The reading of the names

The reading of the names started at sunrise, and went on for most of the day. This picture shows Kim reading the names and an unknown lady ringing the bowl. Someone off to the side is holding a sign that says "End the War".

Earlier in the day, a women with an Australian accent stopped by. She said that she did not know that the group doing this was against the war (so what else doesn't she know?) and that she was grateful and concerned about the troops over in Iraq, since they were keeping us safe. (I didn't ask what they were keeping us safe from.) I mentioned the over one million dead, and she flatly said that she did not care about them. I guess this makes her evil. A local radio station, KISS, was there reporting on what was going on and broadcasting some of the reading of the names. I listened to them as I drove home - they were making it into a pro-war event.... and I think they were the reason that people kept showing up to honor our troops and had no idea "Veterans for Peace" and "Iraq Veterans Against the War" were putting this event on.

I know this event meant a lot to veterans. Several stopped by during the day and expressed their gratitude. However, on the whole, I think this honoring of the fallen veterans actually promoted more war and militarism. After they finished reading the names of US military, I read some names of Iraqi children killed in the early days of the war. I only read one page worth. If we were to read the names of the Iraqi dead, it would take 240 days, not part of one day.