March 19, 2008 - Occupation and arrest at US Military Recruitment Offices in Des Moines IA

(Photos by Michael Gillespie)

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Des Moines Catholic Worker
(515) 282-4781
DesMoinesCatholicWorker.org


DM Military Recruiting Center Shut Down on 5th Anniversary of War


DES MOINES – A military recruiting center was briefly shutdown today in Des Moines. Two people were arrested after a group carried a flag-draped coffin into the foyer of the Armed Forces Career Center on SE 14th Street in Des Moines, and blocked the entrance to the four Armed Forces branches that have offices there. Today is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the start of the Iraq War.


Edward Bloomer, 61, and Kirk Brown, 25, both Des Moines Catholic Workers were among about a dozen protesters holding anti-war signs and distributing “anti-recruitment” literature. Mona Shaw, 56, also a Catholic Worker told those present the group was there to do three things:


1. Mourn the tragic lost of life caused by the war including nearly 4,000 military personnel and more than one million Iraqis.

2. To send a plea to others to do more to stop the war.

3. To protect more young adults from losing their lives by shutting down military recruiting at the Des Moines recruiting center for at least one day.


The office shutdown was cut short after about 40 minutes when Des Moines Police arrived. After consulting briefly with recruiting staff, a staff member from each branch office emerged from that office and asked the protesters to leave. Most protesters chose to leave at that time with police finally arresting Bloomer and Brown who were continuing to block the Center’s entrance.


“When we were protesting “Shock and Awe” five years, ago we feared aloud then that this war would last this long,” said Brian Terrell, 51, another Catholic Worker from Malloy, Iowa, and director of Catholic Peace Ministry “We take no satisfaction in making such an accurate prophecy.”