On February 15, 2004, Veterans for Peace placed 540 small white crosses in the sand on the beach just north of Santa Monica Pier and called it Arlington West Memorial. Each of the crosses represented an American soldier killed in the Iraq War.
Every Sunday since then, and on certain holidays, the Veterans have returned to the beach and placed the crosses in the sand, and every Sunday the number of crosses has grown. There are now nearly 2050.
In this way, this small band of veterans and volunteers has – silently, eloquently – shown Santa Monica residents and visitors the true cost of war – every week. And that clear, stark truth makes the Bush administration’s endless lies, empty boasts and dissembling all the more obscene.
Friday, November 11, is Veterans Day, and the Veterans for Peace will hold a series of events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to mark it.Just as the Veterans for Peace salute our fallen soldiers, we salute the Veterans for Peace this Veterans Day, for they are true American patriots.
