Area residents stage anti-war  vigil like many across nation Soldier’s mom demands meeting with president
By MELISSA RIGNEY BAXTER - Special to GM Today	August 19, 2005
Waukesha resident Sarah Diest holds a war protest sign during a vigil for Cindy Sheehan on Wednesday evening at Cutler Park in Waukesha. Diest joined dozens of other war protesters in holding the vigil for Sheehan as a sign of solidarity. Sheehan lost her son, Casey Sheehan, in Iraq and has held a vigil outside of President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch during Bush's vacation. Waukesha resident Mitzi Teed gazes at a candle during a vigil for Cindy Sheehan on Wednesday at Cutler Park in Waukesha. Teed, a war widow, joined dozens of other war protesters in holding the vigil in support of Sheehan. Sheehan lost her son, Casey Sheehan, in Iraq and has held a vigil outside President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch during Bush's vacation. WAUKESHA - At a candlelight vigil Wednesday night, Wendy Diest’s sign said it all - "Sgt. Tom’s Mom." Her son is on his way to Iraq to fight in a war that Diest, of Waukesha, does not support. She is worried about her son and the other soldiers who are facing dangers there, and on Wednesday evening, she came to Cutler Park to give voice to her dissent. "I was strongly against the war before the bombs started," Diest said. "We don’t want our son killed." About 80 people gathered at dusk in Cutler Park, one of more than 1,600 vigils across the nation held Wednesday. They met to show support for Cindy Sheehan, mother of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq. Sheehan has been camped out near President Bush’s Crawford, Texas, ranch and has said that she will not leave until Bush meets with her. Anti-war protesters have joined Sheehan, and on Wednesday, people across the nation, supported by liberal groups Moveon.org, True Majority and Democracy for America, met to show support for Sheehan and opposition to the war. Vigils were held in front of the White House and at Crawford, Texas, as well as locally in Waukesha, Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, Racine and Whitewater. "All Cindy wants is an answer," said Diest, noting that she and other protesters do not blame the troops but are upset with the administration’s decisions. "The president won’t speak to anyone with a dissenting view," said Larry Diest. According to Judith Williams, a local peace activist, about one-third of Wednesday night’s participants have been part of a weekly peace vigil. Each Sunday, since November 2001, the group has met at Cutler Park to protest the war. Jim Summers, Waukesha, heard about the vigil at work. "It’s time people stood up," Summers said. "I think there will be more and more of these events." "I’m opposed to war, especially this one," said Tom Girman of Genesee Depot. Carol Glusick had not attended a peace vigil at Cutler Park before Wednesday evening and found out about the event on the Internet. Glusick and her husband, Bob, came to show support for Sheehan as well as to protest the war. "Cindy is an individual showing a lot of courage and conviction," Glusick said. "Bush seems to give a different reason for the war every time. There were no weapons of mass destruction, no Saddam connection to 9-11. How many more people have to die?" After 8 p.m., a guitarist started to play a familiar tune, and those around him, holding candles of all sizes and colors, started singing the words to Bob Dylan’s "Blowin’ in the Wind." Like the questions the song poses, those singing do not have the answers they seek. Their intention, said Williams, is to keep asking the questions and to keep protesting the war until all of the soldiers come home.