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District 1 Co$t of War Town Hall Congressman David Wu
Vets denounce war, demand withdrawal
Published: February 20, 2007
By DAVID BATES FOREST GROVE - "This is the first time I've ever done this," said Tina Bean, visibly nervous as she faced the standing-room only crowd at the Pacific University auditorium Monday night. It was clear she wished she were somewhere else. Once she started talking, it became clear she wished she'd never been to the place that prompted her decision to step forward - Iraq. Her voice shaking and her eyes welling with tears, the 1999 Tigard High School graduate alluded only briefly to a mortar attack that cut short her tour in Iraq almost a year ago. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, she has to rely on medication to get by. And even then, she is irritable and fearful of crowds. Not even the snowfall this winter offered peace. The flurries evoked a powerful image burned into her brain: that of ashes emanating from the pits in which body parts were burned. "I haven't seen a single one of my friends since I've been home, because I don't want them to see me like this," she said, fighting tears. "I can't look at myself in the mirror without feeling disgusted. "I feel like I'm broken into a million pieces. I'll never be the person I was." Only moments earlier, the crowd of about 200 men, women and students - including several from Yamhill County, some with direct ties to the war or military - had been buzzing with chatter. But the comments by Bean, the opening speaker at the two-hour town hall meeting on the U.S. war effort, jolted the audience into humbled silence. Sitting a few feet away was an aide from U.S. Rep. David Wu's office. These meetings are being held around Oregon, in each congressional district. Organizers say the point is to speak directly to lawmakers to convey their feelings about a war that has now left more than 3,100 American soldiers dead and tens of thousands wounded. Wu has opposed the war from the start, and has spoken forcefully against it. He did not attend Monday, although Marcy Westerling, who heads the Scappoose-based Rural Organizing Project, spent a few minutes detailing efforts that began months ago to find a date that would work. Consequently, a few barbs were thrown his way. From the back of the room, one man suggested he was "chicken" for avoiding angry constituents. Several said the time for talk is past. McMinnville activist Ellie Gunn, addressing the crowd, called on Wu to do more than talk. "We need you to be an unrelenting and courageous advocate to end this war." Newberg resident Bruce Freeman, a Vietnam War veteran who walks with a cane, recently marched in Washington, D.C., against the war. He, too, said he'd had enough. He dismissed the non-binding resolution approved by the House last week in protest of President Bush's proposed troop escalation. He called it a symbolic tactic that falls far short of the desired result - bringing more American soldiers home, not sending more over. Freeman said he could recall a time during the Vietnam War when U.S. casualties topped 3,000. "Another 55,000 had to die," he said, "before we got out of there." He said, "I'm disabled, and I'm on a fixed income, but I bit the bullet and went to Washington." The next mass protest in the nation's Capitol is set for March 19, and he encouraged anyone who could to go. Participating in local companion protests is all well and good, he said, but taking the fight directly to the decision-makers is more effective. "Go to D.C.," Freeman implored those in the audience. "Go to D.C. Go to D.C. You've got to march on D.C. Otherwise, they don't hear you." Dayton High School senior Kip Beckwith echoed Bean's sentiments about preferring to avoid the public limelight. But he said the war in Iraq compelled him to take a stand. "I'm proud to be an American, but I'm not proud of what we're doing," he said. "I want America to do good in the world." Local resident Michael Taylor has a son who fought in Iraq. After a year of foot patrols that left his boots in tatters, he returned, like so many others, with combat stress. That prompted the Taylors to join Military Families Speak Out. "It's not easy, as a military family, to come forward and speak the truth about the war," Taylor said. He talked about how his family had regularly sent his son supplies - even food. One of the angriest denunciations of the war came from another war veteran, Wayne Backlund of Hillsboro. Tall, sporting neatly buzzed red
hair and walking with a limp, he was shipped to Iraq in 2003 and
subsequently wounded. Loaded up on meds just so he could face the
audience, he said he felt like strangling 100 people at the VA hospital,
because one question about forthcoming benefits would elicit that many
answers.
He's struggled not only for his own benefits, but for medical care for his family. He has seven children. "I love children, and believe me, I killed a lot of them over there," he said, drawing gasps from the audience. "And I hate myself for it." The remarks by Backlund and Bean drew thunderous applause. About half of those attending gave the speakers a standing ovation. At left: Iraq Vet Wayne Backlund testifying. Backlund returned to his front-row chair after he was finished, one leg shaking repeatedly after he sat down. Bean said she wasn't up for hanging around. She concluded her talk by saying, "The only thing you can do for me is bring my fellow soldiers home. This war is over. It's time to bring the troops home."
Then she turned from the podium, her face streaked with tears, and left the room. The applause continued long after she had made her way out. To read the Resolution for Congressman Wu from District 1, Click below: Resolution as Word Document Resolution as PDF Document To return to the Co$t of War page, CLICK HERE
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