Sunday rally in Grand Junction marks five years of war

By Sharon Sullivan
Grand Junction Correspondent
Glenwood Springs, CO
March 28, 2008

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GRAND JUNCTION — Two Iraqi war veterans who were recruited from Grand Junction in 2001 will speak about their experiences in Iraq and their opposition to the war during a peace rally Sunday, March 30.

Jeff Englehart and Garett Reppenhagen both served in the same sniper unit. While there, Englehart and Reppenhagen started a dissident soldier blog, www.ftssoldier.blogspot.com, and began writing about their war experiences.

After completing their tours of duty, the two veterans joined Iraq Veterans Against the War. Both men recently testified at the Winter Soldier hearings in Washington, D.C.

Modeled after the original Winter Soldier hearings on the Vietnam war in 1971, soldiers testified last month about their experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Englehart’s testimony can be viewed at: http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier/testimony/future-gi-resistance/jeff-englehart/video.

Reppenhagen’s testimony is available at: http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier/testimony/future-gi-resistance/garett-reppenhagen/video.

Western Colorado has held peace rallies in March for the past five years, ever since the lead up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

A roadside bomb in Baghdad killed four U.S. soldiers Sunday night, bringing the military’s death toll to 4,000.

As in previous years, a white cross display will be set up at Lincoln Park with the names, pictures, ages and hometowns of all 4,000 U.S. soldiers who have been killed since the war began. The crosses will be displayed from March 29-30.

Today at Mesa State College, 400, or one-tenth, of the crosses are being displayed on the west side of Houston Hall.

Organizers of this year’s rally include Mesa State College, A Voice of Reason, The Red Pill, Grand Junction Underground Action Alliance and Grand Valley Students for a Democratic Society.

There will be food and music at the rally, including the bands Fast Food Kings, Righteous Vibrations and others. There will also be various speakers.

Following the rally at 3:30 p.m., a march is planned to the doorsteps of a local defense contractor.