Veterans Day at Arlington Southwest

Veterans Day at Arlington Southwest By Cindy Perry / cindyperry@alpineavalanche.com

All stood or sat quietly, many with hats in their hands, as the six people read 354 names, one for each of the tombstones spread out along a slope east of Alpine. The breeze was negligible, the heat was palpable. The tears were many.

The Big Bend Veterans for Peace were dedicating their memorial, Arlington Southwest, on Veterans Day - and dedicating the day to Texan military fatalities in Iraq.An estimated 150 men, women and children of many ages stood in a rough semicircle at the foot of the memorial, which was created in the spirit of, and resembling, Arlington National Cemetery. A few of the more frail audience members chose to sit in chairs provided by the Veterans for Peace.

Some of the organizers said more tombstones will be added if more Texas servicemen and women die in the Iraq war.

After the six - Eve Trook, Joseph Goldman, Mimi Smith, Susan Curry, Gail Shugart and Jackie Siglin - read the names, a haunting, echoing rendition of Taps was played.

Some attendees stayed for light refreshments, others wandered off to a nearby hillside to reflect.

And so was Veterans Day observed on a plot of land near Alpine.