Sparta Independent
Thursday, May 24, 2007


Exhibit memorializing Iraq War dead coming to Sparta


Sparta - An exhibit entitled "Eyes Wide Open: New Jersey" will be on display on the library lawn in Sparta, on Memorial Day. The Northwest NJ Peace Fellowship, New Jersey Peace Action, the Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sussex County, and the Church and Society Committee of the Sparta United Methodist Church are co-sponsoring the event to honor the fallen in the Iraq War. The exhibit, along with the reading of the names of U.S. troops who have died in the war, will be held on the lawn of the Sparta Public Library, 22 Woodport Road, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, May 28.

The impact of the Iraq War on the state of New Jersey is the special focus of "Eyes Wide Open: New Jersey." The exhibit features over 57 pairs of combat boots, tagged with the names of New Jersey soldiers who have died in the Iraq War, and 50 pairs of civilian shoes to represent the thousands of Iraqi civilian casualties.

Members of the public will read the name, rank, and hometown of the more than 3,400 brave American soldiers who have lost their lives in the Iraq War. There will also be a reading of names of a small fraction of the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died in the war.

"Eyes Wide Open: New Jersey" is on loan from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international social justice organization. The national exhibit, which first opened in Chicago with 500 pairs of boots in January 2004, has been displayed in over 70 cities across the country, and continues to grow as the death toll rises.

The exhibit is free and open to the public, although donations will be accepted. Further details of the exhibit can be found at http://www.afsc.org/nymetro/.

Note: The following feature story appeared in the May 29, 2007 New Jersey Herald.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

By TOM HOWELL JR.

thowell@njherald.com

SPARTA - Marine Sgt. Matthew J. Fenton joined the Corps straight out of high school in September 2000, but spent the next five and a half years outside of the Middle East.

He was deployed to Iraq early last year and, after only six weeks, his convoy was struck by a suicide bomber in Fallujah on April 26, 2006. He suffered severe brain injuries and had surgery in Baghdad and Germany before he was flown to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Fenton, 24, of Little Ferry, died on May 5, 2006.

"I spent his last week with him in the hospital," his father, John Fenton, said. "It was a nightmare."

John Fenton was in Sparta on Monday for a raw and poignant Memorial Day display called "Eyes Wide Open." It featured 57 pairs of black boots on the Sparta Library lawn — one for each New Jersey native killed in service in Iraq — and shoes of all sizes to represent a fraction of an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians who have died in the ongoing war.

Each pair of boots was tagged with a white card listing the serviceman's name, residence and age at the time of death. Ages ran the gamut, from barely out of high school to years when most people are thinking about retirement. A sign said there were 57 dead from New Jersey.

Some of the names were close to home for Sussex County residents, such as PFC Donald S. Brown, 19, of Succasunna.

On Memorial Day, many local residents celebrate a lifestyle of freedom with backyard barbecues or a trip down the shore. But thousands of American soldiers did not see the sands of Seaside Heights or Long Beach Island over the weekend, but rather those near Basra, Tikrit and so on.

Sussex County towns coordinated parades, grave site dedications and exhibits on Monday to honor those who have fallen in battle, producing tangible demonstrations of respect for their service and sacrifice.

The boots for Matthew Fenton were joined by a Marine Corps flag and a large framed picture of him in uniform, but the memory of Matthew Fenton isn't captured in a few objects. It's in the heart of a father who remembers a Ridgefield Park High School graduate, a normal kid who liked to hang out with friends.

"There was not a mean streak in him," John Fenton said.

Fenton is a postal worker who said he finds it hard to concentrate on work these days. He sees a re-adjustment counselor and does his best to help his 19-year-old daughter cope with the loss of her brother.

He goes to a weekly vigil at the Teaneck Armory and went to the wakes of New Jersey servicemen who died after his son. There, he can fellowship with parents who experienced the same, unspeakable tragedy.

"I just felt I had to go and say I know what they are going through," Fenton explained.

He pointed to a nearby pair of boots for Vincent Michael Frassetto, 21 — the first New Jersey resident to die in Iraq after his son — as an example of one serviceman's family he had met.

Volunteers said the emotional exhibit is not meant to be political. Whether someone supports or opposes the war, all parties want to honor the sacrifice given by those who died, they said.

John Fenton agreed that Memorial Day is not a day for politics, but he said the debate over the Iraq War is unavoidable.

He joined Military Families Speak Out, whose mission is to bring the troops home from the Middle East and avoid wars of a similar kind in the future. He said his attitude has changed since the war began in 2003.

"I fell into the trap like everyone else," he said. "Every week there is a story on how they slanted (the reasons for war)."

Fenton has seen opposition to "Eyes Wide Open" in some towns, but many objections come from people driving by, and not those who have absorbed the exhibit.

"Go back to Russia" is the most inexplicable comment he has received, he said.

Many people recognize that Memorial Day is a somber day, although some fail to grasp the true cost of war, said Clinton Hebard, an Oak Ridge resident who founded Highlands Peace Action.

"You don't see the tragedy night after night the way you did with Vietnam," he said, based on his personal recollection.

The tragedy was made real Monday with rows of empty shoes on the library lawn to represent Iraqis who lost their lives.

Little black boots were placed in the grass for Mina Sabir, 2, and speckled, summery sandals were placed down for Aumar Mahamed Jaasen, who died at eight months.

Tiny blue and white socks with a Marvin the Martian print were for Muhsen Numan Musa al-Ardawy, who died at less than a month old.

"They didn't do anything to anyone," John Fenton said, motioning toward the display.

Julianne Sabo, 18, of Byram, and Amber Mauriello, 18, of Sparta, were visibly shaken as they walked among the civilians' shoes.

"I'm speechless," Mauriello said.

The exhibit placed an emphasis on the day's true meaning, Sabo said.

"Memorial Day is supposed to be a time to remember all the troops," she said. "But people take it as a holiday."

At a podium near the shoes, local residents took turns reading the names of thousands of Americans who have died while serving in Iraq.

Fenton took off his sunglasses for his turn at the podium. He read several names — pausing one time to gather himself — before he read the name of his son.

"I watched him suffer a slow and obscene death," he told several listeners.

Fenton read a few more names and left the podium. Several persons shook his hand and offered condolences.

A man sporting a "USA" shirt took Fenton's place at the podium, lifted the book of names, and said, "I've been doing this for three years, and it gets thicker every year."