Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

-based organization founded in January 2005 by individuals who lost family members in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, and are thus entitled to display a Gold Star. It is considered an offshoot of

Military Families Speak Out Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is an American anti-Iraq war group. It was founded by two military families in November 2002 to oppose the planned invasion of Iraq. MFSO's first national press conference was held to launch the "Bring Them Ho ...

. Gold Star Families for Peace now includes more than 65 families of troops killed in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Joining with organizations including

Veterans for Peace Veterans for Peace is an organization founded in 1985. Initially made up of US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and as well as peacetime veterans and ...

, United for Peace and Justice,

Code Pink Code Pink: Women for Peace (often stylized as CODEPINK) is a left-wing internationally active non-governmental organization that describes itself as a "grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, ...

, Military Families Speak Out, the Crawford Peace House and others, GSFP is actively protesting

US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

action in Iraq. They have used speaking engagements, congressional testimony and protests throughout the United States. GSFP regarded the George W. Bush administration's reasons for those operations as falsehoods and grounds for impeachment of George Bush.

Protest in Crawford, Texas

On August 7, 2005, the group arrived in

Crawford, Texas Crawford is a town located in western McLennan County, Texas, United States. Crawford is part of the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 887. The town was incorporated on August 12, 1897. ...

in a bus provided by

, painted red, white and blue with the words "Veterans For Peace Impeachment Tour" on it and demanded to talk with President Bush. Prior to arriving at Crawford, the group had been in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

attending a Veterans for Peace convention. In recognition of the action and continual opposition to the US-led war in Iraq, in 2006 Gold Star Families for Peace and

Cindy Sheehan Cindy Lee Sheehan ( Miller; born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist,Geraghty, Jim (2011-05-02)Cindy Sheehan: ‘If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid.’''National Review''. Retrieved May 2, 2011. whose son, U.S. Arm ...

were awarded the 'Domestic Human Rights Award' by

Global Exchange Global Exchange was founded in 1988 and is an advocacy group, human rights organization, and a 501(c)(3) organization, based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group defines its mission as, "to promote human rights and social, ec ...

, an international human rights organization based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

GSFP founding members

* Cindy and Patrick Sheehan - parents of

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Spc. Casey Sheehan, KIA in

Sadr City Sadr City ( ar, مدينة الصدر, translit=Madīnat aṣ-Ṣadr), formerly known as Al-Thawra ( ar, الثورة, aṯ-Ṯawra) and Saddam City ( ar, مدينة صدام, Madīnat Ṣaddām), is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

on April 4, 2004 * Jane and Jim Bright - mother and stepfather of Army Sgt. Evan Ashcraft, KIA in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

on July 24, 2003 * Bill Mitchell - father of Army Sgt. Michael Mitchell, KIA in Sadr City Baghdad on April 4, 2004 * Celeste Zappala - mother of Army Sgt. Sherwood Baker, KIA in Baghdad on April 26, 2004 * Lila Lipscomb - mother of Army Sgt. Michael Pederson, KIA on April 2, 2003, in

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...

, Iraq. (Lipscomb had been a featured subject in the 2004 documentary ''

Fahrenheit 9/11 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring filmmaker, director, political commentator and activist Michael Moore. The film takes a liberal, critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, th ...

'', both before and after her son was killed.) * Sue Niederer - mother of Lt. Seth J. Dvorin, KIA on 02/03/04 * Dede Miller - aunt of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan (above) As of 2005 Gold Star Families for Peace included 65 family members of soldiers killed in Iraq.

GSFP mission statement and purpose

*The group's mission statement reads as follows: *GSFP Purpose statement: **To bring an end to the occupation of Iraq. **To be a support group for Gold Star Families. Membership: *Anyone who has had a relative killed as a result of war. *Primarily, but not limited to the invasion/occupation of Iraq.

Protest in Crawford, Texas

GSFP founding members

GSFP mission statement and purpose

See also

References

Further reading