01.14.07
3000th Iraq War Dead Memorial, for 4days Jan. 14-17
4-Day Memorial to honor all Iraq War Dead to Begin 14 January 2007, Memorial Park
A four-day memorial to all casualties from the war in Iraq will occupy a portion of Memorial Park at the intersection of Memorial Dr. and the east entrance to Picnic Lane on the south side of Memorial Dr. The observance will begin on 14 January and end on the 17th.
Jan. 14 is also the Houston Marathon, so 10,000 runners will pass the site after 9am. Volunteers are needed to plant the memorial flags earlier in the morning.
The lead organizations for this memorial are Veterans For Peace, Chapter 12 (VFP 12), Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), and CodePINK. The opening ceremony on the 14th will begin at 4:30pm. Short ceremonies will be held at sundown on the 15th and 16th. A gathering up of the flags will begin at 5:30pm on the 17th.
This memorial is designed to help educate the public on the cost of war to our servicemen, Iraqi civilians, and private contractors. The memorial will consist of three displays. The main display consists of over 3000 small U.S. flags (6” X 9”) each labeled for a specific casualty. A sub-section for Texas casualties includes small Texas flags. The second display is dedicated to the approximately 650,000 Iraq civilians who have lost their lives during this conflict. A third display denotes the hundreds of civilian contractors killed in the Iraq war. Volunteers are needed to: assemble flags on 13 January at 2pm at the memorial site; place flags beginning at 8am on 14 January (and watch the Houston Marathon which will pass the site); and remove the flag display on 17 January at 5:30pm. For further information or to volunteer contact Jim Rine (VFP 12) at jmrine@hotmail.com or phone 281 414 1386, Sherry Glover (MFSO) at another4peace@yahoo.com or Suzette Mouchaty at codepinkalerthoust@sbcglobal.netSince this memorial is costing a minimum of $500, any donations will be cheerfully accepted. Checks can be made out to Veterans For Peace –Houston, TX and mailed to J. Rine, 633 Harvard, St. Houston, TX 77007.
Attached is an announcement flyer, please distribute this to your members.
Thank you,
Jim Rine
Pres., Veterans For Peace, Chapter 12
Wes Haun, Vietnam Veteran, not Vietnam Era Veteran said,
January 19, 2007 at 10:29 pm
I saw the memorial and it is truly remarkable. However, I have read the articles in the Houston Chronicle, and I saw the interviews on television, and the only party identified was the Veterans for Peace, represented by a Vietnam era veteran named I believe Mr. Graham?? No where did you disclose the political agenda behind this display, CodePink and Military Families Speak Out. This was a pure political ploy, and if it had been sponsored by any group such as the VFW, American Legion, or other association, you would have protested it as political exploitation of our war dead and you would have been right. I am moved by the display, and saddened by your motives.
Norlene Gray said,
January 21, 2007 at 9:02 am
Thank you so much for your dedication. I have stopped at the Flag Memorial site every day to look, to photograph, to contemplate, and to pray.
I was shocked not to find a piece on this Memorial Exhibit in our local newspaper.
Sincerely,