Exhibit Memorializing Iraq War Dead Coming to 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 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 26.

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 70 pairs of combat boots, tagged with the names of New Jersey soldiers who have died in the Iraq War, as well as a display 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 4000 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. Anyone who wishes may step up to the podium and take a turn reading names. The exhibit and reading of the names is a solemn and quiet event intended to provoke dialogue and reflection.

Eyes Wide Open: New Jersey is on loan from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international social justice organization. AFSC originally created Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War to illustrate the lives lost in the war in Iraq. The national exhibit, which first opened in Chicago with 500 pairs of boots in January 2004, has been displayed in nearly 100 cities across the country and continues to grow as the death toll rises.

Monday's Eyes Wide Open: New Jersey exhibit is free and open to the public, although donations will be accepted. Further details of the exhibit can be found at www.afsc.org/nymetro.