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| Anti-war demonstrators attend a protest in front of an Army Career Center in Manhattan of New York city, the United States, March 19, 2010, marking the 7th anniversary of the Iraqi War that falls on March 20. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) |
by Xinhua Writers Wang Fengfeng, Wang Wei
WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- With a "No War in Afghanistan" sign in his front yard, Josh Stieber is no ordinary Iraq War veteran, nor ordinary anti-war veteran for that matter.
For six months last year, the soldier-turned conscientious objector was walking and biking around the country, from Atlantic Maryland to Pacific California, talking about peace and non-violent alternatives with folks and youths he met along the way. He even got another veteran Conor Curran he met in Toledo, Ohio, to tag along.
On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Iraq War, Stieber joined forces with other veterans and activists to set up thousands of faux tombstones under the imposing Washington Monument in downtown D.C., gearing up for a mass anti-war rally on Saturday.
Under the scorching sun rarely seen in March, Stieber stopped occasionally to explain what he was doing to curious passers-by, inviting them to come and join the rally Saturday. In a recent interview with Xinhua at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, he said he wanted to work with other people to raise awareness and encourage creativity on "how to solve problems differently," other than simply using violence.
Eldest son of a salesman and a health worker, Stieber was born and raised in the Maryland section of the Washington area. He saw the "big hole" in Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, into which hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed, killing 189 people, including 64 people aboard the plane and another 125 in the building.
