EUGENE, Ore. – A local mother says her Memorial Day visit to honor her son killed in Iraq was disrupted by a group she believes misrepresented the meaning of the holiday.
Linda Gibson’s son, Brennan, died in Iraq in 2006. The Thurston High School graduate is buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, but his name appears on the Wall of Honor at Skinner Butte, where Gibson goes to quietly sit and reflect.
When she arrived on Memorial Day, she found the local chapter of Veterans for Peace holding a ceremony honoring all victims of war, including civilians. Gibson says that’s not what Memorial Day should be about…