Remembering the mothers of soldiers

Warwick - Alice McMechen stood on a sunny street corner of downtown Warwick Saturday, holding a red rose. “I am here today to stand in sympathy with the mothers whose sons and daughters are being killed and maimed in Iraq and around the world. “It’s all about respect for human life,” she added, saying that her own daughter is presently in the United States military. The Warwick Women in Black held a Mother’s Day vigil on Saturday, May 13.They stood in the bright May sunlight holding roses in honor of Mother’s Day, and signs which included, “Mothers mourn lives lost to war and, “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” McMechen said that on this day, the Warwick Women in Black were honoring the 1870 Mother’s Day Proclamation written by Julia Ward Howe which stated, in part: “Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, ‘Disarm, Disarm!’ The sword of murder is not the balance of justice! Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession.” McMechen noted that: “We feel that these words are as true and important today as when they were written.” Roslyn Fassett, another of the women attending the vigil, added: “ Several of us here today have husbands, sons or daughters who are in the military now or are veterans of military service, including one who is a veteran of World War II.” The Warwick Women in Black have held regular vigils for peace since 2002 before the invasion of Iraq. “We are all hoping that some day the words of Julia Ward Howe will come true and ‘the great human family can live in peace,’” McMechen added. The Warwick Women in Black will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. at the South Street parking lot (opposite the Farmers’ Market) and every Sunday during the summer months. All are invited to join. For more information, call Jan Howe at 986 4037.