A Garden Of Tears - Tending an orchard of grief

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

A Garden Of Tears - Tending an orchard of grief
http://saneramblings.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=119 (posted with permission of the author)

In Lafayette, near Berkeley, California is a hillside like no other and it grabs the attention of thousands of drivers on Highway 24 and BART train riders as well.

That hillside is packed with about 5,000 three foot tall white crosses and more are going up. Each cross is in memory of a U.S. soldier killed in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars.

It is the brain child of Jeff Heaton, a 55-year-old construction contractor who received permission from 83-year-old widow Louise Clark, who owns the land and from the city of Lafayette. Jeff and the other volunteers put up and maintain the crosses and tend the grounds.

Is it a war protest? "I consider it a peace memorial," Jeff told The Los Angeles Times. "The point is to sort of in a nuetral way show the true impact or effects of the war so that people can work that through in their own way."

To keep it non-political, Jeff has taken down some signs people have posted such as one that called the hillside "Bush's Garden."

The site attracts war veterans, peace activists, families who have lost loved ones in these wars and those who are simply curious. To some people it is an affront, somehow disrespectful to those who served, and they have demanded it be taken down.

"You sir," states a letter hanging in the city manager's office, "are un-American and spit on the real graves of our brave soldiers, who have died to defend your right to make a fool of yourself and bring shame on your city in the process."

To many others, it is something very special. Some families who bear the severe pain of loss, have claimed a cross, posted a name on it and memorialized it with mementos such as photos, flowers and personal notes.

"I was very happy about it," said Karen Meredith, whose only son Army Lt. Ken Ballard was killed in 2004. "And I could not understand why people would find this offensive. If children are dying in their names, they should understand it and see it every day."

Speaking as a person who has been conducting weekly candlelight vigils for those who have died or been seriously wounded in the Iraq war and for their families, I understand why some people don't want to see it.

It reminds them men, women and children are being killed and maimed and it's very upsetting. President Bush and the Pentagon censor the horrific ugliness of these wars, the blood, the guts, the stench and the destruction so unlike the Vietman war, Americans won't see it. won't feel it, won't have to think about it.

Yet it goes on and we all know it. And more people die every day we allow it to continue. "The Crosses of Lafayette," as the volunteers call it serves as a grim remembrance of the intense suffering taking place for people who deserve better than to be out of sight and forgotten.

Each was someone special. Each had a life, had dreams and had loved ones who cared for them and are heart sick for their loss. At the least, this is a compassionate and honorable way to remember each one.

Dick

If you would like to see the Los Angeles Times story, "Tending an orchard of grief," please click on http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oncal10-2008nov10,0,2400571.story

To see summaries of the nearly three years of candlelight vigils I've conducted, please click on http://www.saneramblings.com , and scroll down to "Reflections From Candlelight Vigils."