Protesters pay tribute to fallen troops

while the rest of the world was paying tribute to the newest election ad
slur, (uhm, wasn't this event in DC? thanks to the Seattle P-I)

Protesters pay tribute to fallen troops

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS



photo




More than 1,100 flag-draped symbolic coffins line the reflecting pool
at the base of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2004 in
Washington. The tribute is in honor of the American service men and
women who have been killed in Iraq to date. In the background is the
Washington Monument.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)




WASHINGTON -- A small group of war protesters paid tribute to the troops
who died in Iraq by setting up more than 1,100 flag-draped cardboard
coffins in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday.

The coffins stretched halfway down each side of the reflecting pool. At
1 p.m., members of the Iraq War Memorial Coalition read the names of the
people who were killed and then played taps.

Pat Elder, who helped organize the event, said the 75-member coalition
was formed two weeks ago by people who belonged to the Quaker faith,
Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out.

"We just wanted to get across the idea that there's a human cost to this
war," said Elder, 49, who owns a real estate title company in Bethesda,
Md. "We're not the radical ones. We are moderates, We're not all
antiwar, we're just against this war."

Elder said the event was made possible by an anonymous donor from Texas
who contributed $20,000, used to pay for cardboard coffins and flags.

It took 75 volunteers six hours to put together the coffins, Elder said.

As of Friday, at least 1,104 members of the U.S. military have died
since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an
Associated Press count. At least 844 died as a result of hostile action,
according to the Defense Department as of Friday. The figures include
three military civilians.


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