But it’s not just another day – if we really consider how deeply the war has impacted our community at home.  It’s certainly not another day for me.

This morning, I dig out my dog tags from under a pile of photos and begin the morning with sorrow, mind full of snapshots and sound. I think about the grieving military families I met while in Crawford, Texas protesting the war in 2005.  I remember the shocking and heartbreaking testimony during Winter Soldier in 2008 when I covered the conference for Pacifica Radio.  I think about my nephew Andre who is a new Marine Corps boot camp graduate heading to his first duty station.

I pause to reflect on the 5,462 American soldiers dead from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the hundreds of thousands wounded – languishing in hospital beds or waiting in line for benefits or fighting their demons.  I wonder why that number isn’t discussed or debated more in regular conversation, especially as more troops head to Afghanistan.  I think about my own time in the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital as a member of the 347th General Hospital unit and my struggle to understand the homeless, desperate veterans there suffering from a war decades gone.  I think about the warriors that tell the truth about war and the military at great personal sacrifice.

Memorial Day is also a time to remember the victims of war in other lands. Some come to US cities to begin again – or escape certain death at home. This is a local issue: Iraqi and Afghan refugees have even settled in East Oakland and other neighborhoods.

It’s also a time to reflect on the impact that war has had in Oakland. Today, take another look at the person with the bent cardboard sign on the corner of Broadway and 14th Street, or International and 84th, or the High Street exit off the 880 freeway. Locally, as is the national trend, fully one-third of the homeless on the streets are veterans from the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Our local Vets Center serves some of the veterans that suffer from joblessness and mental illness and drug addition years after their tours. But for those not served, and there are 100,000 nationally that must seek help from local agencies and community and faith based organizations.   We feature a discussion with one of the unsung heroes, a vet himself, that serves the local veteran community.

This Memorial Day, let’s remember that war has a dangerous impact on mental health as is shown in this recent PBS documentary.  We’ll continue to deal with the long-term impacts of the suffering here at home.

And today, let’s expand the meaning of this holiday to include the war raging on Oakland streets today.  There is great loss and suffering there too.  Today, we remember Alvaro J. Ayala, 28 and the hundreds that have lost their lives on Oakland’s streets.  These are our cousins, uncles, friends, husbands – killed on the street. Let us take a moment to honor victims of violence in Oakland this week as well.

On OaklandSeen this week, we will publish stories of loss and sadness from the war that continues abroad to violence in our streets everyday.  Perhaps if the long-term pain of loss is made plain, we will recommit to changing it.

I watched Jeff Lucey’s parents describe their son’s depression, alcohol abuse and suicide in front of an audience of veterans in 2008.

So this Memorial Day, let’s pause and consider who isn’t with us today.  Who was lost too young, ignobly, and ignored? Let’s commit to finding meaning in the losses that touch us all.

You won’t hear much directly from soldiers on the nightly news, mostly because their raw and plantative statements reveal much about the Iraq War that isn’t known to the American people, in whose name this war continues.  There isn’t much spin to the words of veterans, as you’ll likely see in next week’s Winter Soldier hearings, broadcast live on KPFA and other Pacifica stations.  I’m co-hosting this coverage and I hope you will take this unique opportunity to hear about the war like you’ve never imagined it.  When Winter Soldier of 1971 exposed war crimes in Vietnam, there was a heightened public outcry to end the war and a series of Congressional inquiries.  John Kerry represented Vietnam Veterans Against the War during this time and rose to national prominance. 

But we’re talking about 2008 on the eve of the 5th year of the Iraq War.  Once again, veterans will testify and let the public, and history, be the judge.  If you live outside Northern and Central CA, you can stream our station from the internet.  Also, please join my blog at www.warcomeshome.org that myself and co-anchor Aaron Glanz will be updating during the event. 

Here is the press release with more information:

http://kpfa.org/press/2008-03-06-broadcast.html

Iraq Soldiers to Testify about War Crimes at Winter Soldier – KPFA Radio to Broadcast Event in Full

 

From March 14th to 16th, KPFA Radio will suspend regular programming to broadcast the historic Winter Soldier Iraq hearings in Washington, DC, perhaps the most important anti-war event in the United States in decades. More than 200 U.S. military veterans and active-duty troops from Iraq and Afghanistan will testify about the atrocities committed by U.S. occupation forces – war crimes they have witnessed and, in some cases, participated in.

 

“This is a moment when veterans won’t let anyone else speak for us,” said Aaron Hughes, an Iraq veteran. “We hear from the pundits, we hear from the politicians, we hear from the generals, but we don’t hear from the soldiers who’ve walked the streets, who’ve been there and know what it’s about. We’re the ones who can bring out the cruelties and dehumanization in US foreign policy.”

 

In 1971, a courageous group of veterans exposed the criminal nature of the Vietnam War in an event called Winter Soldier. This March, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War will give first-person accounts of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony, such as unembedded reporter Dahr Jamail, Iraq war expert Jeremy Scahill, Pacifica Radio’s Amy Goodman, and GI rights activist Tod Ensign. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans’ health benefits and support.

 

The three-day live broadcast will be co-anchored by former Army medic and KPFA Morning Show host Aimee Allison and journalist Aaron Glantz. KPFA will be streaming live audio from the Winter Soldier broadcast at kpfa.org and www.warcomeshome.org. War Comes Home will also feature bios, photos, and videos of the speakers. Online audio clips of the testimonials will be posted as the hearing progresses. In addition to hosting the broadcast, Aimee Allison and Aaron Glantz will be blogging from the hearing at www.warcomeshome.org, where listeners will be able to leave their comments.

 

To listen to the historic Winter Soldier broadcast, tune into KPFA Radio 94.1 or 88.1 FM in Northern California or www.warcomeshome.org. The broadcast runs from 6am-4pm Pacific time (9am-7pm Eastern time) on Friday, March 14th, 6am-4pm Pacific time (9am-7pm Eastern time) on Saturday, March 15th, to 7am-1pm Pacific time (10am-4pm Eastern time) on Sunday, March 16th.

 

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Founded by pacifists in 1949, KPFA is the United States’ first listener-sponsored radio station and the flagship station in the Pacifica Radio Network. Broadcasting on 94.1 FM in Berkeley, CA, and 88.1 FM on KFCF in Fresno, KPFA’s signal reaches one third of the state of California. KPFA’s website, kpfa.org, serves tens of thousands of listeners all over the world. KPFA’s innovative news, arts, public affairs, and music programs have won numerous awards and have helped redefine the boundaries of radio in America.