Danny Hammontree

Orlando Anti-war Protest Oct27

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:05:13 GMT

Although it was raining most of the day, the United for Peace and Justice Anti-war rally at Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida, had a really good turnout. There were many speakers at the event, maybe too many, but the testimony given by Iraqi war veteran Clifton Hicks made it all worth it, as his accounts of what happened during his deployment in Iraq moved many to tears.

As the march started, the skies opened up and a deluge of rain came down. The marchers moved through the streets undeterred, and at about a mile into the march, came upon a small group of pro-war protesters that call themselves the Gathering of Eagles. These self proclaimed “real Americans” yelled hateful phrases and gave the old middle finger salute to everyone as they walked by. This conflict was pretty much over before it started, because the ratio of anti-war protesters to pro-war protesters was so great.

Below are the photos I took in Orlando on October 27th 2007. If you would like to see more photos from other anti-war protest I have covered, you can take a look at my Flickr or deviantART galleries.

Florida for Peace

Something good has begun

Born to Kill

Senator Mike Gravel

Military Families Speak Out

If You're Not Outraged

Bush's Last Day

Blood For Oil

Obama'08

Lydia Vickers

Antoine Demetrius Smith

Grandmothers for Peace

Make Art Not War

Mean People Suck

Anti-Imperialist Contingent

Give Peace a Vote

Anti-Flag

Clifton Hicks

For All We Know

Peace Love & Happiness

A Bird in the Hand

or Lose Jihad

Infidel

War is not the Answer

Would Jesus Bomb?

All photos by Danny Hammontree

September 15th March on Washington DC

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:11:17 GMT

On Saturday September 15th 2007 thousands of people went to Washington DC to bring a message to Congress that they are against the war in Iraq, and want the United States to pull out immediately and completely.

This demonstration was scheduled to coincide with General David Petraeus appearing before a joint session of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, to deliver his long-awaited report on the progress of the military buildup in Iraq.

The planned action for this event was a bit different then some of the past large protests. The plan for this rally was to march from the White House to the Capitol, and go straight into a mass civil-disobedience die-in. The die-in was led by an Honor Guard of Iraq Veterans against the War who simulated a 21-Gun Salute before taps was played to initiate the die-in.

Many thought the arrest would come as the thousands of protesters laid on the ground. The arrest didn't start however until protesters, mostly lead by Iraq veterans tried to cross the line of U.S. Capitol police. Most of the arrests were very peaceful as all protesters filed in to be arrested. Three men were gassed by police for some unknown reason though. These three men didn't do anything differently then the others being arrested, so it is questionable as to why this single police officer gassed them. All other police officers were extremely professional from what I witnessed. If you'd like to view larger versions of these photos, please check out my Flickr or deviantART accounts.

Capitol

Hair

Campbell

Mike Prysner

Sing A Song

Code Pink

Father and Son

Carlos Arrendondo holds a photograph of his son Lance Corporal Alexander Arrendondo. Carlos Arrendondo's son Alexander was killed in Iraq on August 25th 2004 at the age of 20. I first met Carlos in September of 2005 at Camp Casey in Washington DC. To view that photo and read about my experience with him please click HERE.

__________________________________________________

Wartime Poet

Die Sonne

Heart Time

Heart Holding

Testify

No War on Iran

Peace Princess

Allegiance

Will Not Be Silenced

Conspiracy Theory

A Bloody Mess

Officer Jack Jeffers

Mike Prysner Arrested

Mike Prysner is arrested for crossing U.S. Capitol Police, that were blocking access to The Capitol Building. If you'd like to learn more about Mike Prysner, read this letter he wrote while serving in Iraq: LETTER

______________________________________________________

Brian Becker

Taken Down

Eric Scott McKinley

Gassed

As Tears Go By

Police Action

Ann Wright

Ann Wright resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service on March 19, 2003, while serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Mongolia . She resigned due to her disagreement with the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq without the authorization of the UN Security Council, the lack of effort in resolving the Israel-Palestinian situation, the lack of policy on North Korea and unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties in the United States .

_________________________________________________________

Arrest Bush

Leonard

Two Fingers

Our House

Talk Show

Officer J. Bell

Officer K. Rivera

All Photos by Danny Hammontree

George?

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 09:50:40 GMT

On April 28th 2007 George W. Bush gave the Commencement Address at the Kendall Campus of Miami-Dade College. Many of the students graduating from the college were outraged that Bush was chosen as the addressee and refused to attend. Disappointment with Miami-Dade College spread throughout the South Florida activist community which led to this protest.

Somewhere between 600 and 1000 protesters were reported to have attended and a great majority of the protesters were voicing out against the Iraq war. There were also people protesting for immigration reform, women’s reproductive rights and many calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush.

There were somewhere between 10 or 15 pro-Bush supporters which is a big decline from past rallies I’ve attended in South Florida. Bush has generally had favorable support in Miami-Dade County, especially from the Cuban community. If you'd like to see larger versions of these photos please click HERE.

Women for Peace

Life is Better Than War

Ditch the Fascists

War Criminal

Bush is my Hero

I'm For The War

Snoopy for President

Prayer for Our Country

My Uterus Not Yours

You are a Hypocrat

Pussy Whipped

Impeach Bush and Cheney

Daddy's Retribution

Bolivarian Youth

Stop Killing

Photos by Danny Hammontree

March on the Pentagon: Saturday, March 17, 2007

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 22:29:04 GMT

War veterans from the right and war veterans from the left converged on Washington DC March 17th 2007 to rally their strong beliefs for and against war and peace.

The anti-war rally planned by ANSWER coalition to mirror an anti-war protest that marched to the Pentagon 40 years ago was met by a grassroots group of counter protesters called The Gathering of Eagles. The counter protesters were motivated by rumors that anti-war protesters would be defacing war memorials and more specifically the Vietnam War Memorial. Although unknown why these rumors started, it was said they were created by the pro-Bush, Pro-war rightwing agenda pushers to inspire a large turnout of Vietnam war vets to counter the anti-war rally. There were at times very heated confrontations but at no time did I witness any violent clashes.

Speeches given my Cindy Sheehan and more specifically Carlos Arredondo were very moving. I wrote an article about my first meeting with Carlos back in September of 2005. If you’re interested in learning about Carlos and his experience of losing his son in Iraq, please read HERE. Carlos has a beautiful way of looking at the world and understands the reason people are the way they are, I was very inspired by his story and I’m sure you will too.

Below are 32 photographs I took to document this event. If you’re interested in viewing them at a larger resolution you can click on over to my deviantART or Flickr galleries.

Veterans For Peace

Angry Young Man

All Souls

Peace Thru

Stand Behind Our President

Guilty Of War Crimes

Throwin Up Peace Signs

Still A Traitor

Vet

Thumbs Up

Fat Boy

American Flag Bandana

Radical Queers

I Beg You

FOX News Terrorist Number 1

Bush War Criminal

Penny for the Guy

Prepare For War

Deli Pickles

Enshallah Shalom

It's Not Just For Blowjobs

Cindy and Carlos

People Are Dying

Dreaming Of Mercy Street

The Great Debate

U.S. Out Of Everywhere

Christians Don't Wage War

Peace Sucks

Believe In Peace

On The March

Blind America

Pentagon Police

photographs by Danny Hammontree

Pro-Choice/Pro-Life

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 02:46:01 GMT

For about 6 months now I’ve been photographing a pro-choice/pro-life rally on Saturday mornings in Miami. This is not a topic I had really given much thought about before deciding to cover it, but I knew it would likely produce compelling photographs.

The pro-lifer’s main objective is to get the women entering the clinic to see their signs, take their pamphlets, scare them off, shame them and ultimately close the clinic down. The pro-choice folks refer to themselves as “clinic defenders” and their main mission is to protect the entrance of the clinic so women can safely gain access to what the clinic defenders refer to as “A woman’s legal right to pregnancy termination”.

When I first arrived I was a bit taken back by the way each side would try and intimidate the other. Both sides would call each other names, push and shove for better positions, and the clinic defenders would shake containers full of beads and rocks to aggravate the pro-lifers with loud noise. The pro-lifers would march back and forth on the sidewalk in front of the clinic trying to make access for cars difficult, and at one point a priest even attempted an exorcism on one of the more aggressive clinic defenders.

After many weeks of this back and forth the police dictated that the two sides stay separate from each other, alternate positions every other week, as one position is believed to be better then the other. This however does not eliminate all conflicts since each side still attempts to aggravate the other.

During these months of protest a documentary was created by Beverly Yuen Thompson, Ph.D. In this documentary you will learn about the Miami Clinic Access Project and what their mission is. You will also see all the events I’ve described above. I have viewed this documentary and recommend it highly. If you’re interested in getting the DVD for yourself, go to this website “www. snakegirl.net” and order it.

Below are some of the photographs I took during these months. If you’re interested in seeing larger versions of these photographs please go to my deviantART or Flickr galleries to view them.

Keep Abortion Legal

Faith And The Muse

No Baby Should Die

Virgin Mother

A Woman President

Blind Faith

Life

Keeping the Peace

Holding the Line

Apocalypse Theatre

Comunión para la Misión

In My Pocket

Maiden Warrior

Jack of All

Peace the Fuck Out!

All Photos by Danny Hammontree

Mexican Consulate Protest

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 04:01:57 GMT

At the Mexican Consulate in South Miami today members of the Broward Anti-war Coalition and the Bolivarian Youth picketed in support of the Striking workers in Oaxaca, Mexico. A letter and petition was also delivered to the Mexican Consulate denouncing the killings of the striking workers.

In response to a state-wide work stoppage in Oaxaca, Mexico, paramilitaries and police linked to state governor Ulises Ruiz have unleashed a bloody massacre. On October 27th, at least four people were killed, with scores wounded in the shooting. Among the dead was Emilio Alonso, a striking teacher, and NYC Indymedia video-journalist Brad Will. Section 22, the teachers’ union in Oaxaca, has suffered fourteen dead during their six-month long strike that launched the state-wide uprising.

President Vicente Fox, through his Secretary of Internal Affairs Carlos Abascal, has authorized the entry of the Federal Preventive Police (PFP in its Spanish initials) into Oaxaca. More massacres are feared. The Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), the mass alliance of organizations leading the work stoppage, has called for emergency pickets outside Mexican consulates and embassies to denounce the massacres and to prevent new ones. The people of Oaxaca are in desperate need of international solidarity. Please check out my deviantART or Flickr gallery to view larger size.

Ulises Ruiz Resign

Mexican Consulate

Consulado General de Mexico

Stop Repression

Oaxaca You are not alone

First at 5

Photos by Danny Hammontree

U.S. Out of Iraq Now!

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 07:10:08 GMT

Saturday, October 28th, just days before the 2006 mid-term elections. The people will force the issue of the Iraq war onto the U.S. political stage by taking to streets in demonstrations in cities and towns throughout the United States. Tens of thousands of people will take to the streets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, New York, Miami, Washington D.C. and in other large and small cities and towns throughout the United States.

That is of course unless it rains. I had a pretty bad feeling going into this that there would be a poor showing with the weather being so bad and all, but a few of the hardcore anti-war folks did show. Please check out my deviantART or Flickr gallery to view larger size.

Rufio

U.S. Out of Iraq

Country Feedback

Amnistia

Photos by Danny Hammontree

Citylink Magazine’s “Best of 2006”

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:45:00 GMT

In this weeks Citylink Magazine’s “Best of 2006” issue under “Best Photographer” you will see my name. I’m not too sure how that happened but I am happy as shit! On Wednesday I started receiving emails congratulating me for being listed. I actually had no idea I was in any contention for this honor and immediately ran out to grab an issue so I could see it with my own eyes. I’m certainly not the best photographer in South Florida but it still feels amazing to be recognized like that. One of the funny things about the article is that it says I'm a Boca Raton firefighter when I’m actually a firefighter for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. There are probably a couple Boca Raton firefighters asking who this Danny Hammontree guy is.

Be The Change

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 07:19:10 GMT

On October 5th, people everywhere will walk out of school, take off work, and come to the downtowns & town squares and set out from there, going through the streets and calling on many more to join us - making a powerful statement: "NO! THIS REGIME DOES NOT REPRESENT US! AND WE WILL DRIVE IT OUT!" worldcantwait.net

It’s great when you run into someone you know at these events. I almost always run into my photography buddies, but never anyone I know that is actually out there protesting. I met Dominique a few months back at an art gallery in Pompano Beach, Florida where she was the featured performance artist of the night. Dominique sings beautifully and now that I know where she stands politically I like her even more. If you like you can find out more about Dominique at her website dominiquevouk.com Please take a look at the larger version at my deviantART or Flickr account.

Be The Change

Photo by Danny Hammontree

National March on Washington DC Against War in Middle East

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:10:14 GMT

Saturday August 12th, 2006. Muslims, Jews and Christians protested in front of the White House with many messages and ideas of how to achieve peace in the Middle East. It was amazing to see Jews and Muslims coming together arm in arm, marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, asking that the United States not support Israel militarily in this war that has killed more children than soldiers.

One of the odder things I saw at this event was Christians trying to sell Christianity to Muslims and Jews. The main argument being that protesting does not work and only through Christ can you achieve peace. If there is a God, I’m pretty sure the religion in which you serve him matters little and the quality of your service matters most, no matter what name you’ve given God. If you'd like to view a larger version of this photo please check out my Flickr or deviantART accounts. There are several more photos under the cut. Please check them out.

Photo by Danny Hammontree

A Time for Angels

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:31:28 GMT

On Saturday Römy and I attended a Lebanese protest in Miami denouncing the US supported Israeli bombings of Lebanon. Approximately 150 protesters rallied at the Torch of Friendship holding signs and wearing shirts that read “Save Lebanon”. This protest leads up to what is expected to be a much larger protest held Washington DC on August 12th 2006.

A Time for Angels

Photo by Danny Hammontree

How many have to die?

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Open your eyes

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Cedrus Libani

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Save Lebanon

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Listen to Me

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Burning Inside

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Stop the War

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Hope for the Future

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Cease Fire

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Deeper Understanding

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Cedar Waving

Photo by Danny Hammontree

No Occupation

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Peace for Lebanon

Photo by Danny Hammontree

If you'd like to view a larger version of this photos please check out my Flickr or deviantART accounts.

May Day

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 22:57:13 GMT

Because of the large number of protest and marches planned for May Day 2006 having to do with the immigration issues going on in the United States, a smaller rally was held on April 30th 2006 at the Torch of Friendship having more to do with what May Day is really all about, which is the celebration of social and economic achievements of the international working class and labor movement.

Being that it was a beautiful Sunday in South Florida not too many people showed up. There were however a few note worthy photographic speeches and spoken word performances. There were also a couple people watching the event that I had to take a few photos of.

History of May Day from Wikipedia
On May 1, 1886 labor unions organized a strike for an eight-hour work day in Chicago. Albert Parsons, head of the Chicago Knights of Labor, with his wife Lucy Parsons and two children, led 80,000 people down Michigan Avenue in what is regarded as the first May Day Parade. In the next few days they were joined nationwide by 350,000 workers, including 70,000 in Chicago, who went on strike at 1,200 factories.

If you'd like to view larger versions of these photo please check out my Flickr or deviantART accounts.

Alonso

Bus Stop Vaquero

Che Guevara

Black Panther Party

Photos by Danny Hammontree

Holy Roller

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 01:25:57 GMT

Holy Roller

Photo by Danny Hammontree
Click for larger version on deviantART or Flickr</div

Everyday is like Sunday

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Wed, 31 May 2006 12:38:30 GMT

From earlier post you will remember the white preachers called in the black preachers to notify their peeps of their impending doom for listening to gangster rap and other bootie shaking music. One thing whitie may not have realized before calling in the black troops was that this giver of religious and moral instruction was going to trump their Jesus preaching style. Now I’m not saying I started believing the gibberish coming out of his mouth, but he had this special talent for making you forget what you were thinking if you had the gumption to argue his condemning sermon. Here we see Billy Bob Thornton’s look alike trying to profess the merits of Buddhism only to find out that for his beliefs he will be spending the rest of eternity with Buddha and Satan in the fiery depths of hell. Please view larger version at deviantART or Flickr.

Everyday is like Sunday

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Love Is All We Need

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Tue, 30 May 2006 20:07:14 GMT

You could almost see it coming with it being Hip-Hop Weekend and all. A bunch of white folks telling a bunch of black folks they’re all going to hell. Well these Jesus freaks would have nothing of that type conflict since it would make them look like a bunch of Klan members and all. I can pretty much hear that phone call now “Hello, black Jesus freak friends. Please come to Miami and help us tell your people that they will all be burning in hell with Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Eazy-E”. As you can guess they were more than happy to come on down to the evil ocean front community of Miami Beach. Here we see Micah along with his black Jesus freak companion telling this young lady how she along with Mary J Bilge will be spending eternity in hell for dressing like a whore. The baby does not seem to like hearing mommy scream at the folks walking down the beach. Maybe the baby knows something mommy doesn’t. Please view larger version at deviantART or Flickr.

Love Is All We Need

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Real Christians Do Not Sin

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Tue, 30 May 2006 02:36:51 GMT

Sister Elizabeth is the wife of the main Christian Warrior Todd who actually goes by the name “Micah”. So far I have not seen Elizabeth preach much but she certainly has her place in the flock. Her main objective is to talk about what a dutifully complying wife she is and how all the on looking sinful women should go home to cook, clean and be obedient to their men. I believe she is also used as the master of ceremonies since she has been introducing all the very honorable men before they get up on the stoop and belt out the word of their Lord. Her speech giving technique is likening to Dana Carvey’s impression of “The Church Lady” from old Saturday Night Live episodes. She always starts out with the phrase “Listen up boys and girls” screeching like a cat in heat, and goes on to expound on why we are going to hell for masturbating and other sexually immoral activities. She almost always ends her sermon with discussion about how she has never masturbated and how wonderful her sex life is with “Micah”. Sometimes I get a chubby when I get too deep into thinking about it. Please view larger version at deviantART or Flickr.

Real Christians Do Not Sin

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Who will save your soul

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 29 May 2006 05:07:39 GMT

The soul savers were out on South Beach again for the Hip-Hop weekend extravaganza. Everything was going along pretty much the same as it always has till this Christian soldier began belting out the word of the Lord. I am certainly no fan of the way these folks believe and preach the word of the Bible but I really like this guy. He is very animated and theatrical in a way the others are not. Shortly after I photographed this exorcism of Satan from the souls of the black youth, he came up to me and asked if I could remove the red from his eyes. One of the things I love about all of them is that they seem to really love being photographed. They have seen my work, read my words and still like me photographing them. Please view larger version at deviantART or Flickr.

Who will save your soul

Photo by Danny Hammontree

Haitian Immigration Protest

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Wed, 03 May 2006 16:45:43 GMT

On the morning of April 7th, 2006 a 45 foot cabin cruiser landed in South Florida with 45 Haitians, 1 Jamaican and 1 Cuban. After a short detention the Cuban was set free to begin a new life in the United States while the Haitians were rounded up, interviewed and sent back to Haiti.

Because of the “wet-foot, dry-foot Policy” a Cuban caught on the waters between the two nations, "wet feet", would summarily be sent home or to a third country. One who makes it to shore, "dry feet", gets to stay in the United States, and later would qualify for U.S. citizenship.

Temporary Protected Status also known as TPS is provided to aliens temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Right now the United States recognizes Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia and the Sudan under TPS. Haitians are presently requesting to qualify for TPS since their home country clearly qualifies under the description of TPS.

Haitians took to the streets of Little Haiti in Miami on Saturday April 22nd 2006 and marched to the INS building on Biscayne Boulevard and NW 79th Street in protest of their country men being sent back to Haiti, to show light on the discrepancy between Cuban aliens and Haitians reaching the shores of United States, and to bring attention to the fact that under TPS rules Haitians would clearly quality for Temporary Protected Status. Although the crowd started off small it grew very large as the march reached the INS building. View larger size at deviantART.

L' Union Fait La Force

Bourgeois Blues

My Special Child

Another Travelin' Song

Champion

Detroit

Stories For Boys

Wailing From Wall To Wall

Pretty Flower In Your Backyard

Photos by Danny Hammontree

And The Band Played On

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 03:33:30 GMT

When the anti-war protest finished its long trek through the streets of Portland, Oregon everyone again met in Waterfront Park. There were a few people that brought their own music and danced their asses off. There was also a band made up of about a dozen people that played their asses off! This band was extraordinarily good and very large crowds of people encircled them listening and dancing to their tunes. The band not only played very well they also dressed really cool. After a little help from a kind Portlander I have learned that the band is called MarchFourth Marching Band founded by five friends in a Portland, Oregon neighborhood bar during the winter of 2002. On their website they are described as a new love-party paradigm. All I know is that they are exceptionally entertaining. You can check out their website here: MarchFourth Marching Band. You can also view a larger version at deviantART

Ramblin' Round

Ring-Around-A-RosyRag

Endless Rain Into A Paper Cup

Old Red Eyes Is Back

Out Of The Picture

Photos by Danny Hammontree

Food Not Bombs

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:16:44 GMT

Food Not Bombs

Photo by Danny Hammontree
View Larger version at deviantART or Flickr

Man With The Child In His Eyes

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:14:40 GMT

Man With The Child In His Eyes

Photo by Danny Hammontree
View Larger version at deviantART or Flickr

End The Wars

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:12:15 GMT

End The Wars

Photo by Danny Hammontree
View Larger version at deviantART or Flickr

More Then This

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 21:31:52 GMT

After climbing the mast of the U.S.S. Oregon in Waterfront Park, this gentleman gazes out across the sea of protesters. As Portland police scrambled to get him down he continued to meditate well over an hour before descending to the ground. I’m not too sure what meditation is going to do for peace but at this point i'm up for anything. View a larger version over in my deviantART or Flickr accounts.

More Then This

Photo by Danny Hammontree

War Sucks

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:28:08 GMT

I am guessing dad is a war vet since the front of the marching line was reserved for “veterans for peace” I have received comments from quite a few people that find it inappropriate for parents to subject their children to protest because they believe children have no idea what is going on and what it means. So far 100% of the people that have written me about the sour taste it leaves in their mouth have no children themselves. I am of the opinion that parents teach their children about the things they believe in, like religion and their fundamental beliefs. The biggest reason people give me for it being wrong is that they believe children need to form their own beliefs. I was born Catholic and brought up Fundamentalist Christian or “Born Again”. Today I have a completely different belief system even though my mother taught me what she believed. Children are smarter then we give them credit for. I think we can all agree that they are fearful about their future and holding a sign may be one way of keeping hope. One more thing I’d like to bring up is that there are children carrying and using guns around the world to fight, kill, and die for what they are told too. If you are so worried about children, I’d start with the gun toting tots, not the sign holding ones. View larger photo at deviantART or Flickr.

Edit After posting this photo I received an email from the father in this photo and I'd like to post what he wrote to me...

I am not a war vet, my uncle was a marine & my cousin was brown water navy- both in Vietnam, the latter died there. I’ve worked with northwest veterans for peace since the elder bush's war in Iraq. I am concerned with veteran’s issues, though not a vet. Twenty-five years ago a friend, a Vietnam combat vet, convinced me not to join the army just shy of completing the enlistment process. I remain grateful to him to this day. My friends in NWVP invited me to march with them on the 19th, which is why we were where we were.

As regards my son. He was there because he asked to go with me, he wound up on my shoulders because he wanted to carry a sign & I was to help carry the NWVP banner. I had promised him that he could ride my shoulders part of the way anyway so he could see- this was the first time he had gone to an anti war march. You are absolutely correct that children are smarter than many give them credit for being. Your statement rings true; frequently those without children underestimate them the most. My 7 year old wanted to express his feelings about the war. While it is obvious that my opinions are bound to color his to some degree, he made the choices to go & to carry a sign & was profoundly moved by the experience. Please feel free to share this info as regards the photo.

War Sucks

Photo by Danny Hammontree

No More Body Bags

danny.hammontree@gmail.com — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 17:23:04 GMT

I wish I knew her story. For some reason I am hesitant to talk with anyone while I am photographing, then when I get back home and view the photos on my computer, I wish so much that I had at least given my card to the people I had photographed so they could get a photo if they wanted. Maybe next time I will be more thoughtful of this. Please view larger version at deviantART or Flickr.

No More Body Bags

Photo by Danny Hammontree