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Kent vigil honors servicemen, women killed in Iraq

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Colin McEwen

March 27, 2008

By Colin McEwen
Record-Courier staff writer
For the fifth straight year, supporters of peace met at the gazebo in downtown Kent Wednesday night to show their solidarity against the war in Iraq.
As the military personnel death toll exceeded 4,000, citizens and members of the Portage Community Peace Coalition gathered at the corner of West Main Street and Franklin Avenue in Kent to brave the blowing wind with candles in hand.
Jane Craker, co-founder of the peace coalition, said in addition to the U.S. soldiers' deaths, she also is concerned with the Iraqi civilian death toll, estimated at more than 1 million.
"We have to bring an end to this war," she said. "We just don't want it anymore. The war cost so much money that we could have spent here at home " and it has cost too many lives."
Kent resident Johnny Pollick remembers bullets aimed at him in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, when he served there with the National Guard.
"This war should have been over a long time ago," he said. "We were told it was over. There are still a lot of fathers who are not coming home."
The group observed a moment of silence for those killed in the conflict.
The vigil was scheduled to take place Tuesday night, but the heavy wind had other plans. The delay also gave residents a chance to learn about the vigil.
Ravenna resident Lisa Wileman, brought her daughter, Heather to show support for the soldiers, while speaking out against the war. Lisa's boyfriend served in Iraq, but is currently stationed at Ft. Sill, Ok.
"I definitely hope for world peace, but we support the troops," she said. "There is a solution to this war, and we're searching to find it."

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1.	Posted by Rageman March 27, 2008
	From March 13th through the 16th,2008, more than 200 of America's Soldiers, Combat Veterans, OUR TROOPS met in Silver Spring, Md. to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are OUR TROOPS supporting their fellow TROOPS while NOT supporting the WAR. Winter Soldier 2008: Iraq and Afghanistan features testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The four-day event brought together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there were panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels covered everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support. The corporate, right-wing, mainstream media of course completely avoided this event, giving only slight mention of it on rare, brief occasions. But of course, that was expected. The media's first duty is to support, promote and nurture the ILLUSION of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Regardless of whether you support the war or are against the war, no one can claim to be fully informed about anything without having heard arguments from both sides of the issue. I hope that all of you will at least hear these soldiers out and objectively consider the stories they have to tell us. And please keep in mind that it takes tremendous courage to step up and risk everything to speak truth to power! You can view and hear their testimonies at; http://ivaw.org/wint...timony These are OUR TROOPS! Please show them at least the SUPPORT that they, by their sacrifices, have nobly earned as OUR TROOPS, as OUR War Veterans and hear them out. SUPPORT THE TROOPS!, but examine closely, the war!