Empty boots personalize toll of Iraq war

Display due to arrive today at West Capitol Park after stop at RPI

  By DANIELLE FURFARO, Staff writer

First published in the Times Union: Friday, June 23, 2006

 TROY -- As Randy McDougall walked among the military boots arranged throughout the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student union, he glanced at all of them. But he was looking for one pair specifically.

McDougall was an acquaintance of Pfc. Nathan Brown, a 21-year-old National Guard soldier from South Glens Falls who was killed in Iraq two years ago.

Brown was one of 118 U.S. military service members memorialized in the traveling exhibit Eyes Wide Open: New York, which came to RPI Wednesday and will be at West Capitol Park today. If it rains, the boots will be at the Albany Public Libary.Each pair of boots was tagged with the name, age and hometown of a person killed in the war. All were from New York state.

"I'm glad they're doing this," said McDougall, who works at the college and knew Brown from the days when he worked as a roadie for his father's band. "It needs to be in our faces more often."

In addition to the boots, the exhibit also featured 50 pairs of regular shoes, meant to represent the Iraqi civilians killed in the war. According to American Friends Service Committee, which organized Eyes Wide Open, between 100,000 and 200,000 civilians have been killed.

Eyes Wide Open was brought to the Capital Region by a number of activist groups, including Upper Hudson Peace Action, Women Against War, Bethlehem Neighbors For Peace and Albany Friends.

"Everybody mourns and is disturbed by the number of soldiers dying and the number of Iraqi civilians dying, but it's hard to come to grips when it is still abstract," said David Easter, coordinator of Upper Hudson Peace Action. "Seeing the boots and the shoes makes the cost of the war very real."

In the early days of the war, Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibition on the Human Cost of War had been a national exhibit. This year, the AFSC decided to split it up by state.

"You start to see how many regions throughout the state have been impacted by the war," said exhibit coordinator Nicole Cousino. "To see what hometown someone's from, you start to get a more personal sense of that loss."

Most of the boots were purchased by AFSC from Army surplus stores. A few of the boots were donated by the families of dead soldiers.

Signs were placed throughout the student union detailing other facts, such as how many military personnel have been wounded since the beginning of the war -- 18,356 -- and how much tax money New Yorkers have spent on the war -- $24.7 billion.

As of Thursday, the number of U.S. military personnel killed in the Iraq War totaled 2,507, the Department of Defense said.

Brown's mother, Kathy Brown, did not see the exhibit on Thursday, but said she thought it was an important tool to keep the memory of the soldiers alive.

"We need something to push some sense into Bush's head," said Brown, who said she has become more and more angry as the war continues.

The exhibit elicited many strong responses from visitors. One woman started through the door but put her hand over her mouth and turned away sobbing as soon as she saw the boots. A friend comforted her.

Geralyn McDowell, a Catholic Worker with the Rosa House, spent part of her day "bearing witness" at the exhibit.

"This war is costing this country its soul," said McDowell, who works with poor adults and kids.

Danielle Furfaro can be reached at 454-5097 or by e-mail at dfurfaro@timesunion.com.