March 25: Candlelight Vigil to mark 4,000 U.S. military deaths in Iraq

From NYC United for Peace and Justice:

Candlelight Vigil to Mark the 4000th Death of a U.S. Soldier

A candlelight vigil to mark the death of the 4000th US military personnel killed in Iraq, to mourn the lives lost and call attention to the human cost of the Iraq War

Tuesday, March 25, 6:30 p.m.

South Plaza, Union Square

Sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, NYC United for Peace and Justice, Military Families Speak Out

For further information contact: Iris Bieri, American Friends Service Committee, 937-266-1574
Leslie Kielson, Coordinator, UFPJ-NYC, 917-613-4657


On Saturday, thousands lined 14th Street in River to River: Join Hands for Peace and then gathered on Park Avenue to commemorate the 5th anniversary and all the casualties of the Iraq War. We will return again tomorrow, since another tragic milestone has been reached: the death of the 4000th U.S. soldier. Memorials will be held throughout the country to commemorate both the military and civilian dead in Iraq. NYC United for Peace and Justice and the American Friends Service Committee's New York Metropolitan Office will host a vigil in the South Plaza of Union Square at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow evening.

For more information on other national vigils visit

We recognize that there is no military solution to the Iraq War. Therefore, we say "Not One More Death, Not One More Dollar" can be lost in sustaining war and occupation. A clear majority in the U.S. and Iraq want troops to come home.

The Iraq War has lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in World War II, and 4,000 deaths exceeds the number of U.S. military personnel killed in the first four years of Vietnam. By best medical estimates, more than 650,000 Iraqis have died since the U.S. invasion, but other sources put the death toll at over a million. The U.S. spends more than $720 million a day on this war -- more than $501 billion total to date, with no end in sight.

AFSC New York Metropolitan Regional Director Elizabeth Enloe stated,

Continued U.S. military presence in Iraq promises only further U.S. and Iraqi deaths and injuries, more widows and orphans, and more seeds for future hostilities. Congressional funding must be used to support Iraqi-led reconciliation and reconstruction efforts and to care for and honor the veterans who are returning from this war.