War protestors erected a miniature cemetery in Genesee Park on April 3. By midmorning, 1,500 precisely spaced headstones and crosses stood in perfect military ranks along Lake Washington Boulevard across from the Stan Sayers Boat House. Each headstone contained the name, age, rank, date of death, and/or home town of a soldier who had died in Iraq.
Approximately a dozen volunteers arrived early in the rain to set up the display. In addition to the faux tombstones, protestors also raised two portable awnings, one along Lake Washington Boulevard and another by the nearby bike path, with tables containing updated lists of soldiers killed during the United States current military action in Iraq.
As the rain gradually let up, an increasing number of people stopped at the protest site to talk with the volunteers, most of whom were military veterans.
Joggers in sweats, women with baby carriages, and hardcore cyclists training for the Seattle to Portland race were seen pausing to read the names on the tombstones. One man stood with his three children under a table umbrella brought from his back yard. Some folks knelt in prayer while others were seen weeping as they copied names from the lists and placed them on the headstones.
"We are trying to show the true costs of war," said Marian Ward, co-founder of the exhibit and member of the Evergreen Peace and Justice Community, when a passerby asked her if their purpose was to make a political, anti-war statement.
Organizers say the headstones represent a variety of religious faiths and are constructed of a material called Coroplast, a cross between plastic and cardboard which makes them light, portable, and durable enough to withstand inclement weather. The symbolic grave markers are then attached to thin metal stakes that are easily inserted into the sod without causing permanent damage to the staging area.
Gary Davis, chair of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace, explained that the organization has been sponsoring such exhibits all over the nation. According to Davis, practice began on a Santa Barbara, California beach. The Western Washington Chapter has set up displays in communities all over the Puget Sound region.
Davis, a 60-year-old U.S. Army veteran, said their purpose is to show support for families who have lost loved ones, many of whom were still very young. He said he empathizes with the families of the dead soldiers because of his teenage Vietnam experience as a battle-tested tank driver.
According to Davis, the overall reaction in most communities has been 90 percent positive, but usually some kind of pro-war protest invariably occurs.
In some places Davis said individuals have tried to run over the headstones, knock them down or destroy the fragile crosses. However, in the Rainier Valley Davis observed that the response was one of veneration and genuine sorrow.
"The true costs in human life would have to reflect the Iraqi deaths as well, but all the parks along this lake put together would not hold that many tombstones spaced five feet apart," asserted Bob Barnes, a veteran and Rainier Valley resident.
Mona Lee can be reached at editor@sdistrictjournal.com
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