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VVAW on the Move in Louisville

By Marty Webster

My daughter and I were traveling south on Hurstborne Parkway in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, January 6th to attend an anti-war demonstration sponsored by the Louisville Peace Action Coalition (LPAC) and to lend support to our newest VVAW Chapter.

As we approached the intersection of Hurstborne Parkway and Taylorsville Road we were overwhelmed by what we saw. There were several hundred demonstrators standing at the intersection as part of a commemoration of the more than 3,000 US troops and countless Iraqis killed in Iraq.

The group had strung up close to 3,000 t-shirts around the corners on both sides of the intersection with burlap twine and wooden stakes in order to humanize the death toll of US service members. If placed end-to-end they would stretch for over 2 miles.

Each shirt represented one soldier who had his life taken from him in this insane war. The organizers wanted people to see how huge a body count it is -- and that's just for Americans, they did not include the Iraqis.

"We did this for 2,000 deaths and then 2,500 deaths but we had protests without the shirts before that. I'd like to do one with all the State flag," stated Carol Rawert Trainer USAF 66-68, the VVAW Contact for Louisville.

The shirts, in various colors, stretched for blocks, interspersed with signs attached to the shirts that said such things as "I wish I had seen my baby and I played soccer. I will never see my daughter, mom, etc. again; I liked to play football; I liked ice cream; I will never come home again, etc." We tried to make it very personal.

The messages were meant to express sentiments that young service members might have shared with their families. It was an effort to make it real for the public.

"Our overall message is that this war is wrong," said Sam Avery, who helped coordinate the event with VVAW. "It's wrong for America, it's wrong for Iraq and it's wrong for the troops that have to fight in it."

Suzanne Webster, VVAW Ohio Valley Regional Chapter member, stood by a sign that stated, "3,000+ Why?" The symbolism was powerful and hopefully made an impact on people passing by and will move them to do something to help get us out of this war.

3,000 plus is not just a statistic. These are sons and daughters. They are real people who deserve our honor in a totally misguided and insane war.

There was the usual array of "Peace Now" and other anti-war signs amid the display. However this time something was different. There was a banner that stated "Honor the Warrior Not the War – Kentuckiana Chapter – VVAW."

After seeing the VVAW banner, Suzy Post, 73, director emeritus of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, said she was frightened by what she views as the parallels between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq. "I'm out here because I have always had the feeling that my absence from any social-justice movement makes me complacent."

VVAW Louisville Contact Carol Rawert Trainer was interviewed by WHAS-TV Channel 11. The Louisville Courier Journal covered the event but didn't mention VVAW or show the banner.

Yes VVAW was there. VVAW has always been there and thanks to the effort of veterans like Carol Rawert Trainer our new VVAW contact in Louisville, VVAW will always be there.