U.S. soldier walks in protest

Marshall Thompson: Utah native and USU graduate, son of a former Logan mayor, member of the Army Reserves, veteran of the 1999 Kosovo military action and the Iraq War.

Peace activist.

"I kept hoping we would find weapons of mass destruction, that [Bush] was right, so I could feel this war was justified," Thompson, 27, said to a journalism class last week. "But we never found them."

Thompson says he was opposed to the war in Iraq from the get-go. During his year there at Camp Anaconda as the editor of the base newspaper, his opinion remained unchanged. Since returning from Iraq only a few months ago, Thompson began planning to walk the length of Utah - the reddest state in the nation - in protest of the war.

"I want this walk for peace to be effective," he said while speaking in the Sunburst Lounge Tuesday. "I hope people realize we need to start withdrawing troops."

Thompson's walk begins Oct. 2 and will take 26 days, one day for every 100 soldiers who have died since the war began in 2003. Though, he said, by the time he gets through the whole state, the number will probably be higher. He hopes to average 20 miles a day and plans to walk through Logan around 2 p.m., Oct. 2. He said he hopes people will join him during the walk, but expects to meet people who are opposed to his views.

"I think most people in the military don't agree with me, but I'm not breaking any regulations by protesting," he said. "I hope to break the cycle of silence with this walk."

Thompson's Web site, www.asoldierspeace.com, outlines his goal and his route and includes a blog of his journey. In his first post, written Sept. 19, he talks about his thoughts pre-protest, and his evaluation of public opinion in Utah.

"The truth is, I'm starting to think that Utah's famous support of the war might be exaggerated," he said in the post. "Utahans are, by nature, very loyal people. Loyalty is an excellent quality when it's directed toward a good cause. Unfortunately, it seems misdirected in the current situation. Maybe, deep down, Utahans as well as all Americans are feeling that the war in Iraq isn't working, but would never say it out loud for fear of seeming disloyal to the president, the government and the troops."

Thompson still has a year and a half before his contract with the Army Reserves is up, which means he could be reactivated. Asked whether he would go if his unit was called up again, Thompson became quiet. The 40 or so people gathered in the Sunburst Lounge waited patiently for his reply.

"I will always stand up to defend this country," he said in his simple, unaffected tone. "I will do what my country tells me to do, but if I have to go back, I fear for my soul. That's why I have to do what I can to stop this unjust war."

Trying to remember to love his enemy was a difficult lesson to learn, he said. Recalling a day in Iraq when he watched a car cruising back and forth on a road in the distance, knowing the driver of the car was trying to set off an explosive near him and the troops he was with, he said he hated that person for what he was doing. He said it made him remember learning when he was young to love his enemy, a teaching common to many major religions and philosophies.

"I determined then I would never forget again," he said. "People don't realize there's a lot of hate among the soldiers in Iraq. There are people trying to kill them. But they don't treat the Iraqis well at all."

Thompson said he advocates beginning to pull troops out of Iraq immediately. He said it's possible to do it responsibly, leaving a stable country behind.

"We need to pull them back, fix their equipment, give them rest and have them ready for a real attack," he said. "We should change the debate from 'cut and run' or 'stay the course' to how to get out responsibly."

Thompson said when he first returned from Iraq, he was apprehensive of some of the comments he thought he might receive. Comments like, "We should be in there," or, "Iraqis don't deserve democracy, but we're helping anyway," made him afraid he would be angry at the people who said them. The walk is how he chose to tell people he does not support the war.

Thompson is not the first soldier to express opposition to the Iraq War. Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia was jailed in May 2004 for refusing to return to Iraq, and others have been imprisoned or discharged for their refusal to fight. Their protest was a refusal to obey orders, while Thompson's is a demonstration of his dissent.