 Jan 2005
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January 2, 2005
By MONICA DAVEY
They have met on the Internet and on cross-country road trips. But mostly they find one another at the funerals.
As the number of American troops killed in Iraq has risen above 1,300, mothers of the dead have built a grim community of their own, mostly invisible to outsiders and separated by geography, but bound together by death. Some have met in pews, recognizing each other from newspaper photographs or with the simplest introduction: I lost my son, too.
"My closest friends now are three other mothers I have met who lost their sons," said Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., whose son, Specialist Casey Sheehan, died in an ambush on April 4. "I feel closer to them, even the ones who live far away, than I do to the people I have known for years. I feel closer to them than to the people who knew Casey. Us moms are really the only ones who know what we're going through."
In this network linked by sorrow and empathy, however, one issue divides them: the wisdom of the war.
Relatives who believe the war in Iraq was necessary tend to gravitate toward one another, talking little of politics and more of pride, sacrifice and loneliness. And those like Ms. Sheehan, who questioned the need to invade Iraq, find one another too, wrestling with their doubts about the war and the meaning of their losses.
People on each side say they respect those on the other. Still, flashes of tension have crept up at small gatherings and group interviews, and even after condolence sessions with President Bush.
This fall, on a conference call of mothers who shared their experiences for a book project ("A Mother's Tears: Mothers Remember Their Sons Lost in Iraq," by Elliot Michael Gold) several hung up in anger after disagreeing about whether the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had made the war in Iraq necessary.
And this summer, one mother, Nancy Walker of Lancaster, Calif., said she found herself awkwardly starting to describe why she believed the war was wrong at her first dinner meeting with a couple in Iowa, whose marine son had died the same day as her own and whom she had driven many miles to see. Clearly, she said, the couple did not agree.
"I think what I told her was, 'Let's not go there with the politics,' " said Nelson Carman, the father from Jefferson, Iowa, a farming town of 4,500, who met with Ms. Walker that day. "I do believe firmly in this war. Those terrorists are going to bring the war to us. They hate you. They hate me. They hate our life. They hate what we stand for.
"To bring politics into our son's sacrifice is just something that is not conceivable to me," Mr. Carman said, adding that he felt a special sorrow for those families who felt as Ms. Walker did. Coping with death of a child, he said, was challenge enough. "If you have another set of issues, especially political, that you're dealing with, that's just another hurdle you have to get over."
Similar webs of shared mourning have grown out of other wars and disasters. Many families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks came together for comfort and support. But their unity fractured over questions of the nation's domestic security and intelligence needs, and who should be president.
During the Vietnam War, in which 58,000 American service members died, veterans themselves became sharply polarized, and the divisions surfaced even in the past presidential campaign. Still, the families of the dead came to lean on one another.
Ann Herd, national president of the American Gold Star Mothers, a group for mothers of slain soldiers that dates from the 1920's, said that she recalled that at least by the end of the Vietnam War, "I think many of us were angry: we had the sense that they just didn't try to let those boys win." Ms. Herd's son died in Vietnam in 1970.
Once again, with the war in Iraq, the question at the heart of the divisions between families - mothers especially, but also fathers, siblings and spouses - is fundamental: was their loss for a noble cause or might it have been in vain? For some, even posing the question diminishes and disrespects their soldier's service to the country. For others, it is a terrifying question to ponder, but one they say they cannot shake.
Karen Hilsendager, of Philomath, Ore., said she found herself struggling with her doubts about the war and what they meant for the death of her son, Specialist Eric S. McKinley, who was killed in June. Ms. Hilsendager said she was irked by a comment people often made about her son. "They tell me: 'Thank you so much for his service. He's a hero,' " she said. "And I want to say back, 'He's not a hero, he's a victim.' "
At another Oregon soldier's funeral this summer, Ms. Hilsendager met a mother whose son had also died - and who also opposed the war. The two women live two hours apart, but they have since shared phone calls, lunch, and e-mail exchanges.
Ms. Hilsendager said they had leaned on one another, exchanging stories of their sons' quirks and wondering what their sons would think of their friendship. "And we talk about how mad we are about Bush, and why we're there," she said, "We really have a common thing."
Ms. Hilsendager said her feelings against the war were no blemish on her son, his service or his memory. "My son was following orders, and I'm proud of him for doing that," she said. "But I am not proud of the administration that sent them. They did it wrong. They should not have gone over there yet. I'm not saying never, but not this way."
Not far away, in Independence, Ore., M. J. and Clay Kesterson say they stand firmly and proudly behind the war that killed Warrant Officer Erik C. Kesterson, Mr. Kesterson's son and Ms. Kesterson's stepson.
Since his death in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in November 2003, the Kestersons said they had grown close to numerous other families of Oregon soldiers who died. They have been to some 20 funerals. They even camped in a tent on the lawn of one family in Klamath Falls who had just lost a son.
"When you lose somebody in these circumstances, others who have been through it immediately know what the feelings are, and what the pride is, and what the emptiness is," Ms. Kesterson said. "We understand and we want to let the other families know that we're in support. Every single soldier with a uniform on was doing something for his country."
The Kestersons said they had thrown their grief into efforts to raise money for a memorial for the soldiers from Oregon. They spend nearly every weekend now speaking to veterans' groups and seeking contributions. Last week, they carried cookies to soldiers at Fort Lewis, Wash., who were wounded in Iraq as part of an effort they dubbed Operation Cookie Drop.
"We've got to do something," said Clay Kesterson, 64, who volunteered and fought in Vietnam. "The alternative is to crawl into a hole."
Ms. Kesterson said she felt compassion for those who did not agree with the war and said she thought their struggle must be even harder. "It is a relief that we not only understood the mission but that we understood the uniform," she said. " 'Freedom isn't free' means that our country was founded on heroes like ours. We'd love to turn back the clock, but you can't have it both ways. It's why Erik put on the uniform. He was totally willing to take the risk.
"Our son would be disappointed if we didn't honor the decision of President Bush," she said, "Out of respect for Erik, we can't possibly think otherwise. It would be dishonoring him."
But even within the Kestersons' extended family, there are divisions. Dolores Kesterson, Erik's mother and Mr. Kesterson's former wife, who lives in Santa Clara, Calif., said she was plagued by her doubts about the war and what it meant about her only child's death.
"I feel it was a waste, like Vietnam," she said. "All these deaths are as big a waste as Vietnam."
In a way, she said, she wishes someone who lives in Iraq could change her mind for her. "Can't I see the light or something and look at it differently?" she said on a recent afternoon. "I wish I could. But then I watch and it gets worse over there."
Dolores Kesterson said she had grown close to two other mothers who are as troubled by the war as she is. She exchanges e-mail and talks with them on the phone, she said, but she cannot bring herself go to all the soldiers' funerals, as some people do. It would be too crushing, she said.
But the funerals keep coming, 21 months after the first ones, and some mothers say they feel compelled now to keep watch for any other soldier who dies from their town or county or state and to attend as many funerals as possible, even those miles away, just as other grieving mothers did for them.
Many said seeking out other families was not an option, but a necessity. Their new bonds became their only solace over months, they said. These were the only people who could really understand the dizzying memory of those first uniforms at the front door, the tears that might come at any time, the sons who reappeared in dreams, the emptiness of the holidays.
Karen Fisher, the widow of Sgt. Paul Fisher, who died when his Chinook helicopter was attacked more than a year ago, said she tried formal support groups in her area, but little she heard seemed to apply. The group for relatives of those who had died of cancer or disease did not fit, nor did the one for those of murder victims. Some of the widows of Sept. 11 began including Ms. Fisher, who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in their e-mail messages, sending her words of wisdom and guidance.
Ms. Fisher said she had grown closest to other wives of Iowa soldiers, particularly one woman whose husband died in the same incident as her own. Most of their talk, she said, is about small things, not war or politics, just making their way through the days.
"We call each other if one of us is going on a vacation or buying something new," she said. "That's the kind of thing that happens in this: you're afraid to sell anything or to buy anything new because what will people say? Or I call if I had a good day because part of me isn't sure if that's right. Sometimes you feel guilty even for having a good day.
"I guess I call," she said, "to see if she's doing what I'm doing." Rarely, if ever, Ms. Fisher said, do she and her friend talk about the necessity of the war and the political forces behind it.
"That is not a road I want to go down," she said. |
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Re: Locally Stationed Troops to leave from Willard Airport on Jan. 8th |
by confused
smyte (nospam) msn.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
05 Jan 2005
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So is it moving to Willard or not? |
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