Bring Them Home Now BusTour:

I'll be on the bus, central tour, as a member military family representing Military Families Speak Out.


from MFSO website at www.mfso.org

Military Families Speak Out is an organization of people who are opposed to war in Iraq and who have relatives or loved ones in the military. We were formed in November of 2002 and have contacts with military families throughout the United States, and in other countries around the world. Our membership currently includes over 2,400 military families, with new families joining daily.

As people with family members and loved ones in the military, we have both a special need and a unique role to play in speaking out against war in Iraq. It is our loved ones who are, or have been, or will be on the battlefront. It is our loved ones who are risking injury and death. It is our loved ones who are returning scarred from their experiences. It is our loved ones who will have to live with the injuries and deaths among innocent Iraqi civilians.

If you have family members or loved ones in the military and you are opposed to this war, JOIN us by sending an e-mail to mfso@mfso.org

See Bing Them Home Now Bus Tour website

See map of tour stops

See full tour schedule list of tour stops, dates, cities and states

See how you can help host a tour

See what you can do in your community as local events

Bring Them Home Now Bus Tour being sponsored by Military Families Speak Out,
Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace.


Bring Them Home Now Tour

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Damage From Katrina Stuns Troops in Iraq

Tuesday August 30, 2005 8:16 PM

By SLOBODAN LEKIC

Associated Press Writer



BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Ever since Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, National Guard troops from Gulf coast states serving in Iraq have followed the disaster unfolding on television sets, worried about families and friends back home.



``It's a significant emotional event. Their families are on the forefront of the disaster,'' said Lt. Col. Jordan Jones of the 141st Field Artillery of the Louisiana National Guard.



``They're all watching TV and some have seen their neighborhoods completely submerged in water.''



Jones, from Luling on the west bank of Lake Pontchartrain, said he hasn't been in touch with his own family for three days because of clogged phone lines, but that his neighbors had helped board up their home.



``It's hard, a lot of soldiers are watching this play-by-play, they're having a hard time,'' said Lt. Taysha Deaton, a spokeswoman for the unit.



The 141st Battalion, which arrived in the Middle East almost a year ago, is based at Camp Liberty, Saddam Hussein's palace complex near Baghdad International Airport. The 400-member unit, which is due to be rotated out soon, has suffered one killed and several wounded during its deployment.



``We're fixing to go home anyway, and now this happens,'' said Deaton, 25, whose home in Lake Charles was not in the main path of the storm.



Most Americans identify the National Guard with providing emergency services during natural disasters. But over the past three years, numerous Guard units have been sent to Iraq to fight alongside regular forces.



read more at Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Damage From Katrina Stuns Troops in Iraq

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MFSO co-founder, Nancy Lessin and Charley Richardson at rally, Camp Casey 2, Aug 27. These two have worked tirelessly in getting out the message Bring Our Troops Home since founding MFSO in Nov 2002. photo courtesy of David Swanson, afterdowningstreet.org

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Nancy Lessin, co-founder MFSO, reading her speech, Charley Richardson, MFSO by her side. Rally at Camp Casey 2, Aug 27. Behind them stand military families of MFSO, GSFP. Sherry Glover, MFSO, Texas with granddaughter, whose father is now deployed. I'd identify the other MFSO and GSFP but can't quite recognize them all in this photo. Photo courtesy of David Swanson, afterdowningstreet.org.

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Charley Richardson, MFSO and Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) , arrive in Crawford, rally at Camp Casey 2 on Aug 27. Nancy and Charley shepherd the activities of MFSO members in all 50 states. Membership was 2500 in early August, likely higher now. Members are all military families with loved ones deployed, about to be deployed, returned from Iraq and Afghanistan or on repeat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Photo courtesy of David Swanson, afterdowningstreet.org

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Dante Zappala, MFSO and GSFP, and Lietta Ruger, MFSO carrying the banner to one of the many press conferences Cindy held with the military families of GSFP and MFSO. Can you tell that I'm proud of our MFSO banner?

Photo courtesy of new friend, Andrea atAndrea Garland of Compulisive Creations and Get Your Act On .

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Our MFSO tent next to Cindy's tent camp before the Arlington crosses were installed. Aug 10. Lietta Ruger, MFSO, Washington and Valerie Fletcher, MFSO MO, were tent buddies in the tent that night. Rained much of the night. Tent was moved the next morning to make room for the 1,000 crosses in the ditch.

Photo courtesy of new friend, Andrea at Andrea Garland of Compulisive Creations and Get Your Act On ty, Andrea

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And this photo is for Nikki...she will know exactly why! A great waterhole with a falls was at the park, and provided for a nice dip if one could ever break away long enough. NOT. 

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another Washington state MFSO family drove down to Crawford. Doug and Linda arrived after I had left. This is the banner made by Linda, with help from volunteers Frankie, Faith and Jennifer. The banner was carried with the thousand written letters to Laura Bush.

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Faces of the Fallen, 1,000 U.S. troops marks the beginning of the cemetary of 1,000 crosses in a ditch at Camp Casey, along Prarie Chapel Road.  

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Bill Mitchell, GSFP, lost his son Mike in Iraq, shares a greiving moment with another mother who lost her son.

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Barbara Porchia, GSFP, looks upon the crosses, where one has her son's name. Jonathan Cheatham, was killed in action in Baghdad two years ago, on July 26, 2003

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Dante Zappala, MFSO and GSFP, who lost his brother, and Jean Prewitt, GSFP, who lost her son; both killed in Iraq, share a poignant moment of grief.

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Folks on the other side of the road as visiting guests came to Camp Casey with a different message. There were anectodal crossing the street on both sides where common ground was found and it was no longer pro or anti but humanity sharing reality. Amen to the courageous peace makers on both sides who had the dignity to reach out to each other.  

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The grain towers seen from the Crawford Peace House. In shuttling back and forth from the Camp Casey encampment to the Peace House, I always looked for these grain elevators to know we were close to the Peace House.  

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A late night meeting at Crawford Peace House. Representatives of the different groups at Camp Casey would meet to map out the next day's agenda. I sat in on one of the meetings representing MFSO and the orderly and cooperative solution building process was impressive.  

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Our proud banner, and I'm in there somewhere.  

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an early map of visitors to Crawford Peace House and Camp Casey, showing the cities and states from which they made the pilgimage. My pin is up there in the corner spot of Washington state.  

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A young marine, Gulf War 1 vet, and I adopted him or he adopted me, we spent several days together. We had him attend many of our MFSO functions. He has my zippo lighter now for safekeeping for the 2 Iraq Veterans in our family. It seemed one of those 'good luck' kind of charms troops and their families are known to do to keep soldier safe in combat. Here our young marine pays respectful reverence to fallen soldiers of Iraq and Afghanistan in our Arlington cemetary at Camp Casey.  

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Meals at the Crawford Peace House. Volunteers mobilized to feed the crowds of people coming from cities in states across the nation. It was amazing to see the transformation and impressed on me just how much America Does Care.  

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The food and supplies tent. People sent finger foods, crackers, energy bars, more crackers, fruit and even the occassional campstove cooked vega burgers. Once a kind volunteer cooked us migas for breakfast. And of course, bottled water and more bottled water and more bottled water! 

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Maxine Waters in our tent, presents Cindy with a basket of fruit; introductions around our group.  

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Maxine Waters arrives at camp, on a stop-over visit on her way to Chicago. She met privately with us in our tent, and we were able to actually keep media limited at our brief meeting. She met with Cindy, GSFP, MFSO, IVAW and VFP representatives there that day. I was in the tent representing MFSO, and we each got to give introductions, our brief story of loved ones in Iraq. I showed Maxine my swollen feet 'suffering for the cause' and had to steady her a bit when she thought that I meant fire ants were on her now.  

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Iraq Veterans Against the War, at rally held in the park.  

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Sherry Glover, of Military Families Speak Out, Texas brings daughter and granddaughter. Father of newborn is in Iraq. Rally with Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Veterans for Peace that was held at the park. (Sherry, it was good to meet you at last!) 

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Beatrice Salvidor, MFSO, quickly became a media favorite with the compelling story, photo and album she brought. She became a determined military family speaking out, and remains into the second week at Camp Casey.

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The bus with flag waving guests arrived with shouts of 'we don't care'. I saw the punch in the gullet to the Gold Star Families for Peace who had lost loved ones with this insensitive exhibition. Perhaps it steeled us for what was to come. Many of the visiting guests went over to the crosses, placed flags, and I like to believe it became more real to them. Many left in tears, reality is far and above empty slogans. This marked the beginning of each side reaching out to each other in some ways in my mind.  

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