No Regrets For Walking War Opponent
by Michael Stetz, San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer, July 16, 2007
Think of it this way: A man is on the verge of walking across the United States more quickly than the United States can find a way to wrap up the war in Iraq.
Bill McDannell, 58, of Lakeside is about 350 miles from Washington, D.C., the end of the cross-country trek he is making in protest of the war. McDannell figures he'll be in Washington by the middle of August, ending a walk that began Nov. 4...
And the war? It goes on and on.
“I wasn't holding my breath,” McDannell said of the possibility that the war would end before he completed his walk. McDannell and his wife sold their home – a double-wide trailer – and many of their possessions to fund the walk, which he figures has cost him $30,000 so far. He quit his job as a chauffeur and now is almost penniless.
He has no regrets, he said.
“I feel good,” McDannell said. “I have the satisfaction of knowing that my grandchildren can look back at this tragic era and say my grand-pop tried to do something about it.” McDannell, a former Methodist minister, feels a tipping point has been reached and the war will end soon...
McDannell said he usually receives positive feedback from the people he meets as he walks. “There's been no hostility,” he said. “People are fed up and disgusted.” When McDannell left Lakeside, about 2,870 U.S. troops had died in Iraq. The number now has topped 3,600.
McDannell will take a short break from his effort on July 23 and drive to Washington, D.C., to join anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan, who lost a son to the Iraq war, is spearheading an effort similar to McDannell's. She is stopping at cities on a trip from Texas to New York. She calls it a “Journey for Humanity."
After he meets up with Sheehan, McDannell will drive back to Ohio and start walking again. He is asking his friends and supporters to come to Washington and lend their voices to his anti-war effort. He thinks people now can make a real difference.
When McDannell restarts his walk and finally reaches Washington on foot, he plans to hand over a petition calling for an end to the war to anyone in Congress who will receive it. After 2,800 miles of walking he has about 4,000 signatures. Then? He's not certain.
“When the war is over, I'll celebrate,” he said. “But the work won't be over. We have an entire republic to reclaim.”
