Controversial 120,000 flag Memorial Day display honoring Iraq War dead approved; volunteers will begin setting flags Saturday

SACRAMENTO – A special, but controversial Memorial Day display of 120,000 flags to commemorate the human death toll of the war in Iraq will begin to take shape here on Capitol Mall Saturday when a small army of volunteers will show up to start placing the flags in the ground.

There will be a news briefing SATURDAY at 9:30 a.m. at 9th & Capitol Mall when volunteers begin the 2-day task. The display is expected to be completed no later than Memorial Day.

A special ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Memorial Day/MONDAY at 9th & Capitol Mall.

The approval for the display – which will fill all of the grassy medians along seven blocks of Capitol Mall – took not one, but two, votes of the Sacramento City Council this week after the city reneged on a permit for the display.

After an appeal and arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Sacramento, and veterans, the city council voted to override its staff and consider the medians a "public forum," directing city staff to approve the permit immediately.

Sponsors said permit approval for the flag exhibit – part of a traveling display which has been allowed in other U.S. cities, including Portland, OR and Boulder, CO. – was assured by the city nearly 6 weeks ago, but city staff changed its mind with little notice.

City Councilperson Ray Treatheway, a Vietnam War veteran, initiated the successful vote. Mayor Heather Fargo cast the deciding vote, when the first tally resulted in one vote shy of the required five votes. The final vote was 5-3.

Contact: Cres Vellucci, Veterans for Peace 916/996-9170