Tag Archives: memorial mile

Tombstone display honors Iraq, Afghanistan fallen soldiers

Posted on May 20, 2015 by | Leave a comment

11074393_10206199526854367_7752921689650873715_nVeterans for Peace will be displaying more than 6,827 tombstones from dawn on May 23 through dusk on Memorial Day on Eighth Avenue just east of 34th Street as part of their Memorial Day Weekend event to remember those who have died in the wars in Afghanistan since 2001 and in Iraq since 2003.

The tombstones will line the street along Eighth Avenue just east of 34th Street, where the Solar System Walk is located. This is the ninth year VFP has set up the display, and in 2008 we had to cross over to the North side of Eighth Avenue due to the continuing number of deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Veterans for Peace feel that these losses cannot be adequately understood with facts and figures alone. The visual impact of the tombstones conveys the reality of these numbers.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Articles, June 2015

Tagged , , , ,

June 2015 Gainesville Iguana

Posted on May 20, 2015 by | Leave a comment

june 15 iguana coverThe June 2015 issue of the Gainesville Iguana is now available online, and it’s got lots of good stuff (Bernie Sanders, an oral history interview with David Barsamian, a Florida Legislative update from FL NOW, a Sleep Creek Lands/Adena Springs report, and more!). You can also pick the issue up at any of our distribution spots, which you can find here.

Leave a comment

Posted in Articles, June 2015

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Memorial Mile, May 23-25

Posted on April 6, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Gainesville Veterans for Peace will once again set up the Memorial Mile along the Solar Walk on 8th Avenue, east of 34th Street. The display will be set up on May 23 and will stay up through sunset on Memorial Day, May 25. While thoughts of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are unfortunately forgotten by the American mainstream media, there will still be tombstones added, each one representing the death of an American service member since Memorial Day one year ago.

Volunteers are needed to help set up and take down the more-than 6,700 tombstones. If you’d like to help, contact Scott at 352-375-2563.

Leave a comment

Posted in April/May 2015, Articles

Tagged ,

Memorial Mile, May 24–26

Posted on May 23, 2014 by | Leave a comment

by Gainesville Veterans for Peace

Gainesville Veterans for Peace will once again set up the Memorial Mile along the Solar Walk on 8th Avenue, east of 34th Sreet. The display will be set up on May 24 and will stay up through sunset on Memorial Day, May 26. While thoughts of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are unfortunately forgotten by the American mainstream media, there will still be at least 89 additional tombstones added, each one representing the death of an American service member.

“When we started this project in 2007, we could not imagine that we would still be fighting in Afghanistan in 2014, it is way past time for us to bring our troops home,” says Scott Camil, president of Gainesville Veterans for Peace.

Veterans for Peace encourage the public to stop by and walk the stunning mile at any time, believing this is the best way to take in the reality of these wars. Each tombstone representing individual Americans also represents the friends and family of the deceased who were and still are affected by these wars.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Articles, May-June 2014

Tagged ,

8th Annual Memorial Mile Display – May 25-27

Posted on May 22, 2013 by | Leave a comment
Photos by Mary Bahr.

Photos by Mary Bahr.

by Gainesville Veterans for Peace

When the Gainesville chapter of Veterans for Peace first came up with the idea of Memorial Mile eight years ago, we had no idea that, in 2013, we’d still be displaying the tombstones of American service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. We thought the wars would be over, that the U.S. would be disengaged from these unjust occupations.

But instead, the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq just passed (with relatively little fanfare), and we’re going on 12 years in Afghanistan. Instead, the state of warfare is in flux, and the U.S. is waging even more secretive attacks through drone strikes, killing an unknown number of innocent civilians.

This is why we will erect the Memorial Mile display by sunrise on Sat., May 25, along the Solar System Walk. The display will stay up through sunset on Memorial Day, May 27.

Veterans for Peace encourage the public to stop by and walk the stunning mile at any time, believing this is the best way to take in the reality of these wars. Each tombstone representing individual Americans also represents the friends and family of the deceased who were and still are affected by these wars.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Articles, May-June 2013

Tagged , , , ,