Since the beginning of the Iraq War, members of the Oberlin community have held weekly Saturday peace vigils in Tappan Square Park. Last Saturday, the Bring Them Home Now Tour joined these local activists for an anti-war rally.

“The bus tour is an outgrowth of the encampment of Cindy Sheehan, mother of a killed US solider in the Iraq war who attempted to meet personally with President George Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas in August,” said Reverend Steven Hammond of the Oberlin Peace Community Church, one of the chief organizers behind the event.

The Bring Them Home Now Tour began on Aug. 31 and will end with the national anti-war march on Washington D.C. on Sept. 24.

The Tour’s visit to Oberlin featured speeches by members of military families and veterans who shared their often-wrenching personal experiences. One speaker, Bill Mitchell, lost his son, Sergeant Michael Mitchell, in the Iraq War. His son died in the same battle as Cindy Sheehan’s son, Casey Sheehan, on April 4, 2004. Michael Mitchell had one week remaining in his tour in Iraq and was three months away from his wedding.

“There was a terrible gun battle that day against the Shiites, who my son was told he was liberating...my life was changed at that moment,” Mitchell said.

Sergeant Mitchell had been part of the 1st Armor Division, stationed in the Sadr City section of Baghdad. On April 4, he volunteered to join a rescue mission to relieve the 1st Cavalry who had come to replace the 1st Armor and had fallen prey to ambush. Sergeant Mitchell’s father explained that for soldiers like his son, “It isn’t about Iraqi Democracy, it is about their bond with their buddies.”

Mitchell complained about the indifference of government officials to his loss. He said that the President, the Secretary of Defense and his own congressman, Bill Thomas, had all refused to meet with him.

“This administration has done nothing to honor...the life and death of my son,” Mitchell said.

Guests from the Bring Them Home Now Tour vigorously condemned the Bush administration’s management of the Iraq War. Mitchell called the war “illegal, immoral and unnecessary.”

Vince George, who has a brother in the Pennsylvania National Guardsman, recently returned from peacekeeping in Kosovo and, facing deployment to Iraq, declared, “the administration lied to us and continues to lie.”

George on to call the country’s leaders “gangster and war profiteers.” He said the White House’s Iraq policy is “not a policy, it is an unending meat grinder.” In addition, he cited the poor response to hurricane Katrina as evidence of the Iraq War’s toll.

“The critical equipment that is needed is in Iraq,” he said.

“There is no reason we should stay the course when we don’t know what the course is,” argued an U.S. Army veteran Chris Snively. “[Coalition forces in Iraq] have reached the limits of what they can accomplish.”

Snively drew upon his own experience in Bosnia and criticized that lack of preparation that has resulted in American forces being ill-equipped to handle the dangers they faced.

“You can’t drive around in an unarmed Hummvee truck with land mines and bombs going off.”

Snively stressed that the Iraq War was not a partisan issue.

“If John Kerry had won, Camp Casey would have been in Massachusetts instead of Texas,” he said. He also encouraged dialogue and told the audience to “ask people what they think about the war.”

Vince George joined his tour members in calling for withdrawal from Iraq “as soon as possible.” George said, “As long as we military occupy Iraq we’re a target.” He explained that an end to occupation did not mean an end to involvement with Iraq and called for the intervention of Non-Government Organizations, the United Nations and the Arab League on behalf of reconstruction efforts.

All of the day’s speakers paid tribute to Cindy Sheehan and the inspiration she had provided.

“Our families connected one week after our sons were killed,” Mitchell said.

He described his time at Cindy Sheehan’s Crawford encampment, Camp Casey, as “an incredible experience...it was a peace community.

“We touched the mainstream media. Eight days after [Cape Casey] happened, the story had appeared in 251 papers...I believe the movement has started...Right is on our side, we will preserve and we will win.”