Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open
An exhibit traveling the USA, sponsored by the American Friends Service Committe. See the website: http://www.afsc.org.
My thoughts after volunteering at the event:
To those of you who missed the Eyes Wide Open exhibit at St. Mary’s Feb 11-13, you missed a powerful exhibit. Boots, shoes and hats were laid out to represent the U.S. military, Iraqi civilians and civilian contractors (all nationalities) killed in Iraq. The exhibit was a picture of the cost of war; a memorial to those who have died and a place to mourn those losses.

Try to picture 1,457 U. S. military dead, you can't. View the boots lined up, then you can. Boots and shoes are personal items. Picturing those personal items puts the numbers in proportion. The cost of war is larger than you imagine. The lines of empty boots, hats and shoes puts it in perspective.

Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, came to view the boots representing their family members. They left pictures, pins, flowers, and expressed their sorrow. At this event I met two mothers and one father, whose sons were killed in Iraq. Their strength and courage was amazing to behold, and I am grateful that I got to meet them. They know the cost of war, on a personal level.