Small, passionate group gathers for peace vigil

ARLINGTON Bob and Sherry Cox have three grandsons that they dont want to send to war in Iraq.
We should never have gone over there, said Clyde Cramer, one of 13 residents of Arlington who joined a peace vigil hosted by Heather and Anthony Beck at Mirkwoods Shire Cafe in downtown Arlington.
It was a chilly, breezy evening that kept blowing out the candles March 19, but the cold did not extinguish the passion of the participants.
We have no hope of ending the war until we get a new administration, said Pat Cramer. I try to be optimistic.
The participants took turns reading the writings of veterans who served in Iraq provided by MoveOn.org, the national organization that coordinated local hosts of peace vigils in communities around the country.
When asked what they hope to accomplish in this small gathering, Bob Cox said he felt he had to do something.
We just want the guys home, he said.
Shirley Nyenhuis said its not un-American to want an end to the war.
Its un-American to let the war go on, she said.
Sometimes I think Iraq is more important than Americans, said one of the hosts, Heather Beck.
We should be using the money that is going toward the war to build up our own country and educate our kids here in the United States.
One of several signs created for the vigil provided some statistics, like the impending milestone of 4,000 soldiers dead, 30,000 soldiers injured and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead or displaced.

Comment on this story.