Spine Award plaque for Cindy Sheehan

This plaque was given to Cindy Sheehan by members of the Progressive Action Alliance, first at Camp Casey (just outside of Crawford, Texas), August 2005, then again in Houston for the Bring Them Home Now Tour, September 1, 2005: http://www.paa-tx.org/node/193

Presentation text:

Spine Award Presentation for Cindy Sheehan
Houston, Texas Sep. 1, 2005

I'm Bill Crosier, co-chair of the Progressive Action Alliance, and I'm here to present a special award to Cindy Sheehan, on behalf of our group and the Backbone Campaign. I, military families of the Houston area, and many others are here to stand with Cindy.

We actually gave this to Cindy while we were at Camp Casey last Saturday, but we want to do it again so you'll know why we wanted her to have it.

We are proud of Cindy and all the veterans and military families who dare to ask why our leaders really chose to invade and occupy Iraq.

We are most proud, though, of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers who volunteer to serve our country and defend the US Constitution.

Is it too much to ask George Bush to tell us the truth about why all these precious souls, the future of America, are being sent to Iraq?

George Bush does not even have the courtesy to attend a single memorial service for those who have fallen, and does not want their flag-draped coffins shown in the press. He wants us to forget how many made the ultimate sacrifice. He does not even allow Iraqi bodies to be counted, lest we learn how much pain has been inflicted on their country.

Reconstruction in Iraq is virtually non-existent. Worldwide resentment and hatred towards the US are on the rise. But we're told we should stay in Iraq. Cindy and other military families deserve a truthful answer to her question of why this is so, not vague and misleading statements about a noble cause, Al Qaeda, and international terrorism that have nothing to do with our invasion of Iraq.

We want to thank Cindy for her courage and leadership in supporting the troops who put their lives on the line for our country, for making sure they are not forgotten, and for insisting we be told the truth about the terrible mission they have been sent to perform.

We also want to thank Cindy for standing up to the scorn, ridicule, and vicious insults and attacks from those who have been so misled by the Bush administration.

She has forced us to remember that the public justification for invading Iraq was invalid, yet we're still there while US and Iraqi casualties continue to climb.

But remember that Cindy is talking about truth. You know what? Nothing is going to keep Cindy and her supporters from continuing her pursuit of truth, and we're going to spread her message to every home in the country. As she has said, her message goes beyond her, beyond Camp Casey, beyond Texas. The search for truth cannot be stopped.

I also have a message from Brian Haw, who established a vigil at Parliament Square in London four years ago, and which continues today, to oppose the sanctions and now the occupation of Iraq. Brian says to Cindy, "Hold your head up high, love you til I die". I think that sums it up for all of us.

The inscription on the plaque reads:

SPINE AWARD

August, 2005

Presented to

CINDY SHEEHAN
and all the Camp Casey Supporters

The Backbone Campaign and
the Progressive Action Alliance

thank you for standing up for those
who volunteer to defend our country,
and for insisting that we be told the truth
about why the US chose
to invade and occupy Iraq.