Brian Haw

Photo:  Anti-war protestor Brian Haw poses near the Houses of Parliament in London in an October 25, 2004 file photo. British peace campaigner Brian Haw, who lived and slept outside the Houses of Parliament in London for a decade to protest about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has died of cancer, his family said on June 19, 2011. He was 62.   REUTERS/Toby Melville/files

Brian Haw is a hero of mine.  He stood outside of the British Parliament in London against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  He sacrificed a decade of his life to get a message across:  that war was wrong, very wrong.  He did not stop the wars, but he will be remembered as a man who stood against them by camping out with his signs that clearly stated that the wars were wrong.  He was there in all kinds of weather, all year round.  He did it for years.  This is what a writer in The Guardian saidabout him:

The remarkable thing about Brian was not only his principle, but his determination, alone, to be effective as indeed he was; for millions of people must have seen him there or on television, and came to know of his campaign.

He had a few friends who shared his long hours on the square and he must have done endless little broadcasts with TV crews. Film units from all over the world who were in London reporting on the likelihood of an Iraq war would also come to Parliament Square to see Brian, who they described as "the man of peace in Westminster", and thus he presented to the world a message of reconciliation that was certainly not coming from the two backbenches at the time.

Brian Haw made great sacrifices for peace, and while he was not successful, he tried very, very hard to achieve that goal.  He will be remembered forever as the man who tried to stop the wars, particularly on Iraq.  He died in June, 2011.  Rest in peace, Brian.