Grim Milestone: 4000 U.S. Military Dead in Iraq
A sad milestone has been reached: today, March 23, 2008, the official count of U.S. military dead in the Iraq war reached 4000 (icasualties.org).
Omitted from that count are deaths of private security “contractors” (aka mercenaries) and deaths of troops from other Coalition countries.
The number of Iraqi dead also continues to grow, with estimates ranging from 88,000 (IraqBodyCount.org) to almost 1,000,000 (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health).
Another significant milestone is that, at five years and counting, the war on Iraq has lasted longer than the U.S.’s participation in WWII.
SF Veterans’ Peace Vigil in Response to the Milestone
On Monday, March 24, Veterans for Peace in San Francisco, along with other veterans/military-related groups, will hold a solemn candlelight ceremony to mark the milestone. It will take place at SF Civic Center, on the Polk Street side of SF City Hall.
Participants should arrive at Civic Center by 6 pm. The ceremony will begin at 7 PM.
The organizers need help setting up, especially lighting the candles. Call (415) 255-7331 for more information or to volunteer. The Veterans for Peace office is in the Veterans War Memorial Building at 401 Van Ness, Room 125. The organizers need 5-6 people from 5 pm. Please notify the organizers beforehand if you will be able to help set up.
This will be a solemn event: please no banners/posters other than those of VFP, its affiliated American Legion Post 315, and other Posts along with a board with all the U.S. casualties in Iraq. Organizers will read the 1,000 names of servicemen and women who died in Iraq since the last reading (”Ties to Remember”, January 1, 2007).
