About 400 people marched in an anti-war protest in Oakland on Saturday, ending with a memorial service at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park.
Protesters chanted anti-war slogans through bullhorns as they marched down Fifth Avenue. By the time Debbie Whitfield, 52, took the stage in Schenley Park, about 150 people sat on the grassy field. The turnout did little to dampen her spirits. Her son-in-law died in Iraq three years ago, and since then, she said it's been impossible to ignore the war -- even on the first spring-like Saturday of the year.
"Some people aren't comfortable taking a public stance, but they sit in their homes and discuss the war to death," said Whitfield of Sheridan.
Police seemed prepared for a larger crowd. City and Pitt motorcycle police led the protesters. Allegheny County and state police riding large draft horses and troopers cruising in unmarked Ford Crown Victoria sedans followed the protesters. The marchers were peaceful, and no arrests were made. Last week, the United States hit a milestone, with the 4,000th member of the U.S. armed forces to die in Iraq.
"If things keep going like this, next year we will be protesting 5,000 guys who died," Kyleigh Kelkner of Erie County said.
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