The cost of war

As people came down to the beach near the Santa Monica pier on the weekend of July 4, looking for a day of fun in the sun, they were reminded of the human cost of war. Veterans for Peace and Topanga Peace Alliance, along with countless other volunteers, had put up 1,745 symbols representing the U.S. soldiers who have died needlessly in the war in Iraq.

Every weekend these groups put up crosses, stars and moons to represent the dead soldiers, so many of them fresh-faced young people of color.

Children were the most affected by the day’s events, asking their parents as they gazed at the symbols and photos of soldiers, “Why did these people die?”

Family, friends and strangers leave notes and mementos of sympathy, solidarity and outrage for the fallen soldiers. One sign says that if symbols were put up to represent all the Iraqis who have died in this bloody war, they would fill the entire beach. This sad fact never makes it into the mainstream media.

As the day came to a close, children stopped playing to assist in the removal of the crosses and other symbols.

—Photo and story by J. La Riva