Several Triangle residents gathered in Durham Central Park Wednesday night to honor the fallen American soldiers who were stationed in Iraq.
The vigil was held in response to the latest U.S military death toll, which surpassed 2,000 this week. The conflict in Iraq has lasted two-and-a-half years.
About 100 individuals attended the vigil, which was sponsored and organized by the Triangle area group Traction-a recently formed left-leaning social network-in coordination with MoveOn.org, a national collection of organizations.
MoveOn.org, which opposes President George W. Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, estimated that more than 100,000 people attended one of about 1,350 similar vigils held across the nation Wednesday.
Organizers in Durham distributed sheets with prayers in all major religions before the program started. As attendees entered the pavilion, they passed by a collection of pictures of fallen soldiers.
Once the vigil began, men and women-ranging from the young to the elderly-held candles and bowed their heads in solemn respect.
The silence was only broken every few minutes by individuals offering prayers for soldiers and the families of military casualties.
Reverend Melvin Whitley, whose son returned from Iraq after serving for more than a year, led the attendees in a song and prayer.
"We stand for and offer our prayers for those who have lost a loved one and those who are in constant fear of losing a loved one who is serving for us," Whitley said.
The climate before the vigil was politically charged. Individuals at the vigil hung or held American flags and signs reading "How Many More?" and "Why Have 2,000 Soldiers Died?"
Though Bush has made no formal reference to the military death toll rising to 2,000, he told an audience of military spouses Tuesday that the war "will require more sacrifice, more time and more resolve" by the American people in order to be won.
Bush pointed to the progress made by the Iraqi government and the passage of its recent democratic constitution as proof that the U.S. military presence is valuable.
Some Durham residents questioned Bush's firm stance.
"It looks like [the government] wanted the war, and then it happened," said John Boylston, a Durham resident who attended the vigil. "The question is, who is making the sacrifice?"
Whitley, a Vietnam veteran whose son returned home after serving in Iraq, said gathering to pray is one way of showing support for American troops and their safe return home from Iraq.
"I believe it was the prayers of others that got me back [from Vietnam] safely, that got my son back safely," he said. "I'm hoping that our prayers tonight will get somebody else's child home safely."
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