Protesters in Laguna Beach Stand for Bringing the Troops Home

Amplified by a bullhorn, the names carried over the surf in Laguna Beach in an unwavering voice.

“Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Willoughby, 29. Sgt. Justin W. Garvey, 23. Sgt. Jason Jordan, 24. Sgt. Jonathan D. Rozier, 25....”

Jeanie Bernstein of Laguna Beach began by reading the names of 30 of America’s war dead from Iraq -- now more than 1,100. She then passed the bullhorn to the next of the 35 people rallying for peace at Main Beach on Saturday.

They read for nearly an hour, until they ran out of names.

And they held 38 American flags sewn together -- each one neatly spray-painted with small black crosses and Jewish stars symbolizing the dead.

Saturday’s demonstration was led by a core of 25 people who have been protesting the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan since 2002.

Three days before election day, their focus was the toll on Americans in Iraq. Some said their demonstration was not intended to be supportive of Democratic presidential challenger Sen. John Kerry because he has not promised to extract the U.S. military from Iraq. Their message, they said, was antiwar, period.

“Our flag has become a symbol of militarism and hate,” Bernstein said. “We are not desecrating the flag. It’s people who are using our flag for war that are doing that.”

Eleanor Hendrick of Laguna Beach said she stopped sewing the flags together after the 38th, when she ran out of spray paint.

Hendrick has been protesting at the same spot in Laguna Beach since the 1970s -- first, to oppose the Vietnam War, then to oppose a toll road, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and, in the early 1990s, the first invasion of Iraq.

On Saturday, she said, “We want to show how many people have died in this latest debacle promoted by the Republicans.”

Some complained that the nation’s involvement in the war has isolated the United States and increased the possibility of terrorist attacks.

“This is a war that should never have happened,” added Irene Bland of Laguna Beach, who has been demonstrating with Hendrick nearly every Saturday since March 2002. The flags painted with crosses were used for the first time Saturday.

“Now all of these people are dead,” Bland said in frustration, referring to the war casualties.

Most of those protesting said they would vote for Kerry, but worried that he wouldn’t help end the war.

“Regardless of who wins, we want the war to end,” said Melissa Armstrong, 30, of Costa Mesa. “Kerry could be elected and we’ll still be out here.”

While some passersby stopped to get literature, others yelled at the protesters.

“You’re wasting your time,” said John Mueller, 34, of Garden Grove. “Bush is great, and he’s going to win anyway. We’re in Iraq because we need to be there.”

Some passersby said they felt goose bumps as the names of the young Americans were read.

Stuart Bloom, 61, of Laguna Beach, approached each demonstrator holding the flags and said, “Thank you for being my inspiration.

“Rain or shine, they stand out here,” he said of the demonstrators’ weekly appearances. “It’s touching to see them out here because many of them are up in years.”