Fayetteville, North Carolina

At 12 noon, just over 1000 demonstrators fell in behind a contingent of veterans and military families and swung out of the assembly point onto the main drag in Fayetteville, home of Fort Bragg and other military facilities. Behind a banner with the demo's slogan —"Real Support for Our Troops: Bring Them Home Now!"— Veterans For Peace members in the lead contingent started chanting marching cadences. Call and response rang over the Fayetteville streets:

One year ago this very day
Bush betrayed the USA
A year of lies has come and gone
Time to bring our children home!

Bush and Cheney talk that talk
But we know they're chicken hawks
If they think they're so damn right
Let Bush and Cheney go and fight!

When the GIs come back home
And take off their uniform
" Support our Troops" will sure sound fine
On the unemployment line!

Sound Off: One, Two
Sound Off: Three, Four
Bring It On Down: One, Two, Three, Four,
One, Two, THREE FOUR

On a beautiful spring day, the march proceeded to Rowan Park for what even veteran activists agreed was one of the best and most inspiring rallies they had ever attended. Among the crowd who sat and listened as speaker after speaker spoke from the heart against this disastrous occupation were perhaps a half dozen active duty soldiers, in civvies but with unmistakable "high and tight" military haircuts. They listened, and talked earnestly with activists like Philadephia VFP's Mike Hoffman, who recently ETSed from the Marine artillery company he served in during the invasion last year.

Throughout, the voices of military families and veterans of wars rang out. Some well known voices in this growing movement, like Nancy Lessin of Military Families Speak Out, David Potorti of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Michael McPhearson of Veterans for Peace and MFSO, served as voices for those in whose name Bush and company claim to speak.

Others who took the stage were among those have begun speaking out more recently. Camilo Mejia's aunt, Norma, read greetings from the Army Staff Sergeant who has just turned himself in and applied for conscientious objector status after being AWOL since October. Elaine Johnson from Cordoba, SC seemed hesitant as she approached to the stage and then stepped firmly to the mike and delivered a searing condemnation of the administration and the policy that left her son Darius dead in Iraq.

Beth Pratt's husband drives trucks in convoys in Iraq, highly vulnerable to attack by roadside bombs planted by the Iraqi armed resistance. She told the crowd how important the demonstration was, because opposing the war in a military town, "You can feel very isolated and alone. Ending this war and bringing them all home safely would be the best form of support that I can see."

Debbie Liebers sent us these photos:

updated 22 march 2004