3/21: As her son was being shipped out to Fallujah, Elaine Brower
held a protest outside the military base in 29 Palms, California.
Ordinarily, soldiers are shipped off to Iraq quietly, but this time,
this deployment did not go down without public protest organized by a
mother of one of the soldiers. This is an important example to follow.
See below for a report from and statements read at the protest.
Statement From Elaine Brower:
“My son is in the Marine Corps,
and they are sending him to Fallujah this week on Wednesday, March 22nd,
and I can’t stop him. He knows that this
war is immoral, illegal and illegitimate, but will go. He is a patriot. He was recruited at 17years old, thinking
that he would defend democracy, see the world, learn a skill and go to
college. The world can’t wait for us to
stop this war and any other war that the Bush regime and the democrats that are
going along with them want to start! We
represent the growing number of people in this country who will no longer stand
for death and destruction, lies and being bullied.
“I am sure there
are thousands of veterans and military families who feel as I do. A few weeks ago my son told me that the new
policy was to call in air strikes when enemy fire was upon them from any
building, even if there were U.S.
soldiers or friendlies inside. And here
we are witnessing the most powerful air assault since 2003, not knowing who is
being killed. Right before our eyes on
this anniversary they are doing this.
“‘YOUR
GOVERNMENT, ON THE BASIS OF OUTRAGEOUS LIES, IS WAGING A MURDEROUS AND
UTTERLY ILLEGITIMATE WAR IN IRAQ,
WITH OTHER COUNTRIES IN THEIR SIGHTS.'”
First Hand Account from the Protest:
We went to 29 palms today. It was Elaine’s
last day with her son. An AP photographer showed up who had been
contracted from NY to cover Elaine’s story. He was very supportive.
Elaine read her statement at the park and we read statments from Bill
Mitchell of Goldstar Families and Jeff Key and Iraq Vet. We went to
hold a banner and leaflet at a busy intersection in 29 Palms. 29 Palms
is a very small military town. They probably were not used to seeing
protests although they do have candle light vigils. The AP photographer
got worried when a Brinks Security Guard on a money pick-up at an ATM
drew his gun as we were putting on our Green World Can’t Wait bandanas.
The guard must have thought we were going to rob him.
We had our World Can’t Wait Banner and
Chanted End the War now, Drive Out the Bush Regime. The response of the
people and GI’s was mainly positive with some people flashing peace
signs or a raised fist. Elaine thought that 2/3 of the GI’s responded
positively. A young woman whose husband is a marine in Iraq came and
talked with us and stood at the corner with us and took a packet of
materials to take out at the local college. There were negative
responses but the Banner of Drive out Bush did seem to strike a chord.
On the way back we stopped at the Beatnik
cafe which is in Joshua Tree. The manager put up a WCW poster and took
some leaflets. She got a Sir No Sir video and was going to show it on
open mike nite as this was a time when some marines come thru. This was
the progressive coffee house in the area. We also met the editor of LA
Free press who live in Joshua Tree. He was very happy to see us as he
had been to our booth on Mar. 18th. He said he would print the Call in
the paper.
All in all it was a very good day.
Elaine Brower on Dutch TV:
http://www.novatv.nl/novaplayer/player.html?id=rep-4200-0
or
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/nos/journaal/bb.zaterdag.2200.rm
Statement from Ed Ellis, Veterans for Peace – Los Angeles
We at Veterans for Peace support our troops
– we were one of you and remain so in our hearts. As time has
passed since my experience in Viet Nam I see more clearly how our
military is used to promote the goals of a ruling minority in America.
We have stumbled into one debacle after another since WWII and leave a
trail of death, pollution and the wounded who must deal with those
wounds for the rest of their lives. We were once the light of the
world, now we spread fear and resentment through our arrogance,
ignorance of other cultures and racism. This arrogance brings us to
attack 3rd world countries thinking that we can prevail against their
pathetic armies yet we discount the passion that lies in the hearts of
their citizens to be free of an invading army. Yes, FREEDOM. A word
that our government has perverted to such an extent it has taken on a
conotation of negetivity! Now when I think of that word I think of
death and heavy handedness proulgated by our government. I ask that
young people stop and think now before enlisting. I ask that they read
and study history and educate themselves outside the propaganda of our
media and the current education. We need our youth to have a one world
perspective that respects all cultures and the evolving human
experience. Peace is the answer.
Regards,
Ed Ellis
Board member
Veterans for Peace
Los Angeles
Statement from Bill Mitchell, Co-founder of Gold Star Families
for Peace
Although I am unable to make
the trip to 29 Palms today, I stand in solidarity with Elaine Brower. I know the anxiety experienced by the loved
ones of every American serviceman while they are stationed in Iraq. You see, I
spent 11 months worrying every day about my son, Sgt Mike Mitchell, while he
was in Sadr City.
Unfortunately, just 2 days before Mike was to leave for Kuwait and 3 months before his wedding day, he was killed in
the Shiite uprising in Sadr City on 04/04/04.
Since that time, I have been
actively speaking out against the occupation of Iraq and the need to
bring our troops home now. I do this work so that no one else has
to
learn of the pain and devastation that comes with the death of a loved
for a
war based upon lies and deception. I am
as saddened by the death of an American as I am by the senseless
slaughter of
innocent Iraqis. More killing will not
bring back my son… it will only create more pain and suffering in
this world.
Our troops are neither
defending America nor safeguarding our freedom and liberty which are
being threatened daily by the policies of this administration.
They are not there to give the Iraqis
democracy as democratic elections can not be held in an occupied
land. They are there for their buddies, covering their
backs, and making sure that each and every one of them comes home
alive. I have met many of Mike’s buddies who served
with him in Iraq. I have seen
their pain as they look into my eyes and see my pain. Many of our
troops leave their souls there and
come home to deal with the death and destruction that they
experienced. I know many soldiers who served in Iraq The
Veterans Administration continues to be
under funded and in many cases, is not there to help those returning
from Iraq. and they have a very hard time integrating back into
a society that seems unaware of what they have had to experience.
I consider Elaine to be a
true American patriot and a defender of our constitution. I stand beside her
today as we speak truth to power.
Honor the warrior… not the war.
Support the troops… bring
them home now
AND TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN
THEY GET HERE!!!
In solidarity,
Bill Mitchell
Co-founder Gold Star Families
for Peace
From New York’s Daily News, 3/22:
http://www.nydailynews.com/03-22-2006/news/story/401764p-340333c.html
Marine’s mom can’t stay silent
The third anniversary of the war in Iraq found
Elaine Brower of Staten Island driving through a California desert, a
peace symbol pendant glinting at her neck, anti-war buttons festooning
her purse and seven Marines packed into her rented SUV.
“Here I am with my peace sign and my buttons and seven Marines in a car for 21/2 hours,” she reported.
Her passengers included her one and only son, 24-year-old Cpl. James
Brower. He was among the first Marines to helicopter into Afghanistan
after 9/11, causing her to spend many a sleepless night clutching a set
of black plastic rosary beads he had found on the floor at catechism
class a decade before.
Her prayers were answered: James returned home to follow his father
into the NYPD. He remained the purest of patriots and joined the Marine
Reserves. When he was called back to active duty, he was ready to go.
“He wants to rid the world of bad guys,” Elaine said.
On Friday, he returned from specialized training at Twentynine Palms in
California for a weekend leave before heading into harm’s way. The
mother understood the reason for going into Afghanistan, but she saw no
sense in the Iraq conflict and she had gone from rosary beads to
anti-war buttons. She told James she would be joining the demonstration
in Times Square on Saturday.
“Ma, I’m here only for the weekend!” James said.
“You’ll be sleeping,” she said.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he allowed.
Elaine agreed to be one of the speakers but asked to be among the first
so she could get back to Staten Island and make her son one more
home-cooked dinner. The organizers made her one of the last.
“I kept telling them I wanted to go home, see my son,” she said.
But as uncomfortable as some of her fellow protesters made her, she waited until she had a chance to deliver her message.
“My son is in the Marine Corps and they are sending him into Fallujah on Tuesday and I can’t stop him …” she began.
She ended to an approving roar from the crowd.
“Everybody was screaming and yelling, so I guess I did my job,” Elaine
reported. “I gave my Commie speech and I came home and I made lasagna.”
James loved the lasagna.
“How’d the demonstration go?” James asked.
“It was fine, James,” Elaine said.
He refused even to listen to any suggestion he not go to Iraq.
“He says, ‘Ma, I have to do this. You’re not going to talk me out of
it,'” Elaine later said. “He feels he’s going there for a reason. He’s
going to protect the Iraqi civilians. I’m hoping he’s right. Maybe I’m
wrong.”
She had decided to fly with James to Twentynine Palms and join a
protest outside the base. She told him Cindy Sheehan had e-mailed her
loving prayers.
“Ma, she’s bad luck!” James said.
At 10:40 a.m. Sunday, James hugged his 22-year-old sister, Tanya,
goodbye and stepped from the house, which has an American flag and a
Marine Corps flag flying out front and a peace symbol in the window.
His father, John Brower, drove James and his mother to Newark Airport.
At the Ontario, Calif., airport, Elaine rented an SUV big enough to fit
six other Marines who needed a ride. Her anti-war buttons made them no
less quick to help her with her bags. She was not far into the drive
when she realized they were as patriotic and dedicated and uncommonly
decent as her son.
“I am in such a quandary because I really love them,” Elaine said. “I
know their heart is in the right place. It breaks my heart.”
She attended a going-away picnic on the base, then gave a tearful anti-war interview with Pacifica radio at her hotel.
“Don’t worry, James, it’s no station any of you are going to listen to,” she had told her son.
She later took her Marines to Wal-Mart and could not stop laughing.
“Ma, I need Lysol; help me find the Lysol,” James said.
They all then went to dinner.
“Chicken, spinach and mashed potatoes,” James reported.
James was due to fly off at 4a.m. yesterday, but the departure was
delayed until later in the week. He asked his mother to come by the
base at noon, but she had already committed to join the World Can’t
Wait Organization and the Gold Star Families for a low-key protest near
the base at that hour.
“James, I thought you’d be gone today,” she said.
“Just call me when it’s over, Ma,” he said.