Remembering the losses on both sides

About 60 people gathered in front of the Boone County Courthouse on Monday afternoon to remember lives lost in Iraq, both American and Iraqi, since the war began in 2003. Monday also marked the 4,000th American casualty in Iraq.

The rally, organized by three local peace groups, consisted of songs, speakers and a reading of names of both Americans and Iraqis killed during the conflict.

For Stacy Hafley, whose husband served in Iraq for a year, the rally was a way to get out the message of how the war affects those who serve and their families.

“Supporting the troops is more than a magnet,” she said after the rally. “It means being an active participant in democracy.”