Community Corner

Peace Groups March For Fallen Soldiers in Port Jeff

Names of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan read in Brookhaven's Memorial Park.

Various peace groups came together to march through Port Jefferson in white masks to advance the movement to bring the troops home from overseas on Saturday, culminating in a vigil where members honored fallen U.S. soldiers.

Dressed in black and wearing white facemasks, participants lead what they called a “March of the Dead” through the village. A statement given out during the event said that the hosted 24 other groups in a rally “lamenting and resisting nine years of war in Iraq and 10 and a half years of war in Afghanistan, while mourning the hundreds of thousands who have died – U.S. troops and Iraqi and Afghan civilians.”

Standing in a circle in Brookhaven’s war memorial park across from , the names of Long Islanders who have died while serving in Iraq were read aloud by members who held up signs with large photos of the soldiers.

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North Country Peace Group spokesperson Susan Perretti said that they chose this weekend because it was close to the ninth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq on March 19.

“We want to remember the soldiers who died,” she said. “Unfortunately peace groups are accused of being against the soldiers and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

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In addition to honoring the soldiers, the groups also wanted to bring the ravages of what they call a “permanent war culture” to the forefront of the conversation saying that people need to trust their own instincts and not listen so much to what they are told by the government and the media.

The correlation between cuts to education, job creation and other critical human needs at home while trillions of dollars are spent on overseas wars doesn’t come through enough, according to Perretti. Not to mention the devastating effects the ongoing conflicts have on U.S. troops and their families.

“Our troops are dying and it’s definitely no longer acceptable,” she said. After a moment she added, “It’s never been acceptable.”


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