Memorial Day at the Crosses

I just returned from a Memorial Day vigil at the Lafayette crosses. Built by members of the community over the past two years on a steep five-acre hillside that overlooks the freeway and BART station, the crosses exert a magnetic draw on Memorial Day. Today, the total number of crosses stood at 4,084.

About 100 people came together near dusk to honor thesoldiers represented by those crosses on the hill, soldiers who have given somuch for their country.

Tony Thurmond, Democratic candidate for         Spokeswoman from Rep. Barbara Lee’s           Assembly District 14                                                        office (CA-09)   

Gradually, a theme emerged from the series of speakers there on that hillside:

We are incredibly grateful to our soldiers and service members for the sacrifices they have made. Going forward, we can best honor the dead by bringing our troops home from Iraq so that no more are killed, by ensuring that our troops are never again heedlessly sent into harm’s way, and by working tirelessly to make this the kind of country for which they gave their lives, one that provides respect, fairness and opportunity to all.