Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Chris Poliquin A coffin outside Van Pelt Library sits in memory of Alexander Arredondo, an American soldier who was killed in Iraq. Alexander Brian Arredondo, the soldier's father, is travelling with the display to protest the war in Iraq.

A grieving father and a life-sized coffin brought the stark reality of the Iraq War's death toll close to home.

Draped in an American flag, the coffin - displayed on Locust Walk yesterday afternoon - was meant to represent the one that 20-year-old Lance Corporal Alexander Arredondo was buried in after being killed in Iraq on Aug. 25, 2004.

On his way to a peace demonstration in Washington D.C, Alexander Arredondo's father, Alexander Brian Arredondo - who adopted his son's first name after he was killed - stopped at Penn to spread awareness about the war.

Since there is no formal draft for young people to serve in the war, most are apathetic toward what is going on overseas, Alexander Brian Arredondo said. "They have to speak out."

Alexander Arredondo was sent to Iraq in early 2003, and his first letter home was full of nerves and pride.

"I am not afraid of dying," he wrote. "I am more afraid of what will happen to all the ones that I love if something happens to me."

Soon enough, however, those fears were realized.

On Aug. 25, 2004, Marines came to Alexander Brian Arredondo's Massachusetts home to inform him his son had been killed by sniper fire in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

After hearing this news, Arredondo said he lost his senses and took a hammer and a can of gasoline to the Marines' van. He proceeded to set himself and the van on fire, covering 26 percent of his body with burns.

"He was on fire that day, and he will be on fire for the rest of his life," said Bill Perry, a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, who was with Arredondo on Locust Walk.

It took Arredondo about 10 months to recover from his physical injuries.

Since the recovery, he has been traveling the country with the intention, he said, of trying to bring an end to the war in Iraq.

The grieving father has spoken to many politicians, including Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Edward Kennedy.

"I want the withdrawal of troops as soon as possible," he said, calling the war in Iraq a "nonsense" one.

And while Alexander Brian Arredondo may not be seeing his ideal national response, the Penn community - which has seen various anti-war protests over the last few weeks - took notice of the loud message.

"I think it's powerful. That's the only word I can think of to describe it," College sophomore Nathan Davis said. "It's good for people to see what the costs [of the war] are."

Engineering sophomore Louis Bergelson called the display "depressing," but questioned whether it would change anyone's opinion about the war.

Another student passerby, College senior Alexandra Redman, agreed with Alexander Brian Arredondo that "a lot of people are forgetting to support the troops."

"It was tastefully done," Redman said.

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