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A somber Veterans' Day at Walter Reed

BY RAFAEL ENRIQUE VALERO

This Veterans’ Day, DC Veterans For Peace held a day-long vigil at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, protesting the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq but supporting soldiers wounded by hostile fire. The organization was joined by other groups, including DC Black Voices for Peace, which denounce President Bush’s policies.

"Bush’s government is lying to us about pretty much everything," said Patrick McCann, organizer of the vigil.

The event opened with a press conference outlining D.C. Veterans For Peace’s agenda, which includes guaranteeing of veterans’ benefits, greater transparency of wounded-by-fire statistics, and withdrawal of U.S. forces from occupied Iraq and Afghanistan.

Walter Reed Army Hospital, the center for the rehabilitation of soldiers wounded by Iraqi insurgents, has seen an increase in the number of amputees. DC Veterans for Peace timed its protest to call attention to the fact that modern battle armor does not protect soldiers from loss of limb.

"There are too many men losing arms and legs," McCann said.

The day before the vigil, DC Veterans For Peace activists, escorted by hospital representatives, met with the young soldiers recovering at Walter Reed. The activists refrained from political discussion during their time at the hospital, saving their protests for the following day.

Some protesters remember the U.S. military’s denial of such documented hazards as Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome, and are drawing similarities to the current Iraqi occupation. Others, such as pastor John Oliver, who was moved by his visit with the wounded American soldiers, expressed a more spiritual opposition to the continued military action.

"As I sat listening to these young men speaking of the amazing technology that has already helped them survive, I thought of the Iraqi citizens...that are without access to this advanced technology, because their technology has been destroyed," he said. "I pray for the healing of their spiritual and emotional wounds."

Cameron Barron, a veteran representing Black Voices For Peace, also issued a spiritual call to action.

"Those of us in the churches, the mosques, the synagogues–those of us who are in our communities, and on college campuses–what we need to do is find courageous ways to voice opposition to choices being made [by the Bush administration]," he said.

The press conference closed with a song by Vietnam veteran Daniel Miller who, recalling his tour of duty in the late 1960s, sang of discovering a Viet Cong soldier’s wallet while returning to base camp. Miller asked the press to step closer, and unexpectedly, the moment turned intimate.

"In his wallet is a girl’s photograph, and a lock of black hair," Miller sang, "I burned that stuff before we got back to base, but I still see her stare..."

Staff writer Carolyn Feola contributed to this article.