Who: Gainesville Veterans for Peace
What: Info Table
Where: NW 8th Ave. & NW 31st St., Gainesville
When: Memorial Day, Monday, May 30
Since 2007, the Gainesville chapter of Veterans for Peace has mounted a major Memorial Day display of tombstones for each American troop killed as a result of the US wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. Now that the US military has withdrawn from both nations, and — so far as we know — has ceased attacking them with missiles and bombs as well — the chapter has called off the display.
Still, the dead deserve remembering, and the ending of the display (which required the work of over 100 volunteers just to set up) has left a gap in Gainesville’s traditions. To meet these needs, Gainesville VFP will host an information table this Memorial Day, all day, at the corner of NW 8th Avenue and NW 31st Street, with books listing the names and service information of the nearly 8,000 American troops who died (to accomplish what?) in those wars, samples of the remembrances left by their loved ones, and more.
Gainesville Vets for Peace invites our community to visit us at the site of Memorial Mile (as officially recognized by the city) and join us in remembering our remembrance.