‘Boots’ Memorial Draws Criticism

12/21/2007

Atlanta Journal-Constitution | December 21, 2007


Two rows of black military boots lined a narrow patch of grass between the sidewalk and the road in front of Snellville's City Hall on Dec. 20.

The 119 pairs of empty boots, symbolizing Georgia service members who died in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003, were supposed to have been spread out in a display across the City Hall lawn.

But Snellville police asked organizers of the "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit to restrict it to the smaller area after the father of a local Soldier wrote an e-mail protesting the use of his son's name in what he called an anti-war event.

The American Friends Service Committee, the Quaker group in charge of the exhibit, removed Sgt. Michael Stokely's name from the pair of boots representing him.

AFSC spokeswoman Christina Repoley said she wished she could have spoken personally with Stokely's father, who objected to the exhibit in an e-mail to several city leaders.

Robert Stokely, who is Coweta County solicitor, said in the e-mail: "As to the City of Snellville, I can only say I am disappointed you are a part of this process, especially since my son's funeral was in your fair city and you all went to such lengths to show great respect at that time, but now, this exhibit is anything but a showing of respect for what he and we believed in, and the loss suffered."

His son died after a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Iraq in August 2005. Two other names of fallen Soldiers were removed after their families objected to them being used in the exhibit.

As a slow, cold rain fell on the exhibit, few people came to mingle among the boots. Jeff Brunson, whose son Gus Brunson died in Iraq just a month before Stokely, came to make sure his son's name was not being uttered in vain.

Repoley said the AFSC opposes the Iraq war but that "Eyes Wide Open" was designed to honor Georgia's fallen.

Brunson, who believes the Iraq war is justified, said the anti-war activists are "just people like you and me. The only difference is that they have a different mind-set. I just came out to make sure nobody said anything bad about Gus."