War vet in protest bus tour

June 7, 2007

By JAMIE MUNKS Herald Correspondent

A group of Iraq war veterans is starting a "Cookout and Speak Out" bus tour to national military installations as an act of protest against the war.

The tour is set to begin June 15 in Washington, D.C., and last until June 30, with stops at almost every military installation on the East Coast, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Liam Madden said. Madden, originally from Bellows Falls, is coordinating the bus tour. The tour will include up to 21 stops, extending as far west as Kentucky and as far south as Georgia and will end with a stop at Fort Drum.

"We're going to get 10 vets on a bus and have a dialogue and barbecue with the troops. There's no one better to relate to the troops than us. We're steering away from peace rallies and political panels because the troops tend to shy away from those," Madden said.

An active member of the group Iraq Veterans Against the War, Madden launched the Appeal for Redress, to which hundreds of servicemen and women who served in Iraq have signed their names to petition Congress for the immediate withdrawal of American troops from the war zone.

"The veterans plan to go to military bases and set up tables with literature to draw the men and women off the base in an effort to provide them with information about how they can legally file for redress against the war," said Carol Tashie, a local activist with Central Vermont Peace and Justice, who is helping the veterans raise funds for their campaign.

Madden will speak at a fund-raiser on Sunday in Rutland about his transition from an active-service Marine to an antiwar veteran, Tashie said. The fund-raiser will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and is planned to take on a house party atmosphere with music and light finger food donated by the Three Tomatoes Trattoria, Tashie said. The goal of the benefit is to raise $3,000 to fund the bus tour. "In two and a half days, we raised over $500. There's been a great outpouring of support from Vermonters," Tashie said. The money will go toward necessities such as gas and food, Madden said.

Those unable to attend the fund-raiser for Vermont Iraq Veterans Against the War, but want to make a donation, can make checks out to Central Vermont Peace and Justice, and send them to PO Box 845, Rutland, VT 05702. Checks will be presented to Madden at the benefit on Sunday.