Army boots honor fallen soldiers of Pa.

Correction appended

Tim Flynn walked up and down the rows of army boots that lined… Correction appended

Tim Flynn walked up and down the rows of army boots that lined the Union lawn yesterday, stopping occasionally to flip up a nametag and read its owner.

“I’m looking for my friends,” he said. “I was there when they were killed. I have a purple heart, so I was almost one of these boots.”

The exhibit, called “Eyes Wide Open,” attracted curious students walking to and from class yesterday afternoon.

Pitt’s college Democrats joined the American Friends Service Committee to display 50 pairs of army boots, representing Pennsylvania soldiers that have died in Iraq.

“The shoes are symbolic of soldiers’ boots because some don’t exist anymore and some were blown up,” said Scilla Wahrhaftig, the project director for the Pennsylvania program of AFSC.

“The number of boots was proportional to the number of men killed, but quickly grew out of proportion.”

There was a circle of 12 boots with nametags of soldiers from Pittsburgh on the sidewalk.

The boots on the lawn had items from friends and families attached.

One pair belonged to Sgt. Russel A. Kurtz, placed next to his boots was a picture of him drinking a beer with two other men.

Other boots had letters, poems and news clippings attached to them.

Voter registration cards were handed out at the event to encourage students to use the power of the ballot to express their opinions on the war.

“I’m hoping the exhibit will make an impact so that people who haven’t taken action will do that and call their congressman, and use their vote to voice their opinions about the war,” said Lissa Geiger, vice president of the college Democrats.

“I oppose the war but this isn’t a protest,” she added. “We’re respectful of the men and women who’ve served.”

Pitt senior Emily Perotta said the exhibit was a good reminder of what’s been going on in the Middle East.

“It hits home by emphasizing that [the deaths] are close to home,” she said.

“I think that supporting the troops is one thing, but the war needs to end.”

Signs with statistics from the National Priorities Project surrounded the lawn.

Some listed numbers like $271 million and $14 billion, the amount of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania taxpayers’ money, respectively, that has been spent on the war.

The signs stated that with this money 219 million children could have health insurance for one year or 17.8 million four-year scholarships could be given to students at public universities.

“It’s not just costing the family and friends of these soldiers, it’s costing us here at home,” Wahrhaftig said. “There are services we don’t have because so much money is being spent on war.”

Pitt students Dave Tringali and Graham Cohen had opposing views of the exhibit.

“I don’t think [the exhibit] is necessary because we need to be supporting the troops and not doing something that might be dishonoring their memory,” said Tringali.

But Cohen disagreed.

“I think it puts things in perspective – how many lives are lost in war,” he said. “It’s a nice visual image of the tragedy of war.”

The number of army boots on display was incorrectly stated. The exhibit contained 175 pairs of army boots and was also co-sponsored by Pitt Against the War and The Women’s International League For Peace and Freedom.