So many pairs of empty military boots – representing U.S. casualties in Iraq – are displayed in “Eyes Wide Open: The Cost of War” that the exhibit has been divided.
Each pair of boots honors a military service member who has died since the United States went to war in Iraq on March 19, 2003.
With war-related deaths reaching more than 3,800, not all the service men and women could be represented in one place.
Now the American Friends Service Committee exhibit, which comes to Colorado on Saturday, is separated into states. Only the boots representing Colorado’s 52 fallen soldiers will be set up at McIlvoy Park in Arvada.
“Once we reached more than 3,000 casualties, it became too cumbersome for us to move,” said Erin Polley, AFSC program associate for the exhibit.
“Just the sheer size of it – more than 80,000 square feet is needed – made it hard to find a location to accommodate it,” Polley said. “And it was very costly. To move the boots, shoes and Iraqi civilian casualty information took two 26-foot trucks.”
The exhibit, which also includes a “wall of remembrance” and pairs of shoes to memorialize thousands of Iraqis killed in the conflict, began in January 2004 with 504 pairs set up in Chicago.
In each of the 80 cities that has hosted the exhibit, new boots were added to represent the fallen. A year ago, 2,744 pairs were arrayed in Denver’s Civic Center.
The last time the exhibit was displayed as a whole was on Memorial Day in Chicago. There were 3,500 pairs of boots.
AFSC created the exhibit, with coordinators working in 40 states. Polley said local coordinators include peace organizations, military groups and Quaker groups.
Bringing the exhibit to Arvada are Colorado Citizens for Peace and Arvada United Methodist Church.
“The community really needs it,” Cindy Lowry of Colorado Citizens for Peace said of the exhibit.
For nearly three years, Lowry’s group has held a peace vigil every Saturday at West 52nd Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard.
“We have been looked on as a fringe group because our main focus is the Iraq war,” Lowry said. “This might give people a chance to look at us in a little bit different light.”
Lowry’s group paid $250 for Arvada’s special-events permit and park reservation fee to hold the exhibit in McIlvoy Park, which is on the northern edge of Olde Town Arvada at Ralston Road and Upham Street.
In each city, people have left notes, photos, stuffed animals and other mementos on the boots. Each pair bears a fallen soldier’s name.
There have been objections to the exhibit in a few cities, Polley said, “but really, we’ve had overwhelming support, including from military families and veterans.
“We hope it is a space for all people to mourn the loss of people in the war.”
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
“Eyes Wide Open”
What’s going on: The war-casualties exhibit illustrating the human cost of the Iraq war
Site: McIlvoy Park, 5750 Upham St., Olde Town Arvada
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Hosts: American Friends Service Committee, Colorado Citizens for Peace, Arvada United Methodist Church
Weather: In case of inclement weather, the exhibit will be moved to Arvada United Methodist Church, 6750 Carr St., with hours changing to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3,808
Total American deaths in Iraq, as of Friday
52
American deaths with Colorado connections
States with most resident casualties:
California 406
Texas 351
Pennsylvania 175
New York 165
Ohio 161
Florida 158
Source:
