This weekend, military families in at least 26 states and Puerto Rico will be participating in over 50 events including vigils, rallies, teach-ins, press conferences, marches and demonstrations commemorating the 3rd anniversary of a war that should never have happened.
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On Sunday morning, March 19th, Massachusetts political leaders will joke and laugh at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast at the Boston Convention Center as military families and Veterans gather outside to mark the 3rd anniversary of the war in Iraq, a war that they feel should never have happened. While Massachusetts politicians roast each other, military families and Veterans will commemorate the beginning of the fourth year of a a war based on lies – a war that has taken the lives of over 2,300 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqi children, women and men.

Today at 5:45 p.m. when Senator John Kerry arrives at the JFK School of Government for a “meet and greet” with a group called Harvard Democrats, there will be a different group to “meet and greet” him at the entrance to the school: Massachusetts military families with loved ones in Iraq, or loved ones who may re-deploy; and Veterans. They will be there to challenge Senator Kerry to show the kind of leadership he did during the Vietnam War.

On Wednesday, March 1, Stacy Bannerman, wife of a National Guard soldier who returned from Iraq, will testify in front of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs. She will be joined at the hearing by Tia Steele, the stepmother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq, Garett Reppenhagen, an Iraq War veteran, and Elizabeth Frederick whose partner recently returned from Iraq, who have submitted written testimony.

SAN FRANSISCO, CA - While Senator Dianne Feinstein and many Americans sit down to enjoy holiday dinner with their loved ones this year, many military families are eating at tables with empty chairs. Military Families Speak Out members view those empty seats at the holiday table as a testament to the unrelenting and unfair burden which this war based on lies has placed upon military families and their loved ones. Some of their loved ones have died in Iraq and will never return. For other families, their loved ones are in harm’s way, thousands of miles away this holiday season. For still other families, loved ones have returned home as hollow eyed strangers, suffering from psychological wounds of this war that they will carry for the rest of their lives.

On the eve of the next horrific milestone, the 2,000th troop death in Iraq, families with loved ones who are serving in Iraq, families whose loved ones were killed in Iraq and families whose loved ones may deploy or re-deploy are calling on the Bush Administration, Congress and decision-makers at all levels to honor the fallen and prevent future deaths by ending the occupation of Iraq, bringing our troops home now and taking care of them when they get here.

BOSTON, MA - On Monday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m. Mass. National Guard and other military families from Massachusetts, who are all members of Military Families Speak Out, will meet with Governor Mitt Romney and call on him to honor and support their loved ones and all the troops by speaking out to bring them home now from Iraq, and to take care of them when they return.

WASHINGTON, DC – This Saturday, Sept. 24, a contingent of over 250 military families from 42 states and the District of Columbia will join Iraq War Veterans and Veterans from previous wars, to march among tens of thousands of people from across the country in a massive march and rally against the Iraq War, organized by United for Peace and Justice.

WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, September 23, at 7:30 p.m. military families and veterans opposed to the Iraq war will hold a candlelight vigil at Arlington West exhibit at the Camp Casey Memorial Tent near the southeast corner of Constitution Avenue and 15th Street. Participants in the vigil will include military families who have loved ones currently serving in Iraq or about to deploy; Gold Star families whose loved ones died as a result of the war in Iraq; as well as veterans of the Iraq war and previous wars. They have traveled to Washington, D.C. from across the country to join tens of thousands for a massive march and rally on Sept. 24 to protest the Iraq war.

BOSTON, MA - On September 16 at 4:00 p.m. the Bring Them Home Now Tour, a delegation of Gold Star and Military Families, Iraq War and other Veterans traveling the country from Crawford, Texas to Washington, D.C. will join Massachusetts National Guard families with loved ones currently serving in Iraq, and other Massachusetts Military families, for a press conference near Governor Mitt Romney's office at the Massachusetts State House.

NATIONWIDE – On September 19th, Gold Star Mother Karen Meredith will re-join the Bring Them Home Now Tour that is crossing the country along three routes from Crawford, Texas to Washington, DC. Last weekend on Sept. 9th, Karen Meredith, of Mountain View, California, was informed by the U.S. Army that it had known for more than a year that her son 1st Lt. Kenneth Ballard was not killed in action as had been reported. The Army disclosed on Saturday that Ballard, 26, actually died of wounds from the accidental discharge of a M240 machine gun on his tank after his platoon had returned from battling insurgents in Najaf. An Army spokesman, Col. Joseph Curtin, said in an interview that separate investigations concluded only days after Ballard's death that it was an accident.

CRAWFORD, TX – On August 31, the last day of the nearly month long vigil outside of President Bush’s Ranch, the Bring Them Home Now Tour will launch three buses from Crawford, TX each carrying military and Gold Star families, veterans of the Iraq War and veterans of previous wars. These vehicles will travel different routes across the country, converging in Washington, D.C. on September 21, to join the mass mobilization against the Iraq War that will occur September 24-26.

CRAWFORD, TX - As Cindy Sheehan leaves Crawford to help care for her mother who entered the hospital yesterday, members of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out - those whose loved ones were killed in Iraq, and those who have loved ones are needlessly in harm’s way - vow to remain in Crawford and to carry on the vigil at ‘Camp Casey’ in Cindy Sheehan’s absence. Families from across the country continue to come to Crawford to uphold the call for a meeting with President Bush, and an end to the war in Iraq.

More Members of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out from Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and Ohio are arriving in Crawford, Texas to add their voices to Cindy Sheehan's, calling for a meeting with President Bush and for troops to be brought home now. Over 30 military family members have joined the vigil in Crawford, with more arriving daily.

CRAWFORD, TX – On Saturday, August 13 at 12 Noon - Families who have loved ones serving in Iraq and families whose loved ones have been killed in Iraq join other supporters at a rally in Tonkawa Falls Park in Crawford Texas. The Rally will feature speakers from Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace who have traveled across the country from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and elsewhere. Military Families, Iraq War and other Veterans, and peace activists will carry their message to the vacationing President: Honor our fallen and honor our loved ones’ service by ending the occupation, bringing the troops home now and taking care of them when they get here.

Des Moines, IA ─ As state governors from around the country assemble in Des Moines for their annual conference, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and over a dozen co-sponsoring organizations will honor fallen National Guard soldiers in a memorial exhibition showing the human cost of the Iraq War. The exhibit of over 230 pairs of combat boots, representing National Guard soldiers killed in the war will be on display at Nollen Plaza, Third and Locust Streets in downtown Des Moines, on Friday and Saturday, July 15 and 16. Each pair of boots will be tagged with the name, rank and home state of a fallen Guard soldier.

WASHINGTON DC – On the day that President Bush will give a nationally televised address at Ft. Bragg in an attempt to shore up flagging support for the war in Iraq, members of Military Families Speak Out and Iraq Veterans Against the War will speak out to challenge the President’s “stay the course” message.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – On Tuesday, June 28th, President Bush will be appearing at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to try to resuscitate the flagging support for the war in Iraq. Iraq War Veterans, military families, veterans of previous wars, and others who oppose the war in Iraq will be in Fayetteville to protest President Bush’s captiveaudience photo opportunity and challenge the false picture of the war being portrayed by the White House. The Bush visit comes in the wake of a local (Fayetteville) newspaper poll showing that over forty percent of local residents are not in favor of the war, while national polls show that 52% of the US population want troops withdrawn and 60% believe the war in Iraq is not worth fighting.

WASHINGTON, DC – At three events on June 15th and June 16th, members of Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) will travel to Washington, DC to press for answers regarding the so-called Downing Street Memo and for the truth about the decision to invade Iraq.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Friday, May 20, 2005 the Army is holding a one-day nationwide halt to recruiting, to allow reflection on proper recruiting practices and on how to ensure recruiters are using ethical methods of recruiting. Military families with loved ones who have been recruited, and who have served or are serving in Iraq, or who have died as a result of the war in Iraq, say the Army's public relations activities of May 20th will not solve the problem of illegal, immoral and unethical recruiting practices. The fundamental problem is that recruiters are required to sign up new recruits for an illegal, immoral and unethical war that is itself based on lies. The Army's 'stand-down' will focus attention on a 'few bad apple' recruiters and, if anything, a need for 'more training.' But recruiters have been given the job of selling a bad product, and are being placed under intense pressure to increase their sales. Bad recruiting practices are the inevitable result. Instead of playing PR games, Military Families Speak Out calls on the Army, the other branches of the military, the Bush Administration and Congress to call a stand-down on the war.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Military Families Speak Out will join with Iraq Veterans Against the War, Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and thousands of others from North Carolina and around the country in Fayetteville, North Carolina to mark the 2nd anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. They will call for an end to the U.S. military occupation of Iraq, for bringing the troops home now, for troops to be taken care of when they get home, and for an end to the policies that allowed this war. Fayetteville is home to Ft. Bragg and the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and is adjacent to Pope Air Force Base.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the North Carolina Peace and Justice Coalition will host a joint press conference on Friday, March 18 to discuss plans for the March 19 anti-war rally and march in Fayetteville, NC marking the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The demonstration is expected to be the largest in Fayetteville, home of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and Special Forces (Green Berets), since the Vietnam War.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC—Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Gold Star Families for Peace will march here with Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and thousands of other peace activists from around the country to mark the 2nd anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Fayetteville, which characterizes itself as one of the most “military-friendly” towns in the US, is home to Ft. Bragg and the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and is adjacent to Pope Air Force Base.

WASHINGTON, DC – As a suicide bomb in Hilla, Iraq takes the lives of over 100 Iraqis, and an average of two U.S. soldiers are killed each day, we are on the eve of two tragic milestones: the 1,500th troop death in Iraq, and March 19, 2005, the second anniversary of a war that should never have happened. Military Families Speak Out honors all who have fallen - US service men and women, and Iraqi men, women and children -- who have all died in a war that is neither just nor justifiable. Despite all the “banner days” that were supposed to mark turning points in this war, the violence continues and escalates. The U.S. occupation of Iraq continues to be the problem, not the solution.

BOSTON, MA – On Tuesday March 1st, town meetings across Vermont will discuss resolutions calling for the withdrawal of U.S. military from Iraq and the provision of humanitarian assistance to Iraq. They further call on the Vermont Legislature to set up a commission to study impacts of National Guard deployments on soldiers, families, communities and the state. These resolutions were initiated by a coalition of groups in Vermont that includes Vermont Military Families Speak Out – a group of families with loved ones in the military, including the Vermont National Guard. The resolutions point to the erroneous claims that were used to take the U.S. into this war. They also point to the substantial costs of the deployment of the Vermont National Guard, including deaths, injuries and trauma for the troops, as well as hardships on families and employers. Vermont communities have been placed at risk due to the deployment of essential public safety personnel. Extended deployments in a war that should never have been fought leave Vermont without its full contingent of troops in times of emergency or natural disaster and also threaten the long-term viability of the Vermont National Guard as enlistment and re-enlistment rates decline.

WASHINGTON, DC – Members of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of over 2,000 families with loved ones in the military, Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization with over 25 families whose loved ones died as a result of the war in Iraq and Iraq Veterans Against the War, an organization of over 150 Iraq War Veterans, are available for interview to discuss their responses to Bush’s 2005 State of the Union Address.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the days surrounding Bush’s second Inauguration ceremony, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) - an organization of people who are opposed to war in Iraq and who have relatives or loved ones in the military - will be participating in several events in D.C. to call for an end to the Occupation of Iraq and an immediate return of all troops to their home duty stations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gold Star Families from California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts, whose loved ones died as a result of the war in Iraq, will meet with the press near the Pentagon before going to the Pentagon in their quest to meet with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

NEW YORK CITY – Many hoped the recent elections would signal a positive change in national direction but this did not happen. We now face more wars abroad and worsening social conditions as well as more attacks on freedom here at home. Veterans and Military Families will gather on December 11 for a public forum on the war in Iraq and the social costs at home.

A major military assault on Fallujah has begun, complete with aerial bombing and ground forces now entering the city. There have been predictions of casualty levels not seen since major battles in the Vietnam War. The threatened assault on Fallujah had already invoked an increase in violence in cities including Ramadi and Samarra. As the actual assault begins, this violence will only escalate.

Late last week, members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company refused orders to transport contaminated and unusable fuel through dangerous territory, without capable armed support in trucks which were unsafe. The military command has called the action "an isolated incident confined to a small group of individuals" and is reviewing options including disciplinary actions.

WASHINGTON DC – Oct. 2, Military Families Speak Out will join Veterans, including those who fought in Iraq, religious and peace groups in a National Memorial Procession from Arlington National Cemetery to the White House. Those gathered, including families whose loved ones were killed in Iraq, will be mourning those killed, demanding necessary support for the wounded and calling for an end to the war. Sixty Military Families from across the country will participate in the Memorial Procession.

(Las Vegas, NV)—Hours before President Bush gives a speech at the convention of the National Guard Association of the United States in Las Vegas, families whose loved ones are in the National Guard in Iraq, have served in Iraq or have been killed in Iraq will speak at a news conference in Las Vegas. As mounting questions about Bush’s own service in the National Guard continue, several military families will tell their stories and confront the administration for its betrayal of National Guard soldiers who signed up to “stay at home and serve their country” but were sent overseas to fight a war based on lies.

WASHINGTON, DC – On September 7, 2004 a tragic milestone has been reached: 1,000 U.S. troops have been killed in a war that should not have happened. The two primary justifications used by the Bush Administration to take this nation into war -- weapons of mass destruction and a link between Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein – have proven to be false. Each, day, week and month that this reckless military misadventure continues, the death toll goes higher.

WASHINGTON, DC- While the Senate continues to debate the issue of blame for the false information that was used to justify the war in Iraq, the fact remains that the two primary justifications -- Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and a link between Al Qaida and Iraq -- have been shown by the Senate report to be without merit.

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday the United States Senate voted to keep the ban on photos at Dover Air Force Base of the flag-draped coffins of troops killed in Iraq. While President Bush and several Senators claim that this ban is what the families want, members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) disagree.

WASHINGTON, DC – One year ago, on May 1, 2003, President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq. Since then, as the toll of this war has grown, its human cost has been hidden from the American public. Coffins coming in to Dover Air Force Base are banned from public view, and until recently, images of war and death itself were rare. Last week, photographs of flag-draped coffins appeared in the media and on the internet. On Friday night April 30, “Nightline” will feature Ted Koppel reading the names of American service men and women who were killed in hostile action between March 20, 2003 and April 30, 2004. As he reads the names, their pictures will appear on the screen.

WASHINGTON, DC – “April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. ordered its ABC affiliates to preempt tomorrow's broadcast of “Nightline,'' which will air the names and photos of U.S. military personnel who have died in combat in Iraq, saying the move is politically motivated.”

WASHINGTON, DC - May 1st is the one-year anniversary of George Bush’s speech declaring the end to major combat in Iraq in a carefully staged photo-op on an aircraft carrier in front of a banner declaring "Mission Accomplished". In fact, nearly as many service men and women have died in Iraq during the month of April, 2004 as died during all of “major combat” (the months of March and April, 2003). The violence continues in Iraq with no end in sight.

WASHINGTON DC - In the first 20 days of April, 104 U.S. troops and hundreds of Iraqis have been killed. There is no end in sight to the violence. Meanwhile the Bush administration is increasing the U.S. presence and sending more troops - including National Guard and Reserves - and extending the duties of thousands of troops already deployed in Iraq.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Military Families Speak Out, a national organization of military families opposed to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, together with Vietnam Veterans Against the War, an anti-war Veterans and Human Rights group founded in 1967, call on President Bush and Congress to immediately halt the escalating violence in Iraq.

WASHINGTON, DC- As the violence in Iraq escalates, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Veterans for Peace will be joining with United for Peace and Justice to voice their opposition to the mounting violence and ongoing occupation in Iraq, and to bring their message to the administration, the Congress and the American people.

WASHINGTON, DC - On January 20, during the State of the Union address, Military Families Speak Out – supported by Veterans for Peace, other peace groups and faith communities in the Washington, D.C. area – will mount a powerful, respectful remembrance of 500 American soldiers who have died in Iraq, together with penitential prayer for them and the estimated 9,000 Iraqi civilians who have died in the war and the chaos that followed.

WASHINGTON, DC - Holidays are difficult for families when loved ones are far from home. Compounding the anguish of military families with loved ones in Iraq this holiday season is the reality that loved ones are in constant and mortal danger while they serve extended and re-extended deployments. And looming large is a growing understanding that our loved ones are in harm’s way for no good reason.

With the news that Saddam was captured in Iraq on Sunday, December 14th came news of a car bomb that killed 17 people at a police station west of Baghdad. The killing continued on Monday, December 15th, car bombs exploded near a police station in a town north of Baghdad killing eight people and wounding over 20 and outside of a police station in Baghdad killing one person and wounding twelve.

Richmond, VA – For months now, Larry Syverson has spent his lunch hour outside the Federal Courthouse in Richmond, VA, protesting the US invasion and now occupation of Iraq. Larry Syverson, a member of Military Families Speak Out, is a father of four sons, all of whom have served or are serving in the US Military. Two are currently stationed in Iraq.

Washington, DC - A delegation of U.S. military family members and veterans, including members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Veterans for Peace (VFP), are on a fact finding mission to Iraq until December 8 to express their concern about the occupation and see first-hand the reality being faced by U.S. troops and Iraqis.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Military Families from across the state will hold a press conference Saturday, November 8th in San Antonio demanding an end to the US Occupation of Iraq and the immediate return of all troops to their home duty stations. San Antonio, home to 4 active military bases, has citizens and military families who want America to know that even in Bush’s backyard, opposition is strong and growing against the deceit and failed policies that have placed Americans and Iraqis in such a deadly situation. The “Patriotism For Profit” agenda by the Bush Administration that promotes the occupation of Iraq has only served to obscure the truth that our military, and our families are being used for political and economic reasons, not liberation.

WASHINGTON, DC—On October 25, thousands of people from all over the United States will march and rally against the US Occupation of Iraq while calling on the Bush Administration to Bring the Troops Home Now. Military Families with loved ones currently serving in Iraq will be joining this massive protest against war and occupation while participating in vigils, meetings with Members of Congress, and other events on October 24-25. Many will be available for interview in Washington, DC.