Iraq Names Project and Nordstroms

Caesar helps color in a name out side or Nordstrom, May 6th.

I wanted to write about somethings that happened a few months back. In May Nancy was drawing every morning, first down NE Broadway, then down NE 10th to the Lloyd Center. We met many great people along the away. We got a thank you from soldiers assigned to the Armed Services Recruiting Station on NE Broadway. On 10th we met Caesar, who joined Nancy every weekday morning for a week or 2. Caesar’s brother is deployed in Iraq, and he was thankful for a chance to remember those who had been there.

I was not surprised that when Nancy got to the Lloyd Center she was closely scrutinized by the Lloyd security. In fact they called the police the first day she was on the sidewalk around the center. The officer who came, like all others Nancy has met in the last year, thanked her for her good work. The officers I have talked to are also veterans and supportive of the project. As long as Nancy is on the public sidewalk she has the green light from the City of Portland to continue.

All went fine until Nancy was along side the Nordstrom at the Lloyd Center. Every morning Nancy would draw the names of those who had died. Every night Nordstrom would wash them off. So Nancy went in one morning to let them know what she was doing and ask them not to wash off the names. She was met by security. Security quickly told her they knew who she was and what she was doing. When she asked them about washing off the sidewalk she was told she had to leave the premises.

Nancy was more than a little peeved.

Then we started hearing from the family of PFC Aaron J. Ward.
Aaron was killed in Iraq on May 6th.
He was 19.
His was the 4,385 name Nancy wrote.
His family was bothered that Nordstrom would wash off the names. So they contacted Nordstrom. All a big misunderstanding according to Store Administrator Kryn Scoggins; “I hope you will accept our sincerest apologies for missing the relevance of the project; we would never intentionally insult such a beautiful and important acknowledgement of our national heroes.” By that time we were past Nordstrom and there was nothing more to be done. Last week Aaron’s name was still lightly legible over near Stanfords. Faded by time and weather and traffic. But never forgotten.

On July 4th Nancy will draw on NE Multnomah, by Holladay Park near NE 13th.
She will start at 9am.
Please come join her.

Rememberances

Du Hai Tran of Reseda California was 30 years old when he died June 20th, 2008.

Gregory T. Dalessio of Cherry Hill, NJ was 30 when he died June 23rd, 2008. The oldest of 8 children, he had an education degree and a masters in diplomacy and international relations from Seton Hall.

Dwayne M. Kelley of Willingboro, NJ was killed June 24th, 2008. A NJ State Trooper he was in Iraq with an army Civil Affairs unit working on community development restoring local government.

James M. Yohn of Highspire, PA was 25 years old when he died June 25th, 2008. His son is due in a few weeks. His wife can already see the father/son resemblance in the ultrasound pictures.

Now that Nancy is drawing just once a week, on Friday mornings as names are released, the names she writes become more and more immediate. Personal. This last week the DOD listed the 4 names above plus “8 names not yet released”. A chilling reminder that she will be back on Friday July 4th (9am), with at least 8 more names, 8 more people, 8 more State Troopers, and diplomats, and parents and spouses.

Iraq Names Project Continues

Currently on NE Multnomah and circling around Holladay Park Nancy continues on with the Iraq Names Project. Once a week she gathers the names released that week and adds them to the 12 miles and 4,000+ names she has drawn on the sidewalk since Memorial Day 2007. Please come out and join her if you can:

Every Friday Morning 7:15am - till that week’s names have been drawn

John D. Aragon was 22 years old when he died. John loved the Army and the Army loved him. He called the war pure hell, but wanted to be near the action, like a true soldier. From Antioch California, his parents, friends, fellow soldiers and country will all miss him.

Some days it looks like there could be an end to this war. But how will we know when it has ended? In 1979 an American soldier was killed in the DMZ in Korea decades after that war ended. 1984 another soldier was wounded. What will be our milestone for determining the end of the Iraq war. The closing of all US bases? A week, month or year of no hostilities. Withdrawal of all reserves and national guard?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Memorial Day

Over the course of the Memorial Day weekend about 30 people joined Nancy as she rewalked the Iraq Names Project route. On Memorial Day, as a last act, she ghosted in Sheehan at Peace Park. Last summer Casey Sheehan’s name fell right at Peace Park in a moment of synchrosity.

At the start of Memorial Day Nancy was joined by some neighbors, good friend Nikki and Kate Powers & Steve Einhorn. Kate Powers wrote a now famous song, Travis John, about Travis Bradach-Nall, one of the first Oregonians to die in Iraq. Nancy ghosted in Travis’ name when she got to Grant Park, the neighborhood where he grew up.

While rewalking the route we were surprised to see names that nancy wrote months ago still visible along NE Broadway.

Nancy will be back at NE Multnomah and NE 13th on Friday May 30th, 7:15am, drawing names.

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day May 26th, 10am, Nancy will rewalk the Iraq Names Project route from Wilshire Park (NE 33rd and NE Skidmore) to Holladay Park (NE Multnomah and NE 13th). She will then head over to Peace Park (East Side of the Steel Bridge at the top of the Esplanade). Veterans For Peace will be having a Memorial Day picnic there after a gathering at Memorial Coliseum.

On Saturday May 24th Nancy rewalked the route from the Federal Building downtown - where she began a year ago - to Irving Park, about a third or the route. She began by ghosting in March 21 2003 Aubin, the way she began a year ago.

On Sunday May 25th Nancy was joined by friends to rewalk the second third of the route. Along the way she stopped to say hi to Chef Christopher at Francis Restaurant. He has been a great supporter of the Iraq Names Project. He served us all a wonderful meal, as usual.

Remember Memorial Day with the Iraq Names Project

Memorial Day weekend Nancy will rewalk the Iraq Names Project Route.

Starting Saturday May 24th, 10am at the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building (SW 3rd & SW Jefferson). Saturday we will walk the route Nancy chalked last year to Irving Park.

Sunday May 25th at 10am we will walk from Irving Park (NE 7th & NE Freemont) to Wilshire Park.

Memorial Day May 26th at 10am we will walk from Wilshire Park (NE 33rd & NE Skidmore) to Holladay Park (NE Multnomah & NE 11th). When we get to Holladay Park Nancy will start chalking again.

On Saturday and Sunday we will have a little potluck picnic when we finish walking.

Please join us any time. You can contact dan.namesproject at gmail for more information.

4,385

Aaron J Ward

The 4,385th coalition soldier to die in Iraq and the most recent name released by the Department Of Defense, as of May 10th. Aaron was 19 years old when he died, he was from San Jacinto CA and stationed out of Fort Lewis.

347 days ago Nancy Hiss started writing the names of Coalition soldiers who died in Iraq. She draws them in chalk on the city sidewalks of Portland. She has drawn a continuous line 12 miles long starting with those who died on March 21st 2003. Now she has no names to write.

No doubt more will die, 2 already have but the names have not been released. She now has the sad job of waiting for the Department of Defense to announce the names of those who have died. When she gets more names she will be back on the sidewalk.

News Updates Milestones and Events

You can see or join Nancy while she continues draw the names of those who have died.
Monday - Friday 7am-8am
Saturday - Sunday 11am - 2pm

She is currently on NE 9th, by Nordstrom Lloyd Center heading toward Holladay Park and 12th Ave and Benson High School.

Nordstrom has a nasty habit of washing the names off the sidewalk after Nancy leaves. So finding her can be a little tricky.

She worked through Spring

And summer

And fall

And winter

Nancy Hiss has worked in 100+ degree heat and freezing temperature and snow and rain. Since last Memorial Day she has covered 12 miles of Portland city sidewalks and drawn more than 4,348 names of coalition forces who have died in Iraq.

The Iraq Names Project is reaching a number of milestones:

The first Anniversary will be Monday May 26th.

Soon she will catch up with real time. Nancy has been drawing the names in order of the day they died. On May 8th she wrote the name Brosh. Benjamin K. Brosh died March 18th 2008. Soon she will be finding the names of those who died the day before and going out and remembering them.

Soon she will cross E Burnside and be in SE Portland. She has already covered sidewalks in SW, NW, N and NE Portland. You can see a map of where the Iraq Names Project has been here. You can see photos here.

Nancy’s thumbs hurt. She is tired, tired of getting up early to chalk, tired of people dying, tired of Nordstrom washing away her work, tired of people not caring. Still she gets up and goes out and chalks most every morning.

Some recognition is starting to come her way. She has presented a slide show of the Iraq Names Project at Grant High School and the annual IDEC conference in Montreal.

Thursday May 15th she will give an artist talk at Art Beat, on the PCC Sylvania campus at 2pm, Little Theater.

Friday May 9th Nancy will present the project at a Marylhurst faculty tea. Noon in the Old Library.

If you would like Nancy to present the Iraq Names Project you contact me dan.namesproject at gmail.

Remembrance

Kevin H. Sonnenberg of McClure Ohio was 42 when he died. Kevin was a pilot and a farmer, a son and a father, a brother and a husband. The small town of McClure Ohio drew together to morn the loss of a good man. He was remembered for being a hard worker on the farm and for ”tipping his wings” when he would fly his fighter jet over his parents house. 42, of McClure, OhioKevin H.

Remembrance

Dominic Nathaniel Rodriguez of Klamath Falls was 23 when he died June 22nd 2007. On the Oregonlive web site his son Austin wrote, “dom was my dad he was a man that put famly first if i rember playing foot ball his favorite sport it hert but it was fun he always had a smile he was the best dad a kid could ask for dom loved his daughter alli thay had fun all day he loved sports a loving man ho did all that he could to help a person in need he is a saint all i know he loved as mutch as he could”.

Remembrance

Joseph Kenny of Veneta was 20 when he died. Voted class clown at Elmira High School he is remembered as a jokester.

Remembrance Wiens and Cooper

Kory Duane Wiens of Independence Oregon, trained a mine sniffing dog; Cooper. Both of them were deployed to Iraq. He wrote “Having a lot of fun, hard to believe huh? Well, I have Cooper with me so everything is alright.” He told the Army Public Affairs “I got to teach him all the things he knows today,” Wiens said. “Seeing him out there working is very rewarding. It’s amazing to see how far he’s come.”

His friends remember him as a caring person who was always ready to help.

 

He died July 7th 2007 with his service dog Cooper.