Boots On The Ground By Dusk. A visit from Mary Tillman

I have met so many dedicated and fascinating people through my work in the antiwar movement. None so dedicated as the mothers. This weekend the DC chapter of IVAW hosted a book discussion with Mary Tillman, mother of slain NFL star/soldier Pat Tillman.

I'd met Mary Tillman a couple of times briefly when she was here in Washington for the hearings surrounding her son's death, but I'd never had the chance to speak with her. My first impressions of Mary were that of a tough and angry mother. Just as I imagine any other mother, including myself, would react in a similar situation; Mary seemed to have a steely determination for justice.

After a couple of weeks of wheat pasting Mary Tillman's face all over light boxes throughout DC, I recognized her at once when she walked into the IVAW house. After she was given the obligatory house tour and then she settled into the living room. The evening was full of good discussion on updates to Pat's case and just conversation in general.

The next time I saw Mary Tillman she was coming in the IVAW house with Geoff Millard and the IVAW intern Robbie Diesu. They had made a visit to Walter Reed Hospital. You could see the weight of their visit on their faces.

We talked about the treatment of the vets and we shared stories about our respective teaching careers. I think that her trip to Washington, this time around, taught Mary Tillman about the kind of people involved in the movement. If a room full of military veterans, a mother of a fallen soldier and this old hippie can find so much common ground....we are doing pretty good.

Mary Tillman's talk at Busboys and Poets consisted of reading from her book Boots On The Ground by Dusk and a question and answer period. It is clear to me that many people have read extensively about the Pat Tillman case and Mary courageously answers them all.


I was truly moved by this experience, as I so often am around the parents of fallen soldiers. I hope I continue to have opportunities like this and that my path crosses that of Mary Tillman's again.

Support The Troops.......you're doing it wrong!!!

I've not posted for awhile. It's been a busy time around Washington. Much of what I have been doing has surrounded the work of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). I believe the plight of the veterans and the voices of the veterans are some of the most important in the movement.

The night of the last presidential debate at Hofstra, I went to the DC IVAW house to watch and have dinner. Most of the house had traveled to Hofstra to demand that the debate include questions about Iraq. Just as we were sitting down to our meal, the phone rang. It was a young activist named Lily calling to say that one of the members had been trampled by a police horse. Nick Morgan, the veteran who was injured, is one of the warmest people I've met in some time. The rest of the night was spent on the phone, hugging Nick's girlfriend and pacing.

RNC Police Tactics v. Iraq Veterans with a Message for the Candidates


A group of us from World Can't Wait went to Hostra University yesterday before the debate. Several different groups had messages outside the gates. Immigrant rights activists (Hempstead has a large Salvadoran community) came on a march with student anti-war groups, World Can't Wait, Code Pink and many local activists. The Long Island Alliance of peace/environmental groups, and about 50 Planned Parenthood supporters, along with a mix of Obama supporters had a rally inside a fenced-in "free speech zone." We were all in a kind of fluid mix across a wide turnpike from where the debate was held, while elsewhere, a free concert was held for Obama. All the national media were inside the campus.

Iraq Veterans Against the War had announced last week that they had questions for Obama and McCain about the war and treatment of veterans, and wanted their representatives allowed into ask them. IVAW had a meeting earlier with the local police, assuring them would be non-violent. At 7pm, the deadline they gave the debate organizers for an answer, 15 members of IVAW led a march across the street. At least 100 of us followed them, backing them at the entrance of the campus, and shouting "Let them in!" We were met by a solid line of police on horses, with nearly 100 riot police.

Matthis Chiroux and Kris Goldsmith read the questions they wanted to ask the candidates, and when they stepped forward a few feet to attempt to go on campus, they were arrested. In the next few minutes, a total of 10 IVAW members were arrested, some after standing together, pushed across the turnpike by cops on horses. They never raised their arms. The horses were used repeatedly to charge into the crowd, and especially at the IVAW members, in uniform, who were able to stay upright for nearly 10 minutes. As we were pushed to the opposite sidewalk, the batons came out, and horses pushed several veterans to the ground, including Geoff Millard. Nick Morgan was stepped on by a horse, and treated at a hospital (only after the other vets demanded it) for a broken cheekbone and possible concussion, then sent on to jail. Two women in the crowd were also hurt by horses.

The several veterans who were not arrested spoke to the independent media afterward, full of outrage. Jabar Magruder, who was stationed in Iraq as part of the national guard, said he had not seen people attacked like that since he was in Iraq, and "I don't need to see that here".


Those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct and refusal to obey an official order, and released for a November 10 court date. There was almost no mention of this protest in the news today. New York Newsday and The Army Times were the only daily newspapers to cover the story. Local TV affiliates sent cameras after the arrests. See independent media reports:

Democracy Now
The Indypendent
Be the Media

Nick is back in DC after a stay in the hospital. He and the other 15 arrested will be in court on Monday, November 10. There are suggestions on how to support Nick and the rest of the "Hempsted 15" can be found at the IVAW site.