Spc. Bill Kohler doesn't watch television anymore.
During a rally in Binns Park, Saturday, Mike and Terrie Eshelman, of Manheim, bow their heads for a mo
...(more)
Tom Yentsch of Lancaster holds a sign during the anti-war rally at Binns Park.
Rachael Manning of Mechanicsburg takes part in a candlelight
vigil on the steps of the courthouse, Sa
...(more)
Spc. Bill Kohler, of York, marches against the Iraq War Saturday.
Zach Kreider shouts during the anti-war rally and peace march in Lancaster to mark the fifth annivers
...(more)
Fake caskets lie on the ground during the anti-war rally and peace march in Binns Park.
Pam Adams addresses the crowd during the anti-war rally and peace march in Binns Park. Adams' son, Sgt
...(more)
David Johnson, left, of Harrisburg, holds a sign during a candlelight vigil on the steps of the courth
...(more)
Protesters hold up signs during the anti-war rally and peace march.
Spc. Dave Rico marches against the Iraq War Saturday.
Anabelle Lapp carries a sign prior to the anti-war rally in Binns Park.
Carly Ginter holds a sign inside Lancaster's Southern Market before a town hall meeting following the
...(more)
"It's a joke," the 38-year-old Iraq War veteran and York native said. "Where I was, it was never just 'a car bomb went off in Ramadi,' it was always in Baghdad. Our base was getting mortared constantly. We were constantly under sniper fire. It was just ridiculous."
Kohler, a combat medic, says the public has little idea of what really transpires in one of the deadliest parts of Iraq. The scars of three years of combat in Ramadi, one of the most violent areas of the country, have taken their toll on Kohler.
Saturday afternoon, he spoke about it to more than 600 anti-war protesters (counted by organizers) at Binns Park in Lancaster.
"It's hard for me to wear my uniform. I love my country, but how much more do I have to give?" Kohler asked. "I don't have much more to give."
The anti-war rally was the fifth organized by the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice since the war's beginning in March 2003.
The crowd joined Kohler on a march that began at 1:30 p.m. Participants walked from Binns Park to Southern Market at South Queen and East Vine streets, where a live video broadcast showed protesters footage of the "Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan — Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations," an anti-war conference held by more than 200 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in Washington, D.C.
It was an emotional day for Kohler, who lost 70 percent of the hearing in his left ear during a mission Feb. 20, 2006.
The National Guard is calling Kohler for another tour of duty, despite being classified by the Armed Forces as 60 percent disabled.
Still, he doesn't favor total withdrawal of U.S. forces.
"I'm torn apart. For all the people that died, if they pulled out, what would their lives mean? What did my friends die for?"
Saturday was also the first time Spc. Dave Rico, of Los Angeles, Calif., met with Pam and Bill Adams, of Millersville, whose son, Sgt. 1st Class Brent Adams, 40, was killed in Ramadi in 2005. Rico and Kohler were the last to see Brent alive.
"Rico was the one who actually helped Brent," Pam Adams said. "About a week ago Kohler said 'Rico needs to see you, he's coming in from California.'
"Today is the actual day we've met him in person. We don't know what really happened that day. We don't know what those last moments were like."
Adamses will finally have a clear picture of Brent's final moments.
"I have seen lives lost and destroyed by war," Rico said. "It's hard not to form a strong bond."
Rico treated Brent for his fatal wounds after his Bradley armored vehicle was apparently hit by an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade.
The Adamses have been at the center of local rallies against the Iraq War. During President Bush's visit to Lancaster in October, Bill Adams protested the war and gave a letter to Bush asking for answers about the circumstances of Brent's death.
A week later, the family was told that President Bush ordered an official investigation, but the Adamses were never satisfied by the response.
Bill Adams spoke with Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, on several occasions, but said that she never addressed why a general had dismissed a video showing the attacks on Brent's convoy as an insurgent propaganda reel.
The protesters Saturday were in agreement: The only way to affect change in the country's foreign policy was at the smallest level of political action.
"The war must end on a local level," said coaliton administrator John Shreck. "It is up to the people in cities, towns and villages."
A candlelight vigil remembering the fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan was held on the old courthouse steps on East King Street at 7 p.m.
During the afternoon rally, Kohler likened the role of U.S. troops in Iraq to a watchdog that's been leashed.
"When you get a watchdog to watch your home and you tie him to a stove, he can't do his job," he said. "They tie our hands. We're there. We know what's a threat, we know when to shoot and who to shoot, not these politicians and generals."
Kohler was protecting a Pakistani United Nations spokesman when a roadside improvised explosive device sent shrapnel into his leg. Kohler sustained head injuries from the shock of the blast. He's undergone physical therapy and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He's trying to obtain a medical discharge from the National Guard, but he's also got a new assignment with the 108th Field Artillery based in Carlisle.
Asked if he'd serve again, he calmly replied: "I'll go."
"I won't deny my country. I won't deny my duty. I took an oath," he said.
"I left my blood in Iraq," said Kohler. "It was a sad day that I'm treated like this by my nation."
He continued, "We can make a difference. But we've got to come together. Tell your friends, tell your relatives the stories that we've told today.
"What we have to tell you is what is."
Paul Franz is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at pfranz@lnpnews.com or at 295-5063.
(407)
Buy
this photo
