2,000 Americans Dead: A Sad Milestone

by Cassidy Hartmann

Photos by Jeff Fusco

Members of a community representing at least eight peace activist organizations gathered Wednesday evening on the western steps of City Hall for a vigil to commemorate the death of the 2,000th American soldier killed in Iraq. Citizens from groups such as Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace and Brandywine Peace Community lit candles, held banners and huddled together to keep warm while the names of every Pennsylvanian soldier killed were read (as well as the names of a fraction of the more than 100,000 killed Iraqis). The crowd of about 100 mostly older Philadelphians then proceeded to the offices of Sens. Santorum and Specter, demanding that Congress stop funding the war and bring the troops home. An unusually large number of police officers circled the demonstration. The vigil concluded at the Philadelphia Federal Building at Sixth and Market, drawing looks, honks and cheers from passers-by.

From Philadelphia Weekly