News14 Carolina recently featured a peace vigil held in downtown Raleigh in conjunction with the nine-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The NC Council of Churches co-sponsored the event, and David LaMotte spoke during the vigil. News coverage of the vigil focused on WWII veteran and longtime peace activist Cy King. In 2009, King accepted the Council’s Distinguished Service Award for his many years of gracious and committed activism for peace.
From the News14 Carolina story:
People held peace vigils at a couple of different locations across the state to mark the milestone, including Greensboro and Raleigh. They are calling for an end to military operations in Afghanistan.
One by one, the peace activists read the names of military men and women from North Carolina who have died in the war in Afghanistan. They also read the names of killed Afghani civilians.
“War is absolutely a terrible thing,” said Cy King, a World War II Army veteran. “I think the war in Afghanistan is a disaster for our nation, as well as the Afghans.”
King, who was in the infantry during WWII, said this war isn’t worth the human cost.
“We grieve for and with the families who have lost loved ones,” said Sandy Irving, of NC Peace Action. “We grieve with children who have lost parents and we grieve with parents who have lost children.”
These activists say you don’t have to be anti-military to be pro-peace.
“We believe this war is misguided, that it has unachievable goals,” said Betsy Crites, Director of NC Peace Action.
“I feel the best thing we can do for our troops is to bring them home now and end this war in Afghanistan,” said King.
The activists also wrote letters to their elected officials and those running for office. They want national leaders to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and a reduction of military spending in favor of humanitarian programs in Afghanistan.
Leave a Reply