Mourning the growing loss of life in Iraq

On the evening of Sunday September 12, members of Veterans for Peace paid tribute to the 1000+ US troops killed in Iraq in the current war, and the thousands of Iraqis and others who have also lost their lives and limbs. They were joined at the corner of Grand and Lindell by a sorrowful crowd of St. Louisans, including members of the Instead of War Coalition and the Catholic Action Network, who vigil there for peace and justice, every Sunday at 7 p.m.

On Thursday night September 9, Moveon.org organized a silent candlelight vigil of about 300 St. Louisans, at the History Museum in Forest Park, mourning the 1000+ dead US troops.

Click here to read the reflections of Veterans for Peace Catie Shinn, Lincoln Grahlfs, and Chuc Smith:

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Catie Shinn, President, St. Louis Chapter of Veterans for Peace

Tonight we pay special attention to the milestone of over 1000 deaths of US military personnel in Iraq. Our local chapter currently has no member who has been in Iraq, but we have plenty who have trained for combat and lived through combat.

I trained for war, but never went. During my 11 years in the military, many young soldiers died in training accidents. One was a co-worker of mine. At the start of an exercise in February 1980. he had stopped by my work area to say he had good news to share later that day. He never returned, because he was killed in a helicopter crash with 2 others.

I remember the pain and grief of myself and his other co-workers and friends in addition to his family. But also how we went on working and training, believing we were serving our country rightly, and his death was a part of that righteous work.

Tonight I ask, how do a soldier's family and friends feel when he or she dies in a war that many say was begun for false reasons? How do a soldier's family and friends feel when he or she dies in a occupation we can't win solely through military force yet that seems to be all we're employing? I know how I'd feel. Like the sacrifices he or she made were used for ill, not good. That his or her life was of more value than the government placed on it when it sent him or her to that war and occupation.

And so I feel out rage along with pain and grief that so many of our soldiers have and will die. And I also know my sorrow is matched by the people of Iraq, who have had their country invaded and their sons and daughters, mothers and fathers die. And I pray for the courage to work for peace..

Lincoln Grahlfs - Remembering the Dead of the Iraq War

We are here to remember and honor the more than a thousand American service personnel who have lost their lives in the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States. Our thoughts are with them and, importantly, with the loved ones they have left behind

Military service is an honorable pursuit. But, as we who have served are all too aware, it is a hazardous one. We like to feel that the hazards we face are necessary and that the cause for which we face them are honorable.

I also once went off to war. I still remember the despairing look on my mother’s face as she watched me go. Fortunately, I returned. I remember, also, that we were told, and we almost believed, that by fighting in that war we were reducing the danger of future wars. How naïve we were!

It was the overwhelming productive power of American industry that won World War II; some of our leaders, however, have convinced themselves that it was the moral superiority of our social system. But, in a remarkable show of good sense and good will after that war, the United States provided massive assistance to our former enemies, Germany and Japan, enabling them to rebuild their economies and their nations and to become our partners in the community of nations. Rather than exacting a vengeful penalty, we lent a helping hand.

Our current leaders seem not to perceive the lesson. Undeniably, on September 11, 2001 our nation was attacked. But I contend that the reaction by the leadership in our government was one of blind vengeance. Unfortunately, it is not those leaders who have had to pay the price. Over a thousand American troops and thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians have paid, and are paying,it.

The act of military enlistment is a commitment to go where one is ordered to go and to do what one is ordered to do. It is, at the same time, an act of faith; faith that you will not be placed unreasonably in harm’s way and faith that you will be required to do only that which is in the best interest of your country and of the world.

There is one significant difference between my generation, who were sent off to fight in World War II and these young people we honor tonight My generation went off to battle secure in the knowledge that the vast majority of this nation, and indeed most of the world, believed in the cause for which we were putting ourselves at risk. For these young people things are not so clear-cut. The invasion and occupation of Iraq in which they have taken part is widely criticized not only in the rest of the world but at home as well. Even some of them, in fact, have reached the point of asking just why they are there. They were told they would be greeted as liberators and they find themselves looked upon as occupiers. And, they find themselves in a situation where it is almost impossible for them to distinguish friends from enemies.

Let us, then, be absolutely clear about this. The soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who are fighting and dying in Iraq are patriotic Americans who are there because they love their country and want to protect it. Many of us feel that the administration has taken unfair advantage of that situation and has placed them in an impossible position. But no matter how we feel about the situation in Iraq we owe the utmost support to the men and women struggling there, and to their families. It is imperative that we let them know that we appreciate their dedication and their service. It is vital that we help them adjust appropriately when they return home. It is equally important that we provide understanding and support to those who experience disillusionment when they reflect on the experience. And, above all, we should commit ourselves both to an expeditious resolution of the current crisis and avoidance of future violence and exploitation.

The men and women we honor here tonight deserve our profound thanks and respect for their willingness to place themselves in jeopardy in the hope that their actions would contribute to safer and more productive lives for all of us. I am sure that they were motivated by the same spirit that has guided all of us veterans in the past. What is unfortunate in this instance is that these young people were committed by the leadership to a misguided cause.

Chuc Smith - On the Occasion of the 1000th American Death in Iraq

At the beginning of the presentation Chuc played the song “Travis John” (words and music by Kate Power, copyright 2003). The chorus to the song reads:

"I am a boy, full of promise, full of freedom
And now, the joy is dead and done, I am gone"

During the instrumental parts of the song, Chuc read the the following

"Kate Power wrote this song for Travis John Bradach-Nall, a marine killed in Iraq on July 2, 2003. He was 21. Travis lived in Kate’s neighborhood and graduated high school with her son. Only eight days after Travis’ death, while deep in the Wallowa Mountains of eastern Oregon teaching at a writer’s retreat, Kate was inspired to write this song. 'I felt then,' Kate wrote, 'and I still feel, that this song came from Travis, that it really is his song and it’s sung in his voice.' 'I just sang it out loud for him,' Kate continued. 'It doesn’t matter which side of the war you stand on, the loss is just as deep for the ones who loved their young soldier.' ” (slightly adapted from Sing Out! magazine, Spring 2004, Volume 48, Number 1, page 70.)

And now, my friends, we’ve come together tonight to mourn the loss of 1000 men and women including Travis John. One thousand dead--One thousand dead when ONE would have been too many! And the Iraqis have lost more than 12 times that figure--that’s over 13,000 precious lives lost when one would have been too many!

Some say that that is the price of our freedom. That we must be willing to accept that kind of sacrifice if we are to remain free.

Perhaps that would be a good point. It probably has been a very valid point in previous times. There are many examples of individuals giving up their very lives for the greater good of others. I think of the police and fire fighters who lost their lives in the Twin Towers on 9/11 of 2001. And tonight, I think of these one thousand honored men and women we have gathered to mourn. Their service and their sacrifice is indeed honorable. They are not to blame for any wrongs connected to this war. Indeed the blame, I believe, lies at the feet of this current administration.

Before I begin to sound too partisan, let me assure you that I have a long list of criticisms for other administrations and other candidates. An early Quaker, Edward Burrough, stated my position well in 1859. He said:

"We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of government, nor are we for this party nor against the other...But we are for justice and mercy and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness, righteousness, temperance, peace and unity with God, and with one another, that these things may abound."

Let us look at the record of this administration in this light and as it relates to this war and the loss of these thousand good women and men. This administration led us to believe certain things before the war.

They said that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction--that that was why me must invade. Iraq did not.

They implied that Sadaam had connections to Al Quaida and that he supported them--he didn’t and furthermore Al Quaida didn’t like him.

The administration led us to believe that Sadaam helped to plan the 9/11 attacks—evil as he is this is one crime he didn’t commit.

Worst of all, this administration says we are safer now than we were before the war. I don’t believe it. I think our nation’s current policies have done a better job of recruiting terrorists than bin Laden could ever have done on his own. Following the horrible attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we received an unprecedented outpouring of love and support from the rest of the world. That has been squandered. Today, the US has never been lower in the opinion of most of the rest of the world. In fact, we are distrusted and even hated by many.

So Iraq is an expensive diversion, paid for with the blood of these honored dead. I saw a bumper sticker today that sums it up pretty well. It said, “Iraq distracts: From fighting terrorism; From supporting health care; From balancing the budget; From creating real jobs.” And to that I add that the war in Iraq has taken from us 1000 precious lives which we could ill afford. And it has taken from the Iraqis more than 12,000 precious lives which neither they nor we can ill afford. 13,000 precious lives lost because of (at worst) outright lies or (at best) incompetent leadership.

I am here tonight to make sure that those 13,000 souls were not lost in vain. This administration must be held accountable. But that is not enough. Every administration to follow whether Democratic or Republican or Green or whatever must be held to the same standard. We must never again lose even one precious life because of this kind of incompetent leadership.

Tonight we mourn the loss of more than 13,000 precious, honorable, loved by God, souls. Even one would have been too many!

Charles T. Smith
former Specialist Fifth Class,
United States Army 1969-1971
Viet Nam 1970-1971