Each Sunday from sunrise to sunset, a temporary memorial appears next to the world-famous pier at Santa Monica, California. This memorial, known as Arlington West, a project of Veterans For Peace, offers visitors a graceful, visually and emotionally powerful, place for reflection.

Arlington West Mission Statement

In accordance with the Veterans For Peace Statement of Purpose, the Arlington West Mission Statement is to honor the fallen and wounded to provide a place to grieve to acknowledge the human cost of war to encourage dialogue among people with varied points of view to educate the public about the needs of those returning from war.

Visiting Arlington West

To take in the full expanse of crosses, one stands breathless at the enormity of what one sees. Each cross, carefully positioned in the sand with a uniformity appropriate a memorial for this purpose, represents all American military personnel who've lost their lives in the US war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Upon deeper reflection, Arlington West also powerfully represents the path our country has embarked upon.

When one visits the Arlington West Memorial at Santa Monica, one will see mementos placed on some of the crosses, many with fresh cut flowers. Arlington West also represents those who've lost their loved one or close friend.

In celebration of their lives, family and close friends of the fallen write their own heartfelt words and dedicate these to their loved one. A gold star is placed by us on dedications made by those who are family. Those dedications made by a friend or those who served along side an individual, will have a silver star placed on their dedication.

Veterans For Peace and dedicated volunteers of Arlington West are careful stewards of these dedications and currently maintain an archive of over 1600 such mementos. Momentos are added to those that may already have an existing dedication made to an individual. We also maintain a log of these dedications, making it easier to see if an individual has ever been visited before.

The “wall” of names has been replaced with pillars positioned where the public can review the frequently updated list of fallen American military personnel since day one of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The list contains the name, age, rank, branch of service, unit assigned to, date and place of the circumstance of death, as well as their hometown and state.

A Sea of Crosses

As one stands looking out over the sea of crosses, one will notice a swath of red crosses standing among the white ones. As the numbers of American lives lost increases daily, one red cross is representative of 10 military personnel each.

For those who've lost their lives within the week past are flag draped coffins with blue crosses positioned in front of each of these. The cross was chosen for its simplicity, not for its religious connotation.

Grim Milestones

Using the “officially acknowledged” account published by the U.S. government, miltary fatalities in Iraq alone have reached 4,373 while those wounded in combat exceeds 60,000.

Combining Coalition forces with US occupation forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and now, Pakistan and the fatalities increase to well over 6000. Not included in these numbers are journalists, civilian contractors, or “private security contractors."

Private Military Forces

Newly released Pentagon statistics show that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of armed contractors is rising. According to the Pentagon's own report, there are now over 242,000 “private security contractors” working on these two wars alone.

Military Deaths by Suicide

Military deaths by suicide have been on a dramatic rise in recent years. According to the Army Times, the Army is on pace to shatter the record suicide rate set among soldiers in 2008. In July 2009, the U.S. Army released its suicide data for the month of June.

During the first four months of 2009, 91 soldiers committed suicide, including suspected suicides still under investigation. During all of last year, 140 Army soldiers committed suicide, resulting in the highest rate on record. This record does not include the other branches of the military.

In 2007, CBS News conducted a survey of all fifty states - with only forty-five of those states reporting - showing that over the past 10 years alone, an average of 120 veterans per week from among all branches of service, have taken their own lives through suicide. See how they got their numbers here.

Female Fatalities in Iraq

One pillar stands alone, dedicated to just female service member fatalities. As one glances through the list of names, one will take notice of the several who've taken their lives through suicide just as equally as those who've been killed in action.

Of these female fatalities is one reported to be a suicide by the U.S. Army. However, the family has demanded another investigation into the probability of a coverup of a rape / homicide. Refer to this for more information.

We are not worth more.
They are not worth less.

As the numbers of military personnel lost and wounded are acknowledged, a sign nearby begs attention to the number of Iraqis killed. It reads,“if we were to acknowledge the number of Iraqi deaths, the crosses would fill this entire beach”.

In October 2006, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, published a survey in The Lancet Medical Journal. This survey, known as the “Iraqi Mortality Survey,” shows statistically that since the U.S. invasion of March 2003, the number of Iraqi deaths exceeded 655,000. While this study has come under scrutiny in the past few years, its findings have remained unchanged. Johns Hopkins published a response to these questions available here. Listen to an interview with the lead author of this study.

By September 2007, a prestigious British polling firm revised this number to over 1 million Iraqi deaths since the US invasion and occupation of March 2003.

In January 2008, the World Health Organization, with the assistance of the Iraqi government, conducted a survey of 9,345 Iraqi households and estimates that between 151,000 and 223,000 Iraqis died from violence between March 2003 and June 2006.

Not one of these studies include mortality rates from the immediate aftermath of the US led Gulf War of 1991, nor the impact 12 years of sanctions had upon the people of Iraq.

Regardless of which study is more accurate, one thing is certain; the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq has only increased the number of Iraqi fatalities as a consequence. Unfortunately, this will most certainly be true of the occupation of Afghanistan.

The Disappeared and Displaced

While others languish in prisons put in place by the occupation forces, an unknown number of Iraqis have been disappeared, with no sign or trace of their whereabouts. In addition, an estimated 2.5 million Iraqi's have fled the violence in Iraq, seeking refuge in neighboring countries, while an estimated 2 million have been internally displaced from their homes.

The Three Trillion Dollar War

As of February 2008, the cost of the U.S. war in Iraq, subsidized in large part by U.S. tax dollars, is estimated to be between $350 to more than $720 million per day ($500,000 per minute) with costs exceeding $12 billion per month. Isn't it about time we rethink our stratagies in Afghanistan and the course of direction our country has embarqed upon?

The Surge is Working?

While more people in the United States die from lack of health insurance, traffic accidents, and salmonela poisoning than of terrorism, one might ask how many lives have been lost in the name of fighting the “Communist conspiracy” during the so-called “Cold War”?

We are all connected

As we acknowledge that life represents concentric circles of intertwined relationships, each cross powerfully represents more than simply the loss of an individual life.

Volunteers Are Welcome

We love volunteers! This has become a monumental task! Setup starts at 6:00 am on Sunday mornings - rain or shine - and taken down shortly before sunset.

A candlelight vigil is placed at the base of each cross at dusk on special occasions. Please see our volunteer and or the Calendar page for more details.

Arlington West Memorial
is Non-Partisan and Non-Sectarian

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

See our Volunteer page for more information