I'm in the midst of founding a national land trust, called the Soldiers' Memorial Parks Campaign, whose mission is to create a memorial park (anywhere from a city block to 200 acres in size) for every U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, to be located near his or her hometown.
Aside from serving as living memorials, the parks, through an aggressive tree-planting program, will help combat climate change, prevent sprawl and erosion, and protect wildlife and watersheds. Sustainable timber harvesting and community supported agriculture are other possibles uses for park land. In addition, we are planning to partner with renewable energy producers to locate wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects on some of the larger parks.
We hope to promote the idea that supporting renewable energy is in itself patriotic, in that it protects our environment and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Each memorial park will be an opportunity to honor a fallen soldier, and his or her family and friends. In addition, each park will provide a chance to celebrate and protect an individual community, to create local jobs, and to present a model of sustainability for others to follow.
The war in Iraq has produced deep divisions within the United States. The memorial parks will provide a means of healing for the soldiers’ families, their communities, and the nation as a whole. The creation of a nationwide system of memorial parks can unite us in a common purpose: to honor what’s best in our nation and its people, to beautify our communities and protect our environment, and to leave something tangible and life-affirming for future generations of Americans.
