3,000 U.S. Deaths Candlelight Vigil: Ann Arbor Remembers the Fallen

UPDATE: The vigil was a great success! We had coverage in the Ann Arbor News, Fox TV 4. Attendees have also shared some pictures of the event. You can read below for more coverage.
When: Tuesday, January 2, 2007, 6:00 – 6:45 pm.

Where: the University of Michigan Diag, downtown Ann Arbor.

What: Candle light vigil to mourn Iraqis, Americans, and other people who have lost their lives in the war in Iraq, including a reading of the names of all U.S. service men and women whom have died from the state of Michigan and a commemoration of Iraqi deaths.

Who: Sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Michigan Peaceworks, Military Families Speak Out, and Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice.

Why: To mourn the deaths in Iraq, and to remember that U.S. armed forces serve because we, as a nation, have sent them.

How you can help: To volunteer to hand out candles or with event planning and publicity, email chuck@icpj.net or call 734-663-1870.

Honoring the dead, hoping for peace

Nighttime vigil reflects on the war in Iraq

Wednesday, January 03, 2007BY JO COLLINS MATHIS

Instead, the Ann Arbor resident hobbled to the University of Michigan Diag to join about 200 other people in a candlelight vigil honoring people killed in Iraq and calling for peace in the new year.

“I have in my heart the 3,000 (American military) people who’ve died and so many more who’ve been injured, and it seemed to me that despite some small pain of my own, I just had to be here tonight,” Remley said. “I had to put my own body on the line to say, ‘This is enough. We need to bring people home.”’

The 45-minute vigil was sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Michigan Peaceworks, the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, and Military Families Speak Out, and included the singing of peace hymns, as well as a reading of the 118 names of Michigan soldiers killed in Iraq.

Chuck Warpehoski, director of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, noted the significance of mourning not just the Americans killed in Iraq, but the Iraqis.

“I can go on the Internet and get the exact, up-to-the-minute count of all the servicemen and women who have died in Iraq,” he said. “I can learn their names and hometowns and see their pictures. And I mourn all those losses.”

But he said there’s no way of knowing about the Iraqis who’ve been killed, estimated to be many times more than the Americans.

“And it’s important to take the time to mourn their passing, as well,” he said.

Before the vigil, Tony Morgan of Ypsilanti walked around the Diag with a megaphone encouraging people to attend.

“I think most people disassociate themselves from the war,” said Morgan, who has two cousins who are back home after serving in Iraq. “When you have someone you can connect with, it becomes more personal to you.”

Don Pelz said he was against the war from the beginning, and he joins every peace rally he can.

“I think we need to send a message to the administration that it’s time to start pulling out,” said Pelz, who’s lived most of his 85 years in Ann

Arbor but recently moved into an Ypsilanti retirement home. “One way to stay young is to get out, get involved, stay active, keep in touch. Although my own energies are limited, I try to support other peoples’.”

John Fritz of Whitmore Lake wore his 16-year-old arm band that read “Mourn all the War Dead.”

“We are carrying out war crimes in Iraq, we’ve declared war against a sovereign nation, we’ve just hanged our good friend, Saddam Hussein,” he said. “It’s just total insanity. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for the majority of people to get it.”

Lauren Helwig of Ann Arbor said she disagreed with those who insist such rallies do no good.

“If you measure success by the big things like stopping the war immediately, then we’re not successful,” she said.

“Historically, it’s always been local, grassroots movements that have gained momentum that have made anything significant in history happen.”

Warpehoski said he was pleased with the vigil, which ended with local musician Chris Buhalis leading the crowd in singing Pete Seeger’s Vietnam protest song “Bring ‘em Home.”

“There was a real sense of community,” said Warpehoski, “both of mourning and of hope that we can bring them home and work toward a day of peace for Iraq and for the United States.”

The crowd raised $484 for the volunteer service program at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Jo Mathis can be reached at jmathis@ annarbornews.com or 734-994-6849.

Published by Chuck on Dec 28, 2006 under Middle East