"You guys are doing a great thing," said a 54 year old man after he walked up and read the vigil sign. "And I'm not the only one who thinks so," he added as he joined the vigil for 15 to 20 minutes.
"If the U.S. has to fight a war," he stated, "It should get in and get out. I don't understand why these wars are going on so long." He wanted the wars to be over and the soldiers home with their families. This man has been married for 29 years and he and his wife have three grown children, 23, 21 and 19 all of whom are doing well. For 30 years he donated his time to referee youth basketball and baseball games and always appreciated it on the rare occasions when a parent, coach or player would thank him. Last night he wanted to thank us.
Regarding the wars, in Iraq on Monday, several explosions killed at least 30 men, women and children and wounded 75 more. All were Shiite pilgrims coming to pray in the shrine city of Karbala, south of Baghdad. While in Afghanistan on Tuesday, more than 60 people were killed and 160 wounded in a coordinated series of explosions in Kabul, Kandahar and elsewhere. The Wall Street Journal published a horrific picture of women and girls who survived the attacks but whose faces, hands and clothes were covered in blood spray from the people blown to bits. It's a sickening sight and a reminder of the ugliness of war and why so many of those involved suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
These people, like millions of Iraqis and Afghans before them, are not only traumatized but now must live without their loved ones, including in some cases the bread winners, which means women with children will have to find another way to sustain themselves and keep their families together. And as often happens, children were killed, maimed or orphaned as well.
But thousands of miles away our Los Angeles area vigil was peaceful. One deeply meaningful moment came when a 7 ish girl in the backseat of a black SUV read our vigil sign, smiled and began to wave at us. Her 35 ish mother was delighted and she supported the vigil with her smile, wave and kind words. What made this so meaningful was that afterward the mother very likely explained to her daughter why the vigil was being held, which means the vigil touched another generation.
In terms of support, there were numerous horn honks and waves, including from the bus drivers, many of whom have become vigil supporters. And the 50 ish couple who often join for several minutes, did Wednesday night as well, as did for a few minutes a 58 year old man, who on occasion does. On these bone chilling ice cold evenings, all of this support helps to warm our hearts and encourage us.
A 2nd deeply meaningful moment came at the end of the vigil when a 22 year old man, a runner in top physical condition and sweating heavily saw the vigil, and stopped to join it. He was wearing a bright red shirt with Air Force markings and he said, "Thank you for your love and caring." He said he has an Engineering degree and is 3 months into a 4 year Air Force commitment, for now stationed in Los Angeles to work on satellites. John Fortier told him he too had served in the Air Force but during the Korean War. We were so pleased with this young man's exuberant response to the vigil, we extended it five minutes to accommodate him. And as he left, so did we, accompanied by another horn blast of support.
This vigil was held on December 7th, which Americans remember as "Pearl Harbor Day," when on December 7th, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii killing 2,400 people and wounding many more. President Roosevelt called it "a day that will live in infamy" as the U.S. declared war, joining World War ll. I wonder if in Iraq and Afghanistan, the people will remember the day the U.S. invaded their countries, setting off wars of occupation that have lasted nearly 9 years and over 10 years and costing hundreds of thousands of people their lives.
Dick
To see the BBC article, "Deadly bomb attacks on Shia pilgrims in Iraq," please click on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16035254. To see The Wall Street Journal article, "Attacks Point to New Afghan Conflict," please click on http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204770404577081631832680936.html?mod=googlenews_wsj On the online version, I did not see the horrifically bloody photo that was in the print edition but there are other stark photos.
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