"Vigils Calling for End to Iraq War Begin"

[GreenPartyVoter]

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - As the sun dipped behind the pastures around the campsite near President Bush's ranch, more than 200 people clutched candles and gathered silently around a flag-draped coffin.

The vigil calling for an end to the war in Iraq was among hundreds nationwide Wednesday, part of an effort spurred by Cindy Sheehan's anti-war protest in memory of her son Casey, killed in Iraq last year.

"For the more than 1,800 who have come home this way in flag-draped coffins, each one ... was a son or a daughter, not cannon fodder to be used so recklessly," Sheehan said. "Each one is a valuable human life that is missed so desperately."

The organizers - liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org, TrueMajority and Democracy for America - said tens of thousands of people had signed up for more than 1,600 vigils from coast to coast. A vigil was also held in France at Paris' Peace Wall, a glass monument near the Eiffel Tower that says "peace" in 32 languages.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20050818/D8C28SK00.html