Vets, Soldiers, Peaceniks Find Common Ground

Members of Veterans for Peace Chapter 21, Military Families Speak Out and other peace groups were featured in a Jan. 25 New York Times article titiled “Soldiers and Protesters, Seeking Common Ground”: <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/nyregion/long-island/25Rparenting.html?_r=1&ref=new-jersey>

The lead article in the Sunday section for regional news profiled some of the core members of the weekly peace vigil outside the National Guard Armory in Teaneck, with comments by National Guard members and local veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“On the face of it, you’d think the protesters and the National Guard members are divided and separate, antiwar outside the armory, pro-war inside. But that is not so. There is much common ground between the two groups,” the insightful investigative piece by reporter Michael Winerip notes.

For instance, he writes: “Joseph Nygard, 27, who served 16 months in Afghanistan with the Army, said he likes that his parents, Nancy and Walt Nygard [a Vietnam vet], are regulars at the vigil. ‘We have pretty much the same feelings about the war,’ he said. At one point during his tour, he flew home to Newark, on leave from Afghanistan. ‘When we landed, the pilot made an announcement: ‘Please stay seated and let the soldiers leave first.’ We got up and everyone on the plane clapped for us. It was a great feeling.’ Asked how he would describe the American public’s attitude, he answered, ‘I’d say, ‘End the war, support the troops.’ ”