Veterans for Peace shows cost of war
Lilac Meadow in Riverfront Park became Arlington Northwest
Lilac Meadow in Spokane's Riverfront Park was transformed into Arlington Northwest, a graveyard with markers for 1,500 soldiers killed during the war in Iraq as a way to demonstrate the cost of war. Each marker bore the name of someone who was killed.
The final ceremony for the 2019 National Veterans for Peace Annual Convention Aug. 15 to 18 was held there, closing with taps.
Hollis Higgins, one of the convention organizers on behalf of the Spokane Chapter of Veterans for Peace, said he valued the connections he made with old friends and new ones.
"We learned. We partied. We rallied. We shared. We enjoyed good food together. We meditated. We walked along the river. Most important, we leveraged the peace veterans voice," he said.
Participants shared in major plenary sessions and in actions at the Spokane Intermodal Center where border patrol agents seek to find undocumented immigrants. They also did actions at the Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Administration Medical Center and Fairchild Air Force Base and had a Gaza Freedom Flotilla wind along the Spokane River.
"We convened for peace at home and peace in the world," said Hollis.
Spokane Veterans for Peace is now raising funds to help cover some of the costs.
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Copyright@ The Fig Tree, September, 2019
