Bill McDannell is going to walk across the country – through desert, mountains, plains, towns, cities – and ask people to sign a petition to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He hates those two wars. He hates the one in Iraq, in particular. But until now, what has he done about it?

Grumbled.

Talked back at the TV set.

Attended a few anti-war rallies.

It's time, he said. Time to do something – anything – to try to put an end to it.

So Nov. 4 he will start walking from Lindo Lake Park near his home in Lakeside to Washington, D.C.

“I'm extremely bothered by what's happening, but I have felt powerless,” said McDannell, 57, a former Methodist minister. “There are a lot of voiceless and powerless people out there right now.”

McDannell has no idea what kind of reaction his near 3,000-mile walk will bring. He hopes to inspire people to walk with him for a time. He'd like to raise the kind of curiosity and interest that San Diegan Steve Vaught got when he trekked across country to lose weight. Dubbed “Fat Man Walking,” Vaught was on TV, in newspapers and the subject of a documentary.

McDannell doesn't want the spotlight on him, though. He wants it on the war. On ending it.

In a recent CNN poll, 62 percent of those responding said they oppose the war, which is now more than three and one-half years old and showing no signs of closure.

But, McDannell asks, how has that opposition manifested itself? For most Americans, everyday life is perfectly normal, no?

McDannell is energized now that he's finally figured out a way to break out of the voiceless pack.

He's not merely reading newspapers articles and watching TV reports detailing the violence and death and uncertainity and muttering, no more.

Instead, he will walk to Washington, D.C., where he will hand over his petition to any member of Congress who's open to receiving it.   

McDannell is giving up just about everything he owns to raise money for the walk. He and his wife have put their home, a double-wide trailer, up for sale, and he's selling his personal possessions at swap meets. He even plans to part with his beloved 1993 Jeep.

He feels he has no choice in the matter.

The war.

He has to do something to stop it.

The walk could be dangerous. It's a big country – a big, polarized country and many people don't like people who oppose the war.

Bad weather could be a danger, too. And rough terrain. And barreling traffic.

Though he's thin and in decent shape, he's not a young man. He has hiked in the past, but he's no ultra-marathoner.

When he told his wife, Jonna O'Dell, “I'm going to walk across the country,” she wasn't exactly taken with the idea. But O'Dell, who works part-time in the home health care field, grew to support him.

O'Dell, 60, hates the war, too. And, like her husband, she felt powerless to make her voice heard. That's not the case any longer, now that she's helping him in the effort.

“This needs to be done,” she said.   

McDannell's family was Republican and so was he.

This man who hates the war and distrusts government and grits his teeth over its power once campaigned for Richard Nixon. Although he served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War era, he didn't have strong opinions about the war in Southeast Asia. He only knew, he quipped, that he didn't want to go there.

His political loyalties shifted abruptly in 1981, when he was among 11,000 air-traffic controllers fired by President Reagan for going on strike. He went bankrupt and lost his house in Springfield, Ill. He was 32 and the father of two young boys.

He came to believe the federal government has the power to do just about anything it pleases and that not all of its decisions and actions are morally rooted.

“I became very wary.”

After his firing, McDannell worked for about 10 years in the computer field. Then he felt the calling to become a United Methodist pastor.

He met his wife – also a former pastor – in the seminary. Together, they have five children and four grandchildren.

Working as a pastor was difficult. Both he and his wife served several small churches in the Midwest at a time, and their liberal opinions didn't always mesh with the beliefs of their congregations.

They came to San Diego to visit a son-in-law in the Navy. They liked the weather and moved here. McDannell took a job with a software firm.

When the company went belly-up, he found work as a chauffeur for Presidential Limousine, in downtown San Diego.

The firm's president, John McGlynn, said McDannell's commitment to his ideals is “pretty amazing.”

“I'm not saying I agree with him, but you have to admire what he's doing,” McGlynn said.

Despite his opposition to the war in Iraq, McDannell is not a pacifist. He supported the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, but that war's mission has been achieved, he argues. The Taliban have been defeated and a new government is in place.

Iraq is another matter. He never believed for a second the United States needed to fight that war.

The entire concept of the U.S. being at war there is off-base, he argues. Nations fight nations – not concepts, such as terrorism. Congress should therefore take away the president's war powers immediately, he says.

He hates what the wars are doing to the country. At work, when he's sitting in the drivers' lounge and a disturbing news report from the Arab world flashes by on the TV, he said he has sometimes heard co-workers mutter, “We have to kill them all.”

Such talk of indiscriminate violence eats at him. “We can't keep doing this,” he said.

So he will walk.   

McDannell calls his effort the “Walk To End The Wars.” He has a Web site, http://wtetw.com/ and has started a journal on it. Supporters can sign his petition online.

He hopes people will offer him places to stay the night throughout the journey.

If not, he will camp.

He hopes he and his wife can drum up enough money to accompany him by car and give support.

If not, he will go alone.

He expects to feel tired, stressed and even scared at times.

But, at last, he will feel empowered.

Michael Stetz: (619) 293-1720; michael.stetz@uniontrib.com

Lakeside man heading toward D.C. on 'Walk to End the Wars'

By: BRENDA DURAN - Staff Writer

LAKESIDE ---- Vietnam-era veteran Bill McDannell squeezed his right foot into fellow veteran Don Day's black cowboy boot and took one step forward Saturday as McDannell kicked off his nine-month "Walk to End the Wars," which he expects to conclude in Washington D.C.

"He is my hero, he is my voice and the voice of many people in this country," said Day, an Army veteran with pulmonary fibrosis who is confined to a wheelchair and could not join McDannell.

Day was among more than 50 people showed up at Lindo Lake Park to support McDannell, an Air Force veteran, as he began his lengthy journey.

The goal is to rally support and collect signatures for a petition to be presented to members of Congress, asking them to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I'm going to get people thinking about what type of country we are leaving our children and grandchildren," said McDannell, before trotting off with supporters toward his first stop, Julian. "The fantastic country we have is being taken away from us. It has got to stop. So I walk."

McDannell said that for the past five years he has seen the United States government develop an "image of arrogance" that has led to "insane" wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 U.S. troops.

McDannell said that during his walk he wants to educate people about the misinformation given to the public and the lack of justification for continuing the war.

"We are a nation among nations, we are not above nations," said McDannell, who recently quit his job as a limousine driver to start his journey.

McDannell's wife, Jonna O'Dell, said her husband's inspiration to walk to promote his cause was sparked during a limousine ride when he spoke to Steve Vaught, the Valley Center man who walked across the United States to lose weight.

"He said, 'If he can walk to lost weight, I can walk to end the war,' '' said O'Dell. "He wants to bring change and reach out to others who feel powerless."

O'Dell said her husband is so passionate about his mission to end the war that the family is selling their home and car to raise money to support his cross-country journey.

"Our civil rights are being stripped right underneath us," said O'Dell, who will join her husband in two months. "What all of our veterans have fought for is disappearing. We are totally committed to stopping this."

San Diego resident Antonia Davis showed up in a Mahatma Gandhi puppet costume to walk half a mile with McDannell. She said she wore the costume because she felt McDannell's message follows the example set by the late political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement.

"Gandhi's message was that violence, which includes war, is not a way to solve problems," said Davis.

Others, like Vietnam-era veteran Will Covert, who strapped on a sign on his back that read "I refuse to fight in a war started by men who refused to fight in a war," said McDannell's journey would have a major impact and inspire others to speak out against the war.

"The war is illegal and unjust," said Covert. "I support Bill and I really hope this will be the end of this war, not the beginning."

McDannell said he will keep a daily journal about his trip online and is looking forward to turning in his petition on behalf of those who support his cause along the way.

"Whether or not my goals will be realized, that depends on how many patriots we have left," said McDannell.

For more information on McDannell's journey, to view his daily journal or to sign the petition, visit www.wtetw.com.

Contact staff writer Brenda Duran at (760) 761-4408 or bduran@nctimes.com.


San Diego resident Antonia Davis showed up in a Mahatma Gandhi puppet costume to walk half a mile with Bill McDannell on Saturday, as he began his cross-country 'Walk to End the Wars.'
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Veterans for Peace President Dave Patterson, left, visits with Bill McDannell before his 'Walk to End the Wars' on Saturday in Lakeside.
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Yuma Sun, November 18, 2006

Californian passes through Yuma on Walk To End The Wars
By Jeffrey Gautreaux, Sun Staff Writer
--See Image(s) Below--

Published on: November 18, 2006

Someone driving by might think Bill McDannell is merely out for a pleasant stroll. But the former United Methodist pastor from Lakeside, Calif., is on a 3,000-mile walk he hopes will inspire people to reclaim a government he says has stopped being for them.

McDannell walked into Yuma Saturday on his way to Washington, D.C., to deliver a petition requesting an end to the War on Terror and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said too many Americans feel voiceless, and he wants the walk to show them they can make a difference.

"People can come and see me and say ’He’s just like me. He’s no different. He’s not a freak. He’s not a weirdo,’ " McDannell said. " ’He’s just a guy that’s had enough.’ "

His trip is called the Walk To End The Wars and should take eight to 10 months. McDannell and his wife, Jonna O’Dell, are selling their home to finance the project. When the house sells, O’Dell will join him to drive his support vehicle.

It is unknown if any politicians will receive the petition when McDannell reaches Washington, but he says it is important to deliver it to show that the people can reclaim their voice in democracy.

McDannell served in the U.S. Air Force, declares no party affiliation and believes the U.S. was justified in sending troops to Afghanistan, but not to Iraq. Either way, at this point, he says those countries have democratically-elected governments, so it is time for the U.S. to leave. He says the War on Terror should be conducted as a manhunt for criminals by civilian police agencies, not a military war.

For the current Congress and Bush Administration, McDannell said politics has become about acquisition and retention of power, not service to democracy. He said regular people, like himself, must take back their government by standing up.

McDannell said the recent Election Day victories by the Democratic Party provide hope, but ultimately he trusts Americans more than their leaders. "I don’t think we can trust any of our elected leadership to do what’s right," he said.

Polls show widespread discontent with the war in Iraq, and many commentators believe the war was the biggest factor in the Democrats reclaiming the majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Bush has said that the U.S. will stay until Iraqis can take over their own security and has rejected setting any timetables for withdrawal of troops.

On his walks, McDannell covers about 14 or 15 miles per day. He expected to only do about 10 on Saturday because of a nagging hamstring injury. He carries a Global Positioning System (GPS) at all times, so wherever he stays for the night, he can return to the spot where he stopped walking and start again.

"I’m relying on the kindness of strangers to find places to stay at the end of the day," he said.

On Saturday, he was walking into the Yuma area along Araz Road. He began the trip Nov. 4 and carries no sign or banner. He is just a man walking on the side of the road with a message to deliver. And a long walk ahead.

McDannell’s progress can be tracked on his Web site www.wtetw.com.

PHOTO BY JACOB LOPEZ/THE SUN

© Copyright 2006 YumaSun.com

Walking man walks in protest

By Ryan O'Donnell, Fox 11 News [Tucson, AZ]

A California man is here in Tucson to make a statement of his own about the war in Iraq.

Bill McDannell is on a mission.

He's heading to Washington D.C. in protest of the war and he's doing it, all on foot.

“I was hoping that by my example people would look at it and say, if this old geezer can do something, then I can do something too,” McDannell said.

As a Vietnam veteran and former pastor out of California, McDannell has given up a lot to lead this example. He sold his home, his car and most of his belongings.

“There are three-thousand families out there who have lost a son or daughter and my sacrifice is nothing compared to that,” McDannell said.

Bill has walked more than 400 miles since beginning his journey in November. He's done most of it by himself, but occasionally he will get some company.

Like Rich Sickler, who drove from San Diego to spend four days walking with McDannell.

“People have always admired and respected travelers, a traveler with a purpose is that much more,” Sickler said. “It gives people a chance to get involved.”

This isn't Sickler's first walk for peace, 20 years ago, he was in the "great peace march for nuclear disarmament," that went from Los Angeles to D.C.

“When you meet people along the way and you tell them what you're doing, they can relate to it and a lot of times they want to help you,” Sickler said.

Which is what McDannell is hoping for, help and support, whether it be a place to stay or a signature on his petition. He loves his country, but as he looks down the road, he doesn't like where its heading.  

“I'm asking people to stop and think about what we're doing and what kind of world we're going to leave for our children and grandchildren, that's what I’m asking people to do,” McDannell said.

McDannell says he walks about 15 miles a day; a rough estimate puts him in D.C. in about six months, depending on the weather.

On Saturday December 30, he'll be at the "Food Conspiracy Co-op" on Fourth Avenue from 3-5 p.m.

McDannell is also logging his journey on a website, if you care to follow his adventures or sign his petition visit: www.wtetw.com

        The San Diego Union-Tribune, March 19, 2007

    War protester nears Dallas on cross-country trek
    Activist gathering support on the way

     By Michael Stetz
    UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

     March 19, 2007

     The war in Iraq is now four years old, and one area man is marking his frustration with that milestone by walking. 

    And walking. 

    And walking. 

    Bill McDannell of Lakeside is nearing Dallas and is now more than 1,000 miles into his walk across the United States to protest the war.

     At every turn he finds support, said McDannell, who was reached by cell phone last week.

     “People are just fed up,” he said.

     McDannell, a former Methodist minister, sold most of his possessions – including his home, a double-wide trailer – to fund the walk. He also quit his job as a chauffeur.

     He began walking in November and he figures he won't finish until late June or early July.

     Along the way, he is asking people to sign a petition to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which he believes are immoral.

     So far, he has gathered about 1,500 signatures. Only one or two people have given him grief about his cause, he said.

     After a rocky start – during which he had to take time off to handle some personal matters – he now has a pretty good system.

     His wife Jonna rides ahead in a used RV they purchased for the walk and he meets up with her for breaks.

     They spend most nights in the vehicle, which they've dubbed Nessie. Sometimes they splurge and spend a night in a motel.

     He is averaging about 20 miles a day.

     “The feet tell me when to stop,” said McDannell, 57. “And I listen to them.”

     At night, he writes his thoughts and observations in his journal, which can be viewed at his Web site, www.wtetw.com.

     He has had one close call. A tire from a tractor-trailer blew and came spinning his way. A piece of it clipped him behind his ear, but it did no serious harm.

     The current walk through Texas has been particularly daunting because of the desolation. He goes days seeing only a handful of people.

     At some spots along the way, the local media interview him, but he has yet to get any national exposure. He would like some, because more publicity would draw attention to the folly of the war, he says.

     McDannell has hours to think as he trudges along the roadside, but neither he nor his wife have had any second thoughts about the effort, he said.

     “We know what we're doing is the right thing.”

     Michael Stetz: (619) 293-1720; michael.stetz@uniontrib.com

         The Dallas Observer, March 19, 2007

    March 19, 2007

    War Protest Today Begins at Mockingbird Station. West Village Breathes Sigh of Relief.

     By now, you surely know to avoid the intersections of Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway beginning around 5 p.m. today; yeah, if you need something at Mockingbird Station — oh, I dunno, a new sofa or something from American Apparel — you’d best tend to it before this evening. Otherwise, you might get stuck in the “pro-peace rally,” as it’s being called by organizers, that kicks off at Mockingbird Station only to wind its way westbound on Mockingbird to Potomac Park — you know, behind the La Madeleine. C’mon — where they’re putting that George W. Bush Presidential Library, which will be a “symbol of the misinformation spread by the Bush administration leading up to the invasion of Iraq.”

     Hey, that’s the organizers speaking. Me, I am all for misinformation.

     Of course, that same missive we got late last week also insists, “This is not an anti-Bush protest, nor an ‘anti-war’ protest. It is a rally calling for peace and for the end of violence in Iraq specifically. (Would you call a pro-life demonstration ‘anti-choice’ or a pro-choice demonstration ‘anti-life’?) Many who are on board are protesting the Bush think tank, as well.” The Potomac Park event sounds particularly retro: “Musicians, poets and speakers will perform at an open mic block party, including Bill McDannell, a VIETNAM VET and former pastor of the UMC who is walking from California to D.C. for peace. Tables will be set up for artisans and activists to present their wares.”

     You want more info about the rally, visit this site. You want more info about Bill McDannell, well, there’s actually a story about him today in the San Diego Union-Tribune. I visited his site this morning too, and from the sound of his journals, he’s having a swell time walking the country to protest the war. Last night he slept at the Southside on Lamar lofts, where some of the rally organizers live, dined with folks on a meal of “kabobs, roasted corn and Greek potato salad,” then “sat and talked while the Dallas skyline glittered around us.” That’s called walking a thousand miles for a kabob. –Robert Wilonsky

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Tucson Weekly: PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 4, 2007:

On the Road

One man walks to Washington, D.C., in hopes of swaying the war debate

By SAXON BURNS

A small group of shaggy-haired hippies, lefties and just curious shoppers gathered around Bill McDannell as he talked about his coast-to-coast walk.

Seated near the organic juices and bottled waters at Fourth Avenue's Food Conspiracy Co-op, McDannell calmly explained to more than a dozen people that he set out from his home near San Diego on Nov. 4 and is bound for Washington, D.C., where he hopes to present a petition demanding an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the country's leaders. He calls it the "Walk to End the Wars."

"My wife and I have sold our house; we've sold most of our possessions to finance what we're doing," he told his audience.

It's a risky--some might say crazy--gamble, but it's one McDannell, 57, sincerely believes is worth taking. He's accepting donations to help pay for his expedition, but he's not sweating it if he doesn't raise enough money along the way to pay back what he invested.

"We'll look around and see where life leads us next," he said over the phone several days after his talk, as highway traffic sped by in the background. "I'm healthy; I can still work. My wife is reasonably healthy and can still work. We're not going to worry about that. What will come will come."

Chief among his petition's points is that the United States cannot be at war with a tactic, a tool or a weapon--in other words, terrorism--as the Bush administration would have Americans believe. To claim otherwise is to expand the definition of war until it has lost its meaning, in much the same way as the War on Drugs and the War on Poverty have become trivial PR slogans.

"All of us, in our darkest hearts, are capable of terrorist acts," McDannell said. "If we're talking about eliminating terrorism, then we're talking about eliminating humanity."

If, in fact, this is a new type of war, as some have suggested, then McDannell is all for adopting new ways of waging it.

"Let's think about it," McDannell said over the phone along Interstate 10. "The fact of the matter is that we haven't thought about what we're doing, and, again, we have been applying either conventional wisdom or no wisdom at all to a new situation. It's clear that it hasn't worked--we need to go back to the drawing board."

One of the most aggravating aspects of the Bush administration's approach to terrorism, according to McDannell, is that it has "legitimized a bunch of sociopaths," bestowing upon terrorists the veneer of authority typically reserved for states.

In addition, he said a cowed Congress has abdicated its responsibility to check the power of the executive branch, allowing President Bush to send soldiers into harm's way, when it passed two bills authorizing the use of force in Afghanistan and Iraq, McDannell said.

The petition, which currently has some 1,000 signatures, seeks to rescind the "extraordinary" wartime powers granted the president and to redeploy troops in a way "consistent with the fact that our country is not presently at war with any other state, nation or sovereign power."

On Saturday, Dec. 30--the day of the talk--McDannell had made it to Irvington Road and Alvernon Way, on Tucson's southside. He has averaged about 15 miles a day--not counting a 3 1/2-week hiatus to finalize the sale of his Lakeside, Calif., home. McDannell carries a GPS device to mark where he stops each day, a cell phone to field calls from anyone who's interested in his journey and a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes to smoke.

At night, he had been sleeping in a 22-year-old camper that his wife, Jonna, was driving as a support vehicle. However, she flew to Missouri to visit a daughter for the holidays, leaving McDannell alone until he "gets out of New Mexico," he wagered. Local churches and friends of friends had been putting him up around the New Year's holiday.

The way out of this mess, McDannell said, depends upon Americans standing up and being heard as citizens. And he hopes that his cross-country trek will serve as a rallying call. He doesn't believe the country is split down the middle, with half the country believing that everything is hunky dory in the Middle East.

"Everybody that I've come in contact with, with extremely rare exception, is fed up," he said.

Generally speaking, listeners at McDannell's talk were among the receptive, but perhaps that's because not many hard-core right-wingers shop at the bohemian co-op.

Some members of the audience expressed views that are stereotypically associated with the left: The conflict in Iraq is all about oil; the Israeli/Jewish lobby has too much power in Congress; war is always futile in the end. Others agreed with McDannell about the way President Bush had framed the wars.

"It's marketing," volunteered Leslie Fisher.

Not everyone raved about McDannell's walk. One man questioned whether anything would get the attention of leaders in the nation's capital, advocating instead for throwing up our collective hands in despair. As it turned out, the most cynical of the bunch also proved to be the most paranoid: He refused to give his name to the Weekly while browsing the fresh vegetables, claiming he had encountered FBI and CIA agents posing as journalists in the past.

McDannell took exception to the man's naysaying, at one point pounding a table laden with free organic treats to reiterate the point that people, when they link arms, can create change.

"I believe one person can make a difference," he said, "and I'm putting that to the test right now."

 

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The Herald & the News-Sun, January 10, 2007

Man making cross-country walk in effort to end war

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/01/06/local_news/news5.txt

By Chris Dabovich

Wick News Service

BENSON — Fed up with war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, a former United Methodist pastor and Vietnam-era veteran is doing something about it: He is walking the walk, cross-country, trying to rally public support to help bring an end to the ongoing conflicts.

Armed with a petition and a burning desire to finish what he’s started, Bill McDannell began “The walk to end the wars,” on Nov. 4 in Lakeside, Calif., near San Diego, en route to Washington, D.C. He passed through Benson on Wednesday. “It’s time to end the wars,” said McDannell, 57. “I felt I needed to do something and I’m just doing what I figure I have to do.”

McDannell, a father of five and grandfather of four, said he served in the military from 1968 to 1972. He got the idea for the walk while working as a chauffer for a limousine company in San Diego.

“I had the opportunity to chauffeur a gentleman who walked across the country to lose weight. As I drove him I got to thinking that I could do that for something I really believed in,” McDannell said. The more he thought about it, the more enthused he got. When he first spoke to his wife about the idea, she wasn’t too thrilled.

“My children thought I’d completely lost it,” McDannell said.

But it didn’t take long for his wife, Jonna O’Dell, also a former pastor, to come around, “and we set this deal in motion,” McDannell said. And with support of his family the couple sold their home and belongings to finance McDannell’s 3,000-mile journey.

He is bound and determined to finish what he started. The goal is to present the petition to any member of Congress “who has the guts to take it,” he said.

His logic is that since Iraq and Afghanistan have their forms of government, it’s time to bring the troops home.

“There is a freely elected government in Iraq and in Afghanistan, therefore, we’re not really at war,” he said. “I have realized since 9/11 that we’re living in a state of anger and fear and it’s time to get out of this quagmire. People are not thinking about what we’re doing there. Is what we’re doing the type of people we want to be? ‘I say ‘no.’ ”

While talking, he became animated and at times fought back tears.

“This is not the country I loved and served and hold dear, and we have the power to get it back,” he said. “It may take generations to heal what’s going on there.”

McDannell said he has been well received. He is encountering people who share his train of thought.

Recent national news polls show increasing public discord with the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East now more than three years old. The Associated Press reports that more than 3,000 American lives have been lost.

According to McDannell’s Web site, he has logged about 500 miles. McDannell said he expects his wife to join him in the near future via a 22-year-old camper they bought after selling off their belongings.

“I’m not connected with any group, I’m not carrying any signs and I don’t get in peoples’ faces. Soon it will just be my wife, our two dogs and me. I’m as grass roots as you can be. I’ll stop and speak to any group along my way interested in hearing what I have to say.”

Vincent Pawlowski and Mike Block listened to McDannell speak in Tucson and were inspired.

“I just thought, wow, what a strong commitment,” said Pawlowski, who helped McDannell with this particular leg of the trip.

The two embraced Wednesday as McDannell was ready to continue on.

Block added, “It’s nice to see somebody doing the right thing.”

McDannell is counting on that type of a reaction from those he encounters. In addition to signing his petition, supporters have offered monetary donations or a place to bed down.

“This is not about me and I don’t expect everyone to agree. This is about making people aware that we can get off our butts and do something about this,” he said.

Chris Dabovich is managing editor of the San Pedro Valley News-Sun in Benson. He can be reached at 586-3382 or by e-mail at spvnseditor@qwest.net.

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Arizona Range News   

 

A walk to end the wars

By Chris Dabovich/San Pedro Valley News-Sun

Fed up with war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, a former United Methodist pastor and Vietnam-era veteran is doing something about it. He is walking the walk, cross-country, trying to rally public support to help end the conflicts.

Armed with a petition and a burning desire to finish what he's started, Bill McDannell began "The walk to end the wars," on Nov. 4 in Lakeside, Calif., near San Diego, en route to Washington, D.C. He stayed in Willcox Thursday and Friday nights as he took Friday off to rest and update his web site.

"It's time to end the wars," said McDannell, 57. "I felt I needed to do something and I'm just doing what I figure I have to do." McDannell, father of five and grandfather of four, said he served in the military from 1968 to 1972. He got the idea for the walk while working as a chauffer for a limousine company in San Diego.

"I had the opportunity to chauffer a gentleman who walked across the country to lose weight. As I drove him I got to thinking that I could do that for something I really believed in," said McDannell.

The more he thought about it, the more enthused he got. When he first spoke to his wife about the idea, she was less than thrilled, said McDannell. "My children thought I'd completely lost it."

But it didn't take long for his wife, Jonna O'Dell, also a former pastor, to come around, "and we set this deal in motion," said McDannell. With support of their family, the couple sold their home and belongings to finance McDannell's 3,000-mile journey.

He is bound and determined to finish what he started. The goal is to present the petition to any member of Congress "who has the guts to take it," he said.

His logic is that since Iraq and Afghanistan have decided upon their own governments by election, it's time to bring the troops home.

"There is a freely elected government in Iraq and in Afghanistan, therefore, we're not really at war. I have realized since 9/11 that we're living in a state of anger and fear and it's time to get out of this quagmire. People are not thinking about what we're doing there. Is what we're doing the type of people we want to be? "I say 'no,' " he said, becoming animated and at times fighting back tears. "This is not the country I loved and served and hold dear, and we have the power to get it back. It may take generations to heal what's going on there."

McDannell said he has been well received. He is encountering people who share his train of thought. Recent national news polls show increasing public discord with the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, now more than three years old. The Associated Press reports that more than 3,000 American lives have been lost.

According to McDannell's web site, he has logged about 500 miles. McDannell said he expects his wife to join him in the near future via a 22-year-old camper they bought after selling off their belongings.

"I'm not connected with any group, I'm not carrying any signs and I don't get in peoples' faces. Soon it will just be my wife, our two dogs and me. I'm as grass roots as you can be. I'll stop and speak to any group along my way interested in hearing what I have to say."

Vincent Pawlowski and Mike Block listened to McDannell speak in Tucson and were inspired.

"I just thought, wow, what a strong commitment," said Pawlowski, who helped McDannell with the Tucson-to-Benson leg of the trip. The two embraced Wednesday, as McDannell was ready to continue on. "It's nice to see somebody doing the right thing," added Block.

McDannell is counting on that type of a reaction from those he encounters. In addition to signing his petition, supporters have offered money or a place to bed down.

"This is not about me and I don't expect everyone to agree. This is about making people aware that we can get off our butts and do something about this," said McDannell.

And, he said, "I'm an older person -- not a freak. I have family, I am kind. I want people to be comfortable with me and listen to what I have to say.

"I'm not a couch potato, but I've never done anything like this before. And, I think if they see me do this, they'll think, 'If this old geezer can walk across the country, then I can certainly do something!'" he said.

Interested persons can sign McDannell's petition on the Internet at www.wtetw.com.

(Chris Dabovich is managing editor of the San Pedro Valley News-Sun in Benson. He can be reached at 586-3382 or by e-mail at spvnseditor@qwest.net. Ainslee Wittig contributed to this article.)