NEWBURYPORT — Long before thousands of inspired protesters conceived of the Occupy movement, a time when many of the nation's current soldiers were in elementary school, Niki Rosen of Newburyport set out to take a stand against our country's decision to go to war in Iraq.
Virtually every Sunday since the war started with "shock and awe" on March 20, 2003, she has stood in Market Square in downtown Newburyport with a multi-colored flag emblazoned with PEACE.
Eight years and 4,473 American casualties later, the war is officially over in the eyes of the American military. Tens of thousands of troops, soldiers like Army Pvt. Billy Jordan of Byfield or the members of the National Guard's 182nd Engineers Sapper Company out of Newburyport, don't have to worry about returning to Iraq anytime soon.
But with Operation Enduring Freedom still active in Afghanistan, for those most closely impacted by the Iraq War, there is little reason to celebrate.
The Sappers, an engineering unit about 100 soldiers strong that served a year-long tour in Iraq from 2007-08, redeployed to Afghanistan two days after Thanksgiving.
Jordan's father, Bill, is "cautiously optimistic" his son is out of harm's way after returning from Iraq last month. Pvt. Jordan returned to Fort Bragg in North Carolina yesterday, but his father knows he could be redeployed at any time.
Rosen, meanwhile, was back in Market Square yesterday, promoting peace, a concept seemingly as fleeting as it was eight years ago.
"While the war is officially over in Iraq, war isn't over in the world," she said.
Despite Billy Jordan's desire to sign up for the Army early, his father wouldn't allow him to enlist until he was 18.
Fresh out of Triton Regional High School in Byfield, Pvt. Jordan entered the military in July 2010. He was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the legendary 82nd Airborne Division, and last April was sent to Iraq. He returned at the war's end this month, just in time to spend the holidays with his family and then prepare to move into an apartment off-base at Fort Bragg.
"It's been a whirlwind," Bill Jordan said.
Pvt. Jordan's unit is trained to be prepared to respond anywhere in the world within 72 hours. He has at least two years left in the Army.
"We keep our fingers crossed," his father said. "It's a crazy world we live in."
The Jordans aren't a military family, and Bill Jordan said having a son in the Army has taken some adjustment.
"We're so proud of him," he said. "He's a good kid. He's growing up fast."
The Sappers, a National Guard unit comprised of soldiers within approximately 50 miles of the Newburyport barracks on Low Street, served its first overseas tour in decades when it went to Iraq in 2007.
The unit's job often puts the soldiers on the front lines. Its primary mission — route clearance for other military vehicles — has meant it has often had to identify and remove improvised explosive devices designed to destroy whatever rolled in its path.
While details of the unit's current location and specific mission in Afghanistan are classified for security reasons, the group's experience with explosives likely means members will once again be tasked with clearing IEDs, the biggest cause of American casualties since that war began. The unit's deployment will last one year.
It is the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, increased tensions with Iran and uprisings in countries like Libya, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere that give military families little relief that the Iraq War is finally over.
Rosen said the country seems to have gotten used to being at war. When she first started the peace rallies in Market Square, the anti-war protesters were met with both passionate support and anger. That passion, from both sides, has turned to apathy.
Rosen has no plans to stop her Sunday walks downtown any time soon. She hopes more young people will join her cause, which now draws only a few people each weekend.
"People ask, 'What are you still out here for?'" she said. "It really isn't over. It started as a protest against the Iraq War, but it's bigger than that. It's a protest against war in the world."
Only illness or an immediate family member in need would pull her away, she said.
Or, of course, an outbreak of peace in the world. If that ever happened, Rosen said she would organize a big party downtown.
"Oh, we would really celebrate," she said.
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