I wrote this up in late July last year after a veteran and his wife stopped by our Peace vigil. I mentioned it in a post this weekend and it seem to garner some interest to read more. I did make one mistake this weekend when I said the man had three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I had that backwards as you will read in the narrative below. I had previously posted this to a Google group we had for organizing this site, so it may seem familiar to some of you. One of our guys who has been doing the Peace vigil for 12 years called it one of the best days for him ever. Unfortunately, my write up does not adequately capture the emotions we all felt while talking to this man. Anyway, here is my account of why every politician in Washington DC should listen to our veterans of these illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We did not have a Peace vigil last week due to heavy rain so it had been two weeks since our last Peace vigil. The guys have been doing this for over eleven years and I joined them last year. It has always been at the same time and same location, right in front of the county courthouse. The original group contained 30-35 people and one dog. After the election of Obama in 2008, participation fell off dramatically so that now our regular core is five humans and Buddy the Peace dog.

About two months ago, a bunch of Tea Party folks started coming on Sat. mornings and for a while we were overlapping time with them. Ugh. They come dressed in tee shirts with the Gadsden flag on it and carry the Gadsden flag too. And they usually carry signs reading "Read the Constitution" and "Where are the Missing IRS Emails?" and similar signs. I cringe at the thought that we might be considered a part of their group although two ladies drove by today and yelled that we were the group that they supported, not that other group. Surprisingly, the people in the Tea Party group are reasonably friendly to us and most support us getting out of wars. "Wow!" I said to Bill who normally stands next to me. "It is scary that we have something in common with the Tea Party folks." Ever the dry wit, Bill said, "Don't worry, that is about the only thing we have in common."

We stand there with our signs and a banner that reads "No Blood for Oil." And we smile and wave to the cars passing by. This small town has a very vibrant downtown and so we get a lot of visitors here on the weekends,many of whom come from out of town for a day trip. We usually greet the people walking by with a "Hello and how are you today?" Most people respond in kind, as this is the South and most people are polite. Quite a few even stop to pet Buddy on the head and talk to us

Today, was one of those very cool encounters when a couple in their late 30's or early 40's with a dog walked by. They had already passed us when the woman turned around and came back to pet Buddy on the head. And then the man and the dog came back too. It turned out that he was a veteran of three tours of duty in Afghanistan and one tour of duty in Iraq where he fought at Fallujah. He was somewhat reticent at first, and then he opened up to us about how the war had really changed him and how many of his fellow soldiers were killed. He said that on Father's Day, he spent a lot of time looking at a picture of his group and remembering how many never returned. I noticed that he had quite a few large scars on one leg and he said those were from the wars. He said that when he went over there, he completely believed in the wars and that the US was doing the right thing by sending troops over there. After being there, he realized that it was all a bunch of lies and he really regretted that he had volunteered.

He said he came back a very changed man and was having troubles adjusting to civilian life and finding a job. The Army had wanted him to stay on and be a recruiter, but he said he could not do that and lie to prospects about these wars, so he is still trying to find a job. About a year ago they adopted the dog from the shelter. They thought they were saving her life. But, as he said, it turned out that she had saved his life. He said that he could never support any kind of war again. He also complained about how the govt. is treating the veterans and how hard it is to get any help from the VA. We thanked them profusely for stopping to talk to us and for telling us his story. When they left, I had a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Don, our unofficial leader said today was one of the best days ever in his time at the Peace vigil. I agree.

By the way, this former soldier was not the first person who stopped today to relate a personal story. A young woman with a small child stopped by earlier and thanked us. She said her husband now suffers from post trauma stress from fighting in Iraq. Like so many young people who volunteered, he thought he was doing the right thing. She also said this war changed her own perception of the US foreign policy.

I think all politicians should be forced to listen to the veterans of these wars so maybe they will understand how their decisions are destroying so many lives, both of our own citizens and the people who live in these horrendous war zones.