There will be a white cross for U.S. Marine machine gunner Cody Calavan of Lake Stevens. And Army paratrooper Justin W. Hebert of Silvana.
And Army Spc. James. A. Chance III of Kokomo, Miss.; Army Spc. Eugene Uhl III of Amherst, Wis.; Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick O’Day of Santa Rosa, Calif.; and Army Staff Sgt. Frederick L. Miller Jr. of Hagerstown, Ind.
Everett Peace Action, in conjunction with Veterans For Peace Chapter 92, will erect a field of small white memorials beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at Harborview Park, 1621 Mukilteo Blvd., between Everett and Mukilteo. The display closes at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The symbolic Saturday cemetery, called the Arlington Northwest Memorial Display, will have than 1,500 crosses and headstones representing each U.S. soldier who died in the war in Iraq.
The public is invited to take a flower or attach a note on a memorial marker at the Saturday park display.
You may have seen members of Everett Peace Action. At noon every Friday, they hold a vigil on the corner of Hewitt and Colby avenues in downtown Everett.
Member Linda Jackman of Marysville said Everett Peace Action opposes the war and foreign policies of President George Bush. Jackman said the group aims to create, promote, participate and observe peace activities in the greater Everett area.
Jackman said the group believes in international cooperation and diplomacy, not war. Her son is a U.S. Marine and her husband is a retired Army officer.
“We’re not anti-troops,” Jackman, 56, said. “We don’t want to see troops abused any more in an unjust war.”
Steve Neighbors, chairman of the Snohomish County Republican Party, said peace groups have the right to express themselves however they want. He was at ground zero last summer in New York, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“It was hard to see someone there with a peace sign,” Neighbors said. “It was hard to understand when you can stand at ground zero and see where we were attacked and lost 3,000 lives.”
Neighbors said the Bush administration aims to fight terrorism where it’s at, rather than on our soil.
“My view is, obviously, there are things that are worth going to war for,” he said. “Look at what’s happening in the Middle East. We changed the whole dynamic there.”
Jackman said Everett Peace Action aims to change foreign policies here and abroad. The independent insurance agent reached a point in 2003 when action became a priority, she said.
“I joined Everett Peace Action to stop feeling helpless and so frustrated,” Jackman said. “Joining a group made me feel more effective.”
Surrounding herself with people with similar points of view makes her feel less isolated, Jackman said.
“If my son died in Iraq,” she said, “I’ll know I did something to keep it from happening.”
Her group is opposed to other forms of violence, including gay bashing and domestic abuse.
“If we do something in small, incremental steps,” she said, “it makes a congregate difference.”
Every first Thursday of the month, the group shows films at 6 p.m. at Wired and Unplugged, 717 First St., in Snohomish. People with different viewpoints are welcome, she said.
Discussions get lively after films are shown, such as “Palestine is Still the Issue.”
Everett Peace Action seeks solutions to world problems rather than vengeance, she said.
“Actions like invading Iraq foment terrorism,” Jackman said. “Continual escalation cannot bring peace. Eventually we must stop killing.”
We can all agree the death of a soldier is worth a soulful observation.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
