FAYETTEVILLE, NC—Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Gold Star Families for Peace will march here with Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and thousands of other peace activists from around the country to mark the 2nd anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Fayetteville, which characterizes itself as one of the most “military-friendly” towns in the US, is home to Ft. Bragg and the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and is adjacent to Pope Air Force Base.

“Organizations of Iraq war veterans and military families against the war continue to grow,” said Fayetteville organizer Lou Plummer. “More than 50 people from our community are dead. Our government continues to kill Americans and Iraqis alike in a war based on lies. We’re holding the march in Fayetteville to show our support for the troops by calling for this administration to bring them home now, take care of them when they get here, and end the policies that allowed this illegal and immoral war to happen in the first place. Too many – in Fayetteville, across the country and in Iraq - have suffered from a war that should never have happened.”

WHEN: March 19, 2005 at 10am

WHERE: Participants will gather at a location to be named later in downtown Fayetteville, and march to Rowan Street Park.

WHO: Speakers at the rally, among many others - will include Michael Hoffman, former Marine Lance Corporal and a founding member of Iraq Veterans Against the War; Camilo Mejia, Iraq war veteran and conscientious objector; Cindy Sheehan, co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq; and Anne Roesler, a member of Military Families Speak Out whose son is currently serving in Iraq on his second deployment there with the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Ft. Bragg.

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