Major announcement due Thursday regarding health of Iraq Vet circling State Capitol

Urgent Action Alert:

Thursday, May 31, 2007, Walk to End the War News conference, please arrive by 9am  at 11th & L near the north steps, conference starts at 9:30am. We will hear from the veteran who has been walking since 8am on Memorial Day will have completed walking for the 362 Californians who died as of May 30, 2007. We will then continue to walk, asking people to take the name of a U.S. soldier and an Iraqi until all names have been walked. As of May 30, a total of 3471 U.S. soldiers have been died and an estimated 685,000 Iraqis. We have about 3500 Iraqi names, so for each Iraqi name, there are another 200 people for whom we do not have names. NOTE that after the news conference, the walk will be stationed from 12th & L. For more information: 916-448-7157 or sacendwar [at] yahoo.com.
 
If you have not done so today, please call your Congress person (202-224-3121) and demand that they:
 
- publicly commit to voting against ANY more funding that continues this war, that funding is ONLY to be used to bring all the troops home now.
- publicly commit to bringing ALL the troops home, not leaving troops in Iraq to continue a de-facto occuaption
- publicly commit to providing returning veterans with ALL the help and benefits they need
- publcly commit to the U.S. providing the necessary funding to Iraq to rebuild the damage we have caused
 
If you are in Doris Matsui's district, you can call her local office this week: 916-498-5600 (as Congress is in recess this week).


Press Release for Tomorrow:
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Contact: Cres Vellucci, Veterans for Peace, 916/996-9170

ATTN: DAYBOOK/News Desk

Major announcement due Thursday regarding
health of Iraq Vet circling State Capitol
to remember U.S. troops killed in Iraq

SACRAMENTO – A major announcement concerning the health of the Iraq War
veteran who has been circling the State Capitol 24 hours a day since 8 a.m.
on Memorial Day will be made THURSDAY at 9:30 a.m. on the North Side of the
building (sidewalk, facing L St.).

The veteran – dressed in desert fatigues – has now (as of 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday) completed 325 nearly half-mile laps around the Capitol, but is
now suffering with back, leg and foot problems often reducing his walk to a
slow painful shuffle. Still, he insists in continuing.

His goal is to take one lap around the building for all U.S. troops killed
in Iraq, nearly 3,500, including about 351 from California. He expects to
reach the 351 milestone sometime Wednesday evening.

Hundreds of supporters, parents of Iraq vets, other veterans from other
wars, passers by and people who have just heard of the walk have joined him
in the quest throughout the days and nights since Monday morning.

The announcement Thursday is expected to greatly expand the walk for those
killed in Iraq.

Details will be released then.


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