May 10, 2005 - Salisbury University

The last stop for Arlington West on the Road was arranged by George Benton with help from his daughter Tricia Benton. Tricia will be the first student to graduate from the environment studies program at Salisbury and in all her spare time she organizes rallies, and has her own band, the Tricia Benton Band.

We set up the crosses smack dab in the middle of campus and the students walked in and around the memorial all day. While we were still building the exhibit a young man in a high and tight walked up. A marine, he expressed a very different concern to me. "I've been denied C.O. (Consceintious Objector) status four times now. I don't know what to do," he said. "Well help us build the memorial and we can talk about it," Marcus said.

The young man went on to tell us his story. How he had joined as a cook and upon arriving to boot camp found out they didn't need any more cooks. Instead the group he was with would become mortuary specialists. They would learn how to deal with the dead. What to do when they rot, what to do if it smells, how to respectfully bury a Muslim (face their head toward Mecca). In training they were told to don gloves and lay their hand on a drowned cadaver. Don't remove your hand until we tell you said his instructors. Dutifully the marines left their hands on the body and then, a couple minutes later they were told to remove their hands. As they did, the skin of the drowned man came with them. We are preparing you for the worst said the instructors.

"When do you think we'll leave Iraq?" I asked.

"We are in Operation Iraqi Freedom 3 (OIF3)," he said. "The guys come and go in 8 month rotations. I heard a Colonel talking about extended plans for OIF 32," he said.

Students passed by all day. Some cursing "Nice political statement," and then walking away fast. Others stopping to locate their friends on the board. One spotting a friend she didn't know was dead.

Q: How will I be prepared for burial?

A: You will be washed. Your fingernails will be trimmed. Your faces will be shaved if you are a man. Your mouth will be closed. Any wounds will be sutured or sealed to prevent leakage. Swollen or distorted features will be restored. Your body orifices will be chemically disinfected and packed with cotton. Maggots and other insect larvae will be destroyed. Their breeding sites will be treated with insecticide. If it is present, gas will be removed from you head, chest and abdomen. Your body will be drained of natural fluids and filled with preservatives. If your remains are viewable but you hands are mutilated, they will be wrapped in guaze or surgical gloves, followed by white military gloves." - What Every Person Should Know About War by Chris Hedges

Sigma Alpha Epsilon helped us take down the crosses at sunset. One of their fellow frat brothers is in Iraq and they volunteered their time. Thank you SAE.

May 11, 2005 - Arlington Cemetery & the White House

We visited Arlington Cemetery to pay our respects. After walking and walking to find the 123 graves of those buried there from Operation Iraqi Freedom I found Ryan Campbell's grave. There he was. Just like Brooke said. There is Brooke's brother. "Did the President who ordered you to war come to your funeral?" I asked him. "No," answered Ryan. "No," answered all the 1610 who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "Where is our Commander in Chief?" they asked. "He is jogging," I said. We try to leave a cross at the White House to remind the president of those who have fallen in his war on terror. But we are asked to remove the cross and our names are taken down by a Policeman on a bicycle. We walk back to the van. Past a great big Army Tattoo. A tattoo is a celebration of military history and tradition. Tons of Americans and men in crew cuts line the stands and listen to the cannons fire and the bands play and watch the uniforms and flags parade near the White House lawn celebrating war. Again we are questioned. I think the cross makes people suspicious. And I'm not wearing an Army of One t-shirt. I'm wearing my Veterans for Peace shirt … and it does have the "P" word on it.

We leave Washington. The monuments look smaller. Less significant.

May 12, 2005 - New York City

We leave our final cross at Ground Zero. We end where it all began. We drive out of New York and begin the journey home. We stop at a Burger King somewhere in Pennsylvania. There we strike up a conversation with a man about the same age as us. He was wounded in the first Gulf War and received the Silver Star. And so we said what we said to all the veterans we met along the way: "Thank you for your service."