Vets place crosses to honor soldiers killed in Iraq war

Stephen Curran

Monday, Nov. 1, 2004 | 11:12 a.m.

Just after sunrise this morning four veterans placed 18-inch white crosses in rows at Freedom Park.

The members of a Southern California chapter of Veterans for Peace were setting up a traveling display of crosses to honor the more than 1,000 soldiers who have died in the Iraq war.

The display of 500 wooden markers at the park at Mojave Road and Washington Avenue also includes photographs, letters and other mementos from fallen soldiers' families. As of this morning 1,117 soldiers have died in Iraq, 976 since combat operations ended April 30, 2003, according to the Defense Department. The display will be open to the public until 7 p.m. today.

The display "gives a visual representation of the true cost of war," said April Fitzsimmons, an Air Force veteran turned actress who volunteers for the Santa Monica Veterans for Peace.

The display, titled Arlington West, is not meant to change the minds of those who see it but to "open a round of discussion," Fitzsimmons said.

Visitors are asked to remain quiet around the display but are encouraged to discuss the war at nearby picnic tables.

Marcus Eriksen, a Gulf War veteran and volunteer, said he was against the current war in Iraq, but he wanted to honor the troops and present "the real story" he said the media does not report.

"There's not enough attention paid to those who pay the ultimate price," Eriksen, a Los Angeles teacher, said. "The entire nation should bear the burden of grief."

The group chose to come to Las Vegas because of Nevada's status as a swing state in Tuesday's election, Fitzsimmons said. She said she did not know if discussions in Las Vegas were as active as in other parts of the country.

Bob Mabry, a Las Vegas graphic artist and Navy veteran, passed the display this morning. He said he supports the war and saw the display was a fitting memorial for those who have died.

"I think it's good to be reminded of all those guys who died," Mabry, whose minivan had a red, white and blue license plate, said. "There's two ways to look at it, but I think George Bush is doing the best he can."

Rafael Flores, a Las Vegas casino worker, was less sure.

Flores said he does not know if he supports the war and has not yet decided whom he is voting for.

"There are so many lives (lost)," Flores said while looking at a photo montage of fallen soldiers. "I don't know if the war is a money-making machine or something to protect the country. Most of these people are the poor people, not relatives of the politicians."

Nevada has lost five military men in Iraq, most recently 26-year-old Marine Cpl. William Salazar of Las Vegas. Salazar was killed by a car bomb explosion in Iraq on Oct. 15, his father Gus' birthday. Salazar was a member of Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Army Staff Sgt. Cameron Sarno, 43, another Las Vegas resident, was killed Sept. 1, 2003, when he was hit by a truck in Kuwait. Sarno was a member of the Nevada Army Guard's 257th Transportation Co.

The state has also lost Army Capt. Joshua Byers, 29, of Sparks, Marine Lance Cpl. Donald Cline, 21, of Sparks, and Marine Lt. Frederick Pokorney Jr., 31, of Tonopah, in the Iraq war.

Two Nevada men have died in Afghanistan since the Sept. 11 attacks, Nellis Air Force Base Airman 1st Class Jesse M. Samek, 21, of Rogers, Ark., and Army Ranger Cpl. Matthew Commons, 21, a Boulder City High School graduate.

Samek, a member of Nellis Air Force Base's 66th Rescue Squadron, died Oct. 21 after his HH-60 Pave Hawk crashed while on a medical rescue mission.