Supporting Our Troops
Marie Marchand and Sgt. Ash Woolson
The American public is largely unaware that one million US soldiers have served in
Iraq. What is well-
According to figures released by the Pentagon in 2005, US veterans are killing themselves at a rate of eighteen per day.
The question is clear: how are we going to support these troops? Have they not suffered enough injustice and seen enough trauma? As one veteran put it, "The fight doesn't end when we return from the war zone. For many of us, it is just the beginning of our hardest battle: staying alive."
Why are so many veterans experiencing this extreme isolation? Many are shocked when they return home—after one, two, or three tours—to face America's ignorance and apathy. A veteran who spoke in Bellingham last year reported that when he told someone he'd just gotten back from Iraq, the civilian replied, "Is that war still going on?"
The make-
Consequently, a higher percentage of reservists experiences Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) than regular army who have been better equipped and trained. Unlike
active duty GIs who return to their bases with their units, reservists and guard
members return to their hometowns and families three days after redeploying from
Iraq. This post-
Where can our veterans get the support they need if not through the government? Many
are looking to the grassroots. Iraq Veterans Against the War is a national organization
founded in 2004. With 800 members and chapters in almost every state, IVAW educates
the public about Iraq: its people, its culture, and the occupation. Most importantly,
IVAW functions as a peer-
Through IVAW, veterans use their voices to stand up. They become the antidote to our nation's paralyzing apathy.
Involvement in the peace movement and the opportunity to take leadership empowers returning soldiers. Many are used to being demeaned by higher ranking soldiers; now they are the experts. They speak with credibility, experience, and, oftentimes, vulnerability.
Since 2002, Whatcom Peace & Justice Center has been a local voice calling for an
end to the US occupation of Iraq. It welcomes IVAW and other returning veterans
to our community, recognizing that the alliance between GIs and the peace movement
has historical precedence. During the Vietnam War, as more and more GIs returned
to their barracks, underground newspapers flourished and an inter-
The partnership between Whatcom Peace & Justice Center and Iraq Veterans Against the War affirms that there need not be a split between "supporting the troops" and being against the war as the Administration and Hollywood would have us believe.
How can we best support the troops? Let's welcome them home, listen to their stories, and respect their leadership. They spent years in Iraq experiencing the horror of war. They deserve to be cared for and honored.
Marie Marchand is executive director of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center. Sgt.
Ash Woolson, 724 Engineering Battalion Army National Guard, served in Iraq 2003-
Victory for Free Speech!
Judge Debra Lev points the way for Congressman Rick Larsen
Monday, April 23, 2007
Bellingham Municipal Court experienced a transformative opening at Ellen Murphy’s sentencing hearing today. Statements made in the courtroom by Ellen and Gold Star mother Doris Kent are below. CDs of the hearing and trial will be available at the peace and justice center later this week.
After Ellen, her attorney Joe Pemberton, and Doris Kent spoke in the courtroom, Ellen’s supporters, including many veterans, stood in silence to express their solidarity. Judge Debra Lev took the necessary time and thought to fully explore the ramifications of this sentencing. She recognized the profound difference between the actions and motivations of Ellen Murphy as compared to those of other convicted defendants of the crime of trespass. Judge Lev sentenced Ellen to a $1,000 fine, with $1,000 suspended; and 90 days in jail, with 90 days suspended; 40 hours of community service; and $43 in court costs.
Today it was affirmed that civil discourse, expressed through true listening and sharing, still exists and can be upheld even in the courtroom. So many of us in the movement have been feeling disheartened; but to know that this has happened in our community, and is happening in communities just like ours around the nation, reminds us that there is hope. Victories such as these revive our hope in humanity and in our ability to affect the world.
Ellen Murphy with her attorney Joe Pemberton and supporters.
Ellen Murphy’s Statement
Thank you to the court and to the jury for its time and deliberation. I am deeply
gratified by those who reportedly held out for so long for acquittal. I want to
thank the media for sending one official member of the press to cover the trial:
a 12 year-
I am saddened at all the different costs of this trial; that Rep. Larsen worked so hard to remove himself from this case, but did nothing to advance the cause of justice or assist this Court; and that the case was not dismissed by the City. But there were costs on a far greater scale that were incurred during the days we were in court.
On Wednesday alone, over 300 Iraqi civilians were added to the countless already dead, when they perished in The Surge. On that Thursday, our Justice Department, which officially promotes torture, said that there are some cases that SHOULD be thrown out—every single Guantanamo lawsuit, as the suicides and hunger strikes grow.
That our juries still function is heartening, with Habeas Corpus gone, and the justice system reeling from within, its highest officials presently prevaricating to Congress and taking the 5th.
And finally, during my trial, 17 more US soldiers were dead in Iraq.
I close by asserting that on October 13, 2006, I was in Representative Larsen’s office
in a spirit of love and hope, to continue waiting for an appointment, not to force
him, but to have the opportunity to work WITH him in some genuine way, even if given
5 minutes, for him to be able to feel the meaning and acknowledge the legitimacy
and urgency of our concerns about an Occupation-
The closing times of that office seemed arbitrary, and at no time did I believe that crimes were committed by me or by anyone else.
We are all responsible for what much of the world considers to be crimes against
humanity done in our name. When we as a society say that the few who resist openly
are guilty, we might be tempted to absolve ourselves. But true absolution will not
come with business as usual, or by silencing the mourners and seekers of redress,
but with massive renunciation of this war and the exploitive, ecologically suicidal
corporate foreign policy which initiated it and sustains it-
Doris Kent’s Statement
My name is Doris Kent. I have been a resident of Bellingham Washington since 1996. I feel it is important to make this statement to the court prior to Ms. Murphy's sentencing today. I need you to know how the impact of her 'guilty' verdict has impacted me and others who believe citizens' voices in time of national travesty, must not only be heard, but actively solicited.
Ellen Murphy, from the day I met her, gave me ope. Hope that I did not have to bear the burden of insisting our country pay attention to what is happening in our nation's war on Iraq. Hope that American citizens will rise up and insist that our elected officials not send our brave men and women in uniform into war without just cause. Our nation has done this. Now my son, Cpl Jonathan Santos is dead.
Ellen Murphy spoke because I could not. She is insisting someone in our elected government
listen to the pain our nation is in and to have the courage to take the strong steps
required to take our military service members out of this war in Iraq -
Ellen gave me hope. Now that the jury has found her guilty of trespassing without ever knowing what all the facts were in her case, I look to the court for hope. Hope that you see through this political maneuvering to thwart the 'needed' citizen voices. Congressman Rick Larsen needs to be ashamed for bringing these charges and even more shame for not dropping them before they got to this point.
I believe a just sentence for Ms. Ellen Murphy be: $1.00. Her mental, emotional and physical suffering is enough to last her a lifetime. For this peaceful person, that is too much.
With hope for our nation and true justice,
Doris Kent
People for a Peaceable Planet, WPJC’s friends down in Skagit County , run a weekly radio show called Speak Up Speak Out that covers a variety of social justice issues.
Here is a wonderful editorial from the Seattle Post-
Evan Knappenberger wrote an editorial for the Seattle Post-
IRAQ VETERAN ART PROJECT
Local Iraq Veteran Rick Lawson and WPJC Intern Valery Tolle have started the War
Experience Project: A Uniform Exhibit. Check-
NPR INTERVIEW WITH LOCAL IRAQ VET ASH WOOLSON
Local Iraq Veteran Ash Woolson was featured on KUOW, National Public Radio’s Seattle station on July 29th. In this interview he shares how his protesting radically changed after a thousand mile Peace Walk through Japan: http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=15456. Way to go, Ash! Thanks for your leadership.
An Open Letter to President Obama
February 24, 2009
From Bill Distler, Vietnam Veteran
Bellingham, WA
Dear President Obama,
While you are reviewing U.S. policy toward Afghanistan, we ask that you include a perspective that has been lacking in the national conversation since Sept. 11, 2001. You have received much advice, whether sought or unsought, from political and military experts. We ask that you give even greater consideration to seeking out spiritual guidance.
There is no shortage of people seeking to advise you on how to win a war. But there is a critical shortage of people around you who might ask a more important question: How can we make peace?
Since Sept.11 our national conversation has been lacking a spiritual perspective. When Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his great "Beyond Vietnam" speech at Riverside Church, the event was organized by Clergy and Laity Concerned About Vietnam. Perhaps the religious community has not been as organized during these last few years as it should have been, and perhaps no one can take Dr. King's place, but we can still take advantage of the wisdom he revealed in that speech.
There is no shortage of deep spiritual thinkers in our country today, but there is a shortage of leaders willing to seek their guidance. We are asking you to be that leader.
If we really want peace in Afghanistan, we should start with an offer of a cease-
Everyone has a viewpoint in Afghanistan, but instead of encouraging a dialogue to
seek common ground, we have focused on a military solution to the problem of injustice.
The Taliban's idea of justice may be light years away from ours, but we are not going
to solve the problem of male injustice to women in Afghanistan by killing all the
men. And if we did, there are another 10 million men on the Pakistani side of the
border with the same anti-
We are at a historic moment very much like the moment when President Johnson was escalating the Vietnam War and Dr. King asked him to stop and think. President Johnson missed his opportunity to be one of our greatest presidents because he let the military/political dimension overrule the spiritual dimension.
George Bush called himself a war president. He was misguided. We voted for you, President Obama, because we believed that you would seek the path of peace. We believe you can make us proud again.
War is the worst way to solve problems. Peace is the best way. We believe our country can become a leader in peacemaking. You can start to lead us along that path.
With best wishes to you and your family, and for peace for everybody, no exceptions.
on May 18, 2009
Now, I understand that Sanctuary is a controversial issue—a political hot potato. One has only to read the Herald blogs to see that it is a vitriolic one as well. A Town Hall would allow those passionate on both sides of the issue to be heard.
When it comes to Soldiers of Conscience or simply messed-
I wish that the Sergeant who just killed 5 fellow Americans in Iraq due to the accumulated damage inflicted on him by three tours had gone AWOL instead.
I wish today’s military made multiple tours the exception rather than the rule. Except for the Navy, that was the case in Viet Nam.
I wish that each of the record and rising number of soldiers who have committed suicide in this war had gone AWOL instead. Many were Soldiers of Conscience—less afraid of dying than of killing or watching others get killed.
I wish that Bellingham’s own Corporal Santos and the 4974 other US soldiers who have died in vain in Iraq and Afghanistan had all gone AWOL instead.
I wish that all the Guardsmen who never dreamed they would be deployed to an illegal war on foreign soil had been told that this was a possibility.
I wish that recruiters would tell recruits that contained deeply in the contractual fine print is the right for the army to "stop loss" and keep you well beyond your contracted enlistment period.
I wish it were possible to be a Conscientious Objector to a particular war rather than to war in general.
I wish that conditions in the military were not so bad that there are so many AWOL soldiers that the MPs don't go after them.
I wish that Bellingham’s traffic cops would not enforce AWOL warrants when making routine traffic stops. It is a voluntary thing. No law requires them to.
Finally, I wish that each of you will become a Councilperson of Conscience and, at the least, co-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2009
CONTACT:
Marie Marchand, Executive Director
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
(360) 734-
WhatcomPJC@fidalgo.net
A successful mediation between lifelong peace activist Ellen Murphy and The City of Bellingham was announced Friday, June 19, 2009, in what is being heralded as a model for positive conflict resolution between a citizen, law enforcement, and city government which places civil and constitutional rights in the forefront.
On October 20, 2006, Ellen and four other women arrived in the hallway outside of U.S. Congressman Larsen’s office to read the names of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. One week prior, Ellen had received a two month ban from Larsen’s Suite #206. Even though the two month ban was for Suite #206 only, Larsen’s staff called the police on October 20, 2006, and requested that she be arrested and banned from the entire Federal Building for life. The Bellingham Police arrested her. She was charged with trespassing for October 20th and banned from the building for life.
After a few months of not being able to enter the Federal Building, which also housed the Social Security office and the post office, a judge granted a request from Ellen’s attorney Joseph Pemberton to dismiss the charge. Shortly thereafter, the lifetime ban was lifted. Therefore, the court acknowledged the October 20th arrest as unjust. It was dismissed and never went to trial.
A civil claim for damages was lodged with the City of Bellingham. This is a prerequisite to a possible lawsuit. Ellen Murphy and The City of Bellingham desired mediation. Congressman Larsen chose not to participate in mediation or any effort toward remediation, and he never apologized to Ellen Murphy. Two years later, the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center was engaged to facilitate mediation of their dispute.
“It is the congressman’s loss because all parties had a transformative experience for the good of the community at large,” said Ellen.
“The terms of the four terms of agreement demonstrate the extent of the cooperation and spirit of mutual respect that was in the room throughout the entire mediation,” Ellen commented. “The representatives of the City of Bellingham, the mediator, my Counsel, and I embraced our discussions in a non-
“The real victory,” Ellen shared, “is this spirit that we continue to embody as we begin to plan the citizen-
The Terms of Agreement include: a) an improvement of trespass forms and procedures to help avoid further injury; b) joint coordination of a forum to discuss activism and law enforcement issues; c) support for Ellen to be able to return to Congressman Rick Larsen’s office to complete the reading of the names of the dead, which was interrupted by the arrest; d) a monetary amount of $10,500.
At the time of her arrests, Ellen was participating in an affinity group that was encouraging Congressman Larsen to sign The Declaration of Peace. All events were documented. You can read personal accounts written by participants of the campaign at www.freelarsen.org, where you can also see a photo album.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2009
CONTACT:
Marie Marchand, Executive Director
Whatcom Peace & Justice Center
(360) 734-
The Board of Directors of the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2009 Howard Harris Lifetime Peacemaker Award.
Bill Distler and James Gillies are combat veterans of the Vietnam War who have turned their experiences of war into service for peace and justice for over 30 years. Their front-
During the 1980s, Bill and James advocated for victims of the Central American wars. James raised money for generators for Nicaraguan hospitals. Bill spent time in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua working on peaceful projects. The two veterans met in 1990 while being interviewed for a film about Vietnam.
James was active in the Veterans Speakers Alliance in San Francisco during the 1980s when many vets’ services had been shut down by the government. He helped build an active support network at the grassroots level, working to prevent veterans from falling through the cracks. Once in Bellingham, James devoted his time to working at the local Vets Center helping vets through the maze of paperwork to get deserved health care and financial assistance. Later, he was instrumental in the founding of the Bellingham Veterans for Peace Cpl. Jonathan Santos Memorial Chapter 111.
Bill also helped get VFP 111 established. He and James have helped every year with Arlington Northwest, the memorial for fallen GI's and Iraqi civilians on Memorial Day at Peace Arch Park. Bill is an avid reader and voracious researcher, and puts his information to good use in brilliant writing, submitting editorials and letters far and wide. His writing has appeared in the Seattle Post-
Bill and James have spoken in dozens of college and high school classrooms and assemblies, making regular visits to Mark Galvin’s classroom at Squalicum High School.
The award ceremony will take place at the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center’s 6th Annual International Day of Peace on Monday, September 21st, at First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwall Avenue, at 7:00 PM. It is an inspiring family event featuring Keynote Speaker Rev. John Dear, Musician Swil Kanim as Master of Ceremonies, The Kulshan Chorus, and a simultaneous Children’s Peace Art Program. It will be preceded by a half-
Honored guest John Dear, S.J., is an author and lifelong peacemaker recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Dear’s work for peace has taken him to Central America, the Middle East, Northern Ireland, the halls of Washington, DC, and the desert of New Mexico. His stories of solidarity with the oppressed and nonviolent civil disobedience are eloquent and inspiring.
The United Nations’ theme for this year’s celebration is “WMD: We Must Disarm!”
All are welcome to attend.