This article "Vets group to hold anti-war concert", by Marci Royal Huggins, was published in the Fayetteville Observer, August 6, 2008
Six members of Iraq Veterans Against the War will hold a free concert tonight for soldiers and veterans at Docks at the Capitol on Hay Street.
The organization, which formed in 2004, has 1,250 members who share a common belief that the occupation of Iraq is unconstitutional and illegal, said group spokesman Matthis Chiroux.
“We are not an anti-military organization in any way,” Chiroux said. “We are reaching out to folks saying, ‘Hey, this is who we are.’ We believe the troops should be withdrawn.”
Fayetteville will be one of the larger of eight stops on a “State of the Union” bus tour that will cross about 6,800 miles, Chiroux said.
“We are trying to basically entertain,” he said, “and send the message, ‘You are not alone if you are concerned about the state of our union.’”
Chiroux said another of the organization’s main messages is “to honor the warrior, not the war.”
The organization also aims to help service members and veterans understand and exercise their rights with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The very first thing a soldier pledges is allegiance to the Constitution,” Chiroux said.
He believes every service member should be given a copy of the U.S. Constitution.
“We know how lonely it can be to oppose the war and be in uniform,” Chiroux said.
The bus tour began last weekend in Watertown, N.Y. It leaves Fayetteville for Jacksonville, N.C., and ends in Oceanside, Calif.
The organization searched for bands across the country that would be interested in supporting service members.
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