Arlington New York State

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- March 14, 2009. Building a memorial based on the Arlington West exhibit maintained by Veterans For Peace in Santa Barbara, California, Movement for a Democratic Society Staten Island joined with Military Families Speak Out, September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows, Peace Action Staten Island and other local activists to produce a candlelit field of crosses in the sands of South Beach - each one representing a New York State resident killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The memorial also included the Eyes Wide Open display produced by the American Friends Service Committee. Eyes Wide Open is a collection of military boots and Iraqi civilian shoes, each tagged with the name of a victim of the Iraq War.

"In the simplest terms, this memorial represents American deaths in two wars that should have never been. Each cross, each star and crescent, each pair of boots reminds us not only of what we've lost but what we might lose still in wars that are ongoing. These soldiers should be with us now. They should be sitting with their families on the beach, walking their dogs along the boardwalk, not being memorialized in sand," said Devra Morice of Movement for a Democratic Society.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• antiwar
• Next Left Notes
• NLN
• peace
• Thomas Good
• Eyes Wide Open
• AFSC
• Iraq
• Afghanistan