GRANVILLE -- As the war in Iraq drags on, it weighs on some Granville residents' minds.

Three Granville Township residents are using their property for a memorial reflecting the number of American military deaths that have occurred.

James Franchello, left, and Kim Miles stand next to the memorial in Franchello's front yard, with an orange marker flag for each American death in the Iraq war. (Photo/Charles A. Peterson, Gannett News Service)

Meanwhile, some members of a group that held hour-long peace rallies on Thursday mornings at East Broadway and South Main Street are talking about a reappearance.

And last weekend, the First Baptist Church hosted a regional meeting of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, attracting as many as 35 for workshops and 75 for a concert featuring singer/songwriter Gary Flynn and his music reflecting social awareness issues.

For Kim and Bruce Miles and James Franchello, numbers don't always get the message through, and sometimes, visual aids help. Spread across Franchello's front yard at 2072 Welsh Hills Road are 1,361 tiny orange marker flags in a rectangular shape, representing each U.S. death. On the side of Franchello's house is a lighted peace sign that belongs to the Mileses, owners of the property.

The display can best be seen when driving Welsh Hills Road out of Granville in the evening. The orange flags are spotlighted.

The magnitude of the casualty numbers hit Kim the most when she acquired the flags.

"It's sad, because the number of deaths was at 1,250 before I ordered. I ordered 1,300," she said. "By the time they arrived, the (death toll) exceeded 1,300."

The flags were lined up Dec. 19, when Kim and Bruce moved the peace sign from the side of their barn, located behind Franchello's residence, to the side of Franchello's home.

"What we really started out to do was to have a memorial for the people who died in the war and for the people who are still fighting for us," Kim said. They wanted to set out flags for those injured in combat as well, but deemed it impractical for their two acres.

"There are thousands of injured soldiers," Franchello said, not to mention the hundreds of Iraqis injured or killed.

"If we were to put up a flag for every person injured, we wouldn't have enough room," Kim, 47, said.

Franchello, 54, a computer consultant in partnership with the Mileses, fears that Americans at home are too detached from the war, despite hearing daily news reports.

"I don't think people really understand the impact, that there are families here every day that are being affected with family members who are not coming home," Franchello, 54, said.

"We as Americans have to be aware of what soldiers are doing, because they're there every day," Kim said. "We just hope people will take a minute and come out and think about it."

Although Kim did not participate in war protests during the Vietnam era, she has always maintained an awareness of current events such as this. In high school, she wore a prisoner-of-war bracelet.

"I'm looking out for everybody, and that's kind of the way I've always been," she said.

Don't be surprised if the peace demonstrators reappear on Thursday mornings for an hour.

"There has been some talk," said Jack Kirby, who participated in the peaceful demonstrations prior to the start of the war. "For the last four or five weeks, we've talked among ourselves."

Copyright © 2005 The Advocate

###