Soldier begins peace walk
Under any other circumstances, the man walking down Main Street would have been inconspicuous. He is average height, average build, has slightly receding short, blond hair and he’s pushing a stroller.
What makes him stand out today is that he is being followed by more than 100 people, a camera crew, several reporters and he’s wearing camouflage pants and a brown shirt emblazoned with www.asoldierspeace.com.
Sgt. Marshall Thompson is walking for peace.
Thompson began his walk from the Idaho border of Utah to the Arizona border on Monday to garner attention to what he says is the problem of the war in Iraq.
“One thing I think people don’t understand about war is that it’s a double tragedy,” he said. “On one hand, you have someone who died and on the other hand, you have someone who had to kill another person, and they’ll never be the same.”
Thompson served as a military journalist in Iraq, Kosovo, Macedonia and Korea and said when he returned from the war in Iraq, he knew he had to do something to bring attention to the injustice in Iraq.
With Logan as the first main city on his 500-mile trek, Thompson, son of former Logan mayor Doug Thompson, said he was expecting about 20 people to walk with him.
“I’m overwhelmed with how many people showed up,” Thompson said. “We’ve met little to no resistance and I think this might really be how Utah feels about the war.”
While radio talk show host Tom Grover said he received three angry calls about Thompson on his KVNU show, the response from Logan residents during the walk was enthusiastic honking and a few flashed peace signs.
Thompson’s wife, Kristen, said she was worried about protesters, but they hadn’t encountered any. She said they “had a very different perception of Utah.”
She also said she was glad her husband decided to walk for the protest because they had “talked about doing a hunger strike,” but walking the length of Utah was something she “could really get behind.”
One Logan High School junior, Natalie Gibson, marched with Thompson while carrying a cardboard sign that read: “There is no flag big enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”
“I think that awareness is the key to what’s going on and to understand that peace is an international goal and we need to get out and change the world,” she said.
Gibson said she has been involved in activism since she was “really little,” and said, “I think if people were really aware of what’s going on, they’d be strongly against it.”
Thompson is a naturally quiet, easy-going man, who, if it weren’t for the message he is trying to relay, would be easy to miss in a crowd. As it is, though he still has a quiet voice, what he feels is a powerful truth in his message makes even those who don’t agree with him listen.
“The people that I’m doing this for are the soldiers I left behind, and the Iraqi civilians,” Thompson said. “Even though I don’t know them, they weigh heavily on my mind.”
On Monday, he pushed a Jeep brand stroller with his 14-month-old daughter, Eliza, as he spoke with those walking alongside him. One woman asked if her 4-year-old could hold his hand, as Congressional candidate Steve Olsen walked nearby and Thompson’s high school science teacher walked with him for the day.
Brenda Cooper, an associate professor in journalism, said, “I admire the stand and position he’s taken. It’s not easy for someone to question the Bush administration, but it’s evident that the decision to go into Iraq was a war of choice and not necessity. It’s the service personnel and Iraqi civilians that are paying the price.”
As the marchers reached the Eyes Wide Open exhibit near the Logan Public Library, Thompson asked that people stop and take a moment of silence to remember those who died.
He said, “We don’t know how many civilians have died and that’s a shame. Over 2,700 U.S. soldiers have died and we don’t know why. Somewhere between 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqi civilians have died and we don’t know why. This war needs to become real for the American people.”
Thompson said he will walk the length of Utah during the month of October to bring that same message to the nation and show people that even the “reddest state in the union supports peace.”
He said he doesn’t want to offend people, but make them aware of what’s happening in Iraq.
One USU alumnus, Charles Ashbury, marched with Thompson while holding a sign that he said reminded him of Vietnam War protests.
“I was on the sideline and Mr. Thompson brought me off the sideline and onto the sidewalk,” Ashbury said. “I haven’t been to an anti-war rally since the ’70s. It’s sad that I feel I have to. This rally has the same kind of tone [as the Vietnam rallies] of equating patriotism to unquestioning obedience to a party line.”
The group broke into applause as Thompson continued walking alone when he reached 400 South.
Although he is excited for the walk, Thompson said the walking itself was hard.
“I’m actually kind of in a lot of pain right now. We had rain earlier and I have a few blisters,” he said.