Sgt. Marshall Thompson, a recently returned Iraq war Veteran, has begun a walk across Utah. From his
press release:
Iraq War Veteran Will Walk Length of Utah to Bring Troops Home
LOGAN, Utah - A Utah soldier who recently returned from a one-year tour in Iraq will begin to walk the length of "the reddest state in the nation" on Oct. 2 to rally support to bring home his fellow troops.
Marshall Thompson, who returned from Iraq last month, will walk about 20 miles a day for 26 days, one day for every 100 soldiers who have died in Iraq. The walk will begin on the Idaho border and end at the Arizona border and will cover almost 500 miles.
He said he believes that responsible troop withdrawal based on obtainable goals can begin immediately to save servicemembers' lives and leave Iraq as stable as possible. He is asking those who support getting troops out of Iraq to walk with him.
Thompson is available for interviews in person or by phone or e-mail. For more information go to www.soldierspeace.com.
Thompson has been featured on Democracy Now and posted a couple times on Huffington Post, but I thought the Kos community could help him out, especially SLC'ers who could walk with him on Saturday in Salt Lake. Here are locations and the times.
This should be a great event, and last night, Goodman mentioned Thompson on the Colbert Report so the publicity could not be better, and early turnout during the walk in small northern Utah communities has been wonderful. For more info check out Thompson's webpage: A Soldier's Peace.
Marshall is an old friend of mine and is a very well-suited humble spokesman for the cause of peace. In Iraq, he was editor for the Anaconda Times, the base newspaper in Balad, Iraq. An idealistic journalist, Thompson had battles over editorial content in the newspaper and kept a wonderful blog at Chokehold in Iraq as a source for outlet beyond the strictures of the paper. According to the interview with Goodman, Thompson put this blog on indefinite hiatus after it was brough to the attention of superior officers. He has since returned home to Utah to a wife and daughter--who was born while Marshall served in Iraq. All Kossacks should wish him well.