By the Gazette-Times | Posted: Thursday, October 11, 2007 12:00 am
Separate event to remember U.S. troops, Iraqis who have died
Two events focused on movements against the Iraq War will take place in Corvallis next week.
War resister Gerry Condon, who deserted the U.S. Army after refusing orders to serve in Vietnam, is now traveling around the country to encourage war resistance. He will speak at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Odd Fellows Hall, 223 S.W. Second St., and will also show the new film "Breaking Ranks," about a number of current U.S. soldiers who have gone AWOL from the Iraq War and are seeking refuge in Canada.
Those soldiers are seeking to remain in Canada as political refugees. The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to rule on the issue in November.
The film is co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Condon's visit is sponsored by Veterans for Peace chapter 132, the Odd Fellows, the Rural Organizing Project and Alternatives to War. Donations for Condon's program, "Project Safe Haven," will be collected.
To find out more about the film, go to www.breakingranksthefilm.com or www.SoldierSayNo.blogspot.com
At 10 a.m. Monday, the exhibit "Eyes Wide Open: Beyond Fear - Towards Hope" will open on the Oregon State University campus.
The exhibit memorializes U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the war by placing a pair of boots in a public display for each soldier who has died. Accompanying the boots is a wall of remembrance for Iraqi civilians who have been killed.
The exhibit, which will be at OSU for two days, also includes notes of commemoration, photographs of lost soldiers, identification tags, flowers and American flags to accompany the boots.
The display will be set up in the MU Quad. In case of rain, the exhibit will be moved to Westminster House, 101 N.W. 23rd St.
A closing ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
It is sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, Staff and Faculty for Peace and Justice, Corvallis Alternatives to War, Corvallis Women in Black and Oregon PeaceWorks, as well as Veterans for Peace chapter 132.
For more information, go to www.afsc.org