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"Bring Them Home Now" Peace Rally

By Susan Ruggles

On Labor Day we held a successful "Bring Them Home Now" peace rally at Veterans Park in Milwaukee. The tour bus that stopped here was one of three that set out from Camp Casey on the last day of Cindy Sheehan's twenty-six-day vigil outside of Bush's ranch. The buses converged at a national antiwar rally in Washington, DC on September 24.

More than three hundred people in Milwaukee turned out to hear local speakers Roger Quindel, Milwaukee county supervisor; Tracey Sperko, executive director of Veterans and Military Families for Progress; John Zutz, representing Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW); and Fred Kessler, state representative. All of them spoke passionately about ending the war, bringing the troops home, and meeting the needs of people here at home.

John Zutz of VVAW got the crowd charged up with his "It Was a Lie" speech, which compared the Iraq War to Vietnam.

(back) John Zutz, Annie Bailey, Dave Kettenhoffen, Pat Kettenhofen, Terry (front) Edie Zutz, Bob Riggle. Michael Winter, John Gladden

The veterans and their family members from the "Bring Them Home Now" bus tour spoke from firsthand experience about the devastating effects of the Iraq War. Their powerful and compelling stories brought the war home for everyone.

Speakers included Karen Meredith of Gold Star Families for Peace, whose son, 1st Lt. Kenneth Ballard, was killed in action in Najaf, Iraq in May 2004; Al Zappala, Gold Star Families for Peace, whose son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, was killed in Baghdad in April 2004—the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman to die in combat since World War II; Cody Camacho of Iraq Veterans Against the War, who served as an army specialist for four years, was deployed to Iraq from March 2003 to March 2004, and was honorably discharged in October 2004; Stacy Bannerman of Military Families Speak Out, whose husband in the Washington National Guard served an extended tour of duty in Iraq, and a stop-loss order forced him to serve longer than his twenty-year commitment; Sheri Glover of Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary and Military Families Speak Out, whose nineteen-year-old daughter has completed active-duty service in the U.S. Army and is eligible for callback, and whose son-in-law is currently serving in Iraq; and Tammara Rosenleaf of Military Families Speak Out, whose husband serves in the army and will be deploying to Iraq.

About a third of the crowd was made up of union people, including a contingent from AFT Local 212. The event was covered by a photographer from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a reporter from the Mount Mary College newspaper, and by four television news programs. Channel 18 devoted a segment of their 9:00 p.m. news to the tour, including interviews with Sheri Glover and with me. I would have preferred more time being spent talking to people on the bus, but the message got through.

Thanks to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War for setting up a peace camp in Veterans Park and for providing lunch for people on the tour.

For further information on the tour, including reports from the road, visit www.bringthemhomenowtour.org.