BOSTON, Mass. (10/11/2008) -- Military mother Anne Chay used to hold up a poster that read “Bring my son home.” Now the sign says, “Don’t send my son back!”
Chay stood with members of the Massachusetts chapter of Military Families Against the War on Saturday, October 11, 2008, speaking out against the war in Iraq. The organization was one of over twenty groups that gathered at Boston Common to protest the war and commemorate October 11, 2002. This was the date that the United States Congress authorized President Bush to use military force in Iraq, hence, the start of the Iraq War.
Chay, from Andover, Massachusetts said that her son, John, who served his time Iraq with the U.S. Army’s infantry division of the one hundred twenty-third brigade, is due to discharge October 23, 2008.
The date is bittersweet, however. John is concerned that he will receive his reactivation notice during his vacation period and he does not want to return to the Middle East. Instead, John recently considered a permanent discharge from the U.S. Army and joining up with the Massachusetts National Guard.
Chay said that her son’s decision to transfer to the MA National Guard is based on fear. “It’s because he’s concerned about being reactivated. He doesn’t want to go back,” said Chay. “These kids can’t get out. And they don’t want the military looking over their shoulders all their lives. Let’s face it if the military wants to find him, they will. So it’s better for him if he just goes through the steps and transfers to something more local,” Chay said.
Chay explained that she was “mortified” when her son enlisted at age 18. She said that he knew he didn’t want to hang around and get in trouble after high school. Chay said that, like many other high school graduates, John saw the military as a great career choice. “The military promises students free college tuition and an opportunity to travel the world,” said Chay. “Instead, they get the equivalent of one year of college tuition paid, which is nothing, and they travel to one desolate desert location.”
Despite her son John’s grievances against the army, and his determination not to return to Iraq, Chay said that he has gained some quality characteristics during his time in the military. She said, “John has grown up a lot and he has made some great friends.”
While he was deployed in Iraq, Chay said that she lived on edge with constant fear. Chay said, “Once my doorbell rang (which never happens) at eight at night. I was so scared that my son was dead.”
Chay said that since her son was deployed to Iraq, she has become much more educated on the war and its implications. “Once you get that personal connection, you have to get involved,” said Chay. “Originally, I sort of fell for the government’s ploy. I saw the war as something that we had to do. But then I read literature from all sides. I started to look into it. I don’t know what our government is doing. It is very discouraging.”
Chay explained that although she is proud of her son, she is not proud of the war our country is fighting. “I think we have made the American image worse (globally). The war is a travesty all the way around,” Chay said.
Chay participated in the peace rally on Saturday because she said that she thinks that she can make a difference. By educating the public on the underlying truth of the nature of the war, Chay believes that people will vote to end the war, by choosing democratic candidate Barrack Obama in the upcoming November presidential elections.
“People need to make a connection between the financial expenditure of this war and the present economic crisis in the U.S.,” said Chay. “Our country has already spent 3 trillion dollars. Where is that coming from?”
High school students from Oyster River High School, outside of Lee, New Hampshire, agreed with Chay. They traveled 2 hours to Boston Saturday morning to participate in the peace rally in Boston Common, but they didn’t mind the ride. These politically active youth think that the amount of money that the U.S. government has already spent on the war in Iraq is unacceptable and they want something done about it.
Brett Chamberlin, 17, said that change would start with a complete federal withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Chamberlin said, “Besides the human rights implications, it (the Iraq war) is extremely pertinent to our generation. We (the next generation) are going to be the ones taking the financial tab.”
Liza Richardson, from Concord New Hampshire, greeted Chamberlin with a hug, as she joined the New Hampshire group at the protest. Richardson, who attends Parker Academy in Concord, NH, works for the New Hampshire Peace Action organization.
“This war matters to me a lot,” said Richardson. “It think it’s totally unnecessary and really, really sad. Even though it’s been going on a long time, I still think there’s a chance that we can end it earlier rather than later, and I want to do my part.”
Richardson was optimistic, saying that she thinks that by redirecting Pentagon spending, the U.S. could take a major step in the right direction towards ending the war and getting American priorities in order.
By CATHERINE MOORE
