Thank You from San Francisco

Here in San Francisco, I saw the boots & photographs of US soldiers who died in this war in Iraq. I also saw the shoes of the civilians representing Iraqis who were murdered by US soldiers. I walked through the labyrinth. This mobile Eyes Wide Open is both a painful and beautiful necessity. It is bringing education to the ignorant and hope to us all. I saw parents leading their children around the display areas. That was beautiful!

Thank you!
Domo Origato!
Specebo!
Grazi!
Gracias!
Merci beaucoup!
Asante!
Vielen dank!

Thank You from Sacramento

We will be publishing some of the thank you notes we have received or were submitted to newspapers in the wake of the western tour. Here is one from Sacramento:

I live in Sacramento, CA. I saw the exhibit shown on TV and thought wow!!! Then I saw in the newspaper that is was coming to Sacramento. I made a promise to myself that I would visit it. I got off work and hurried downtown, afraid that I would miss it. After driving around and around trying to park, I finally found a spot. I walked briskly to the site. Oh my gosh....how breathless I was. To see and feel the impact of the boots displayed and the maze of shoes. I was not only speechless but scared. I felt scared for the people of Iraq and the military we have serving over there. The emotions of people that knew of fallen soldiers and the look on people's faces. As I walked around, the music of the young girl playing the Chloe and the silence was amazing. I do not know of anyone that has lost their lives but I do know a few young men over there. I cannot even imagine viewing their boots. What a wonderful addition to the day was to hear the prayer presented by the Muslim leader and how he said it in two languages. The man that presented the closing ceremonies brought tears to my eyes. The whole 45 minutes was so worth the effort it took to get there. Thank you so much for the enlighting experience....Rene

Status of Tour

The present tour will end this week in Tacoma, Washington. Due to the continuing and regular loss of life in the Iraq War, the memorial has grown to over six tons of material, mostly combat boots.

Eyes Wide Open will be displayed in about ten cities over the next year. A schedule will soon be available. Sneak preview: look for Eyes Wide Open on Independence Mall in Philadelphia over the July 4th holiday. Plans are underway for a Fall tour on the east coast including Baltimore, New York City and New England.

This blog will continue with regular comments about the war in Iraq and what we can do to stop it here at home.

Seattle

Stacy Bannerman of Kent, Washington says she is glad Eyes Wide Open is coming to the South Sound area of the state. Her husband, Sgt. Lorin Bannerman, a Washington National Guardsman, returned last month after 13 months in Iraq with the 81st Brigade Combat Team.

“By understanding the human cost of war, we’re less likely to go to war in the future,” she said.

According to Stacey many Americans are sheltered from the conflict in Iraq. There’s no draft, no ration, no Liberty bonds, no all-out war effort back home.

“This is the first war of its size and duration in which the whole of this nation isn’t sharing a part of the burden,” Bannerman said. “I think that makes it easier to turn away.” That is why she has been supporting Eyes Wide Open throughout its Northwest tour.

San Francisco II

An uncle of a soldier killed in Iraq came bearing flowers to place in the boots with his nephew's name. He also came to speak at the press conference, telling of his opposition to the war, one of so many families who have publicly spoken out during the Eyes Wide Open Tour.

When he looked for the boots, he found that the name had been removed at the request of the mother. Since that was his sister, he called her on his cell phone and told her that he was there to speak and honor her son, his nephew.

She had been called by a Marine mother, who had given her false information about the Eyes Wide Open Memorial and our purpose. After talking with her a few minutes, she told us to put his name back on the boots.

last week we received 17 more new requests for the memorial, bringing the total of new requests to over 150.