by Ellin Walsh

Reporter

Cuyahoga Falls -- On March 15, the toll of the U.S. presence in Iraq was solemnly marked by the toll of bells in this city.

Mary Nichols-Rhodes of Cuyahoga Falls said the names of the 181 Ohio soldiers who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were read aloud during a memorial, peace rally and march at the Falls River Square Amphitheater. A bell was rung after each soldier's name to underscore the magnitude of human loss in the five years since the U.S. occupation of Iraq began on March 19, 2003.

Rows of empty boots were lined up, bearing the names of the Ohio soldiers who have died. There also was an exhibit of cloth strips featuring the names of Iraqi civilians who have been killed.

Nichols-Rhodes is an activist with the grassroots organization, Progressive Democrats of America-Ohio, one of the hosts of the local event. The observance also was sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee and the Quaker Peace and Justice Organization. Co-sponsors included Portage Peace, Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East, Northeast Ohio Anti-War Coalition, Portage Democratic Coalition, Freedom Journal TV, Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron -- Social Action Committee, World Can't Wait -- Cleveland chapter, High School Students For Peace Support Our Troops, and Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent -- Social Justice Committee.

According to Nichols-Rhodes, 132 people attended the event, with more than 70 participating in the march.

"The temperature was very, very cold and windy," Nichols-Rhodes said. "People were shivering and yet they stayed. The event drew people from Cleveland, Akron, Tallmadge, Stow, Wadsworth, Cuyahoga Falls, Kent, Medina, Canton, and even a family with four children from Scio, Ohio."

Speakers included Greg Riemer, a district director for U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton (OH-13). The Congresswoman has been an outspoken opponent of the occupation, according to Nichols-Rhodes. The Rev. Melissa Carvill-Zeimer, minister of the UU Church of Kent, spoke of the moral cost of war. Tom Allio, executive director of the Catholic Commission of Summit County, said the pope publicly spoke against the occupation of Iraq before it happened.

"We were joined by faith groups and other peace groups to honor those who have suffered so much loss, and to reflect on the cost of this occupation in terms of life, human suffering, dollars, resources, and moral standing," Nichols-Rhodes said "... Groups such as ours ... and others have been working for peace and felt we could not let the anniversary go by without the commemoration of those who have died, and the suffering of so many. "

Greg Coleridge, director of Economic Justice and Empowerment for the American Friends Service Committee, outlined five steps for Americans to take in light of the fifth anniversary:

* "Pay closer attention to what is happening in U.S.-occupied Iraq;

* "Help relieve the suffering where we can to returning troops and to the Iraqi people;

*"Challenge military recruitment in our schools;

* "Demand from Congress nothing less than an end to funding for the U.S.-occupation of the sovereign nation of Iraq;

* "Accept in your heart, veins, and DNA that all is not hopeless."

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