At the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice town hall meeting following the anti-war march, Chuck Pennacchio took to the mic, but before him, there were several wonderful speakers. Pictured above is Conrad Moore local activist [and I think he was a war veteran as well]. He spoke of how while skinheads and the KKK are a problem, they are nothing but mere annoyances compared to the institutionalized racism and the militaristic stance the U.S. has had and continues to have.
Up next to the mic was Sue Savage, a Lancaster ad exec, who spoke of her experience watching her classmates to off to Vietnam never to be seen again. She lost friends. She shared the crowd's displeasure of the massive spending on the war in Iraq while the situation domestically is only getting worse for the generations to come. Less money for education, healthcare, basic things. All eaten up by the war.
Melissa Nalevanko came to the mic already welled up with tears. She had lead the hour long march through Lancaster to the town hall meeting. She was leading it in rememberance of her brother, Pennsylvania Army National Guard Sgt. Brent A. Adams, who was killed when his Bradley tank was hit by a rocket. She was told he died instantly. She recalled seeing her husband standing in their house as she came through the door. The look on her face told her everything she didn't want to know. She wanted the people at the march and the town hall meeting to see first hand the cost of war and what it has done to her and her family. She sat down with her friends and family sobbing to thunderous applause for her courage.
And then Chuck took the mic. He spoke of his stance on the war, a stance that has not changed in three years. He was against it then, he is against it now. He told of his withdrawal plan which he drew up in June of 2005. He spoke of the importance of citizen involvement to a successful democracy. He too got some thunderous applause from the still full hall.
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