Martin Luther King Jr Day

I have just reread Martin Luther King’s Letter From Birmingham City Jail.

Reading the letter reminds me why I join Nancy to chalk on freezing cold mornings.

This morning was freezing cold. Nancy and a few hardy friends took a few minutes to remember Anthony Davis and Warren Frank, in front of the Liberty Centre a few blocks from Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard.

Warren Frank was 26 years old when he died.  Frank was from Anderson Township near Cincinnati Ohio. “Our son wanted nothing more than to make a difference in our world,” said Frank’s father, Warren R. Frank, in a statement sent to the media. “He was not a movie version soldier, but a man who looked forward to loving his children, retiring from the service of his country, teaching history at a high school and coaching track.” He was working on a food distribution mission North of Baghdad when he was killed.

Anthony Davis was 43 years old when he was killed. Anthony Davis from East Baltimore Maryland and living in Triangle Virgina, had volunteered for humanitarian assistance duty. He was working on the same humanitarian food drop as Warren Frank when he was killed.  He worked assessing schools and arranging for repairs and supplies. His eighteen year old daughter, Diana, collected soccer balls for distribution to Iraqi children.

“We must remain vigilant and pray that we are getting through to the younger generation, who will one day inherit this nation, so that they remember us as peaceful and encouraging not intruders and invaders,” Davis wrote in an e-mail.

Volunteerism was part of Anthony’s life. His mother made sure he, and his 16 brother and sisters, did volunteer work when they were growing up.

A brother, husband, father of 5 and grandfather of 1. Our thoughts go out to them and to Warren Frank’s family.

Schedule

Nancy managed to draw a few names last week after things dried out. She will chalk again on Monday, Inauguration Tuesday, and a name or 2 on Wednesday and Thursday.

She is currently NE Holladay St between 7th and 5th in front of the Liberty Centre.

7:15 am ish Monday, please come join her or stop and say hello.

Remembering Christian Humphreys

Christian Humphreys was 28 years old when he died November 15th 2008. From Alamogordo New Mexico he had many friends in Nevada and Alaska where he was stationed.  Christian served first in the Navy, then in the Army, doing helicopter Search and Rescue when he was stationed in the States.  He died just shy of his 4th wedding anniversary, a friend to many he is missed.

Memorial

Many people have commented how the Iraq Names Project reminds them of Maya Lin’s Viet Nam Memorial. When people see the names it personalizes the war. There is a realization that these are not abstract heroes fighting far away, these are our neighbors, the kid down the street, firefighters, teachers and clerks.

Last month the Iraq Names Project was next to the granite wall at the Bonneville Power Administration building making the connection to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC even stronger.

Here is a page of links to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Please visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial if you get a chance.

Remembering Sacrifice

Photo by Clint

Ryan Jopek was 20 years old when he died. He made his home in Merrill Wisconsin. Ryan loved his 1966 Chevy pickup truck. According to a resolution passed by the Wisconsin legislature, he was a Chicago Bears fan and modeled his life after Walter Payton.

Matthew Stanley was 22 years old when he died in Iraq. He grew up in Wolfeboro New Hampshire. Matthew is remembered by his large family as a very responsible teenager, he worked in his uncle’s seafood business, helped raise younger cousins and was fun to be around.

Our friend Clint suggested, back when it was topical, that I write about the soldiers whose names are on bracelets worn by John McCain and Barack Obama. First McCain and then Obama mentioned the bracelets during the debates. McCain mentioned his bracelet and Matthew Stanley first. Obama had to decide if he was going to mention Ryan Jopek. Ryan’s mother had asked Obama not to use her sons names in speeches. She simply asked that he remember her son and try to end the killing so other mothers don’t have to suffer. After the debate she said that she was “ecstatic” when Obama mentioned her son.

These 2 young men, with brothers and sisters and parents and cousins and aunts and uncles, will be remembered not just by their families and friends, but by all of us and historians for their part in war, and in presidential politics.

I had not heard of these memorial bracelets before last summer. It was when Nancy was drawing names of the dead on NE Broadway that she met a woman who still wore the bracelet of a friend of who died in Viet Nam decades ago.

Nancy will start chalking again, as soon as the weather allows. The schedule and location are below.