At 2 a.m. Saturday, while most students are sleeping or coming home from a night of partying, the Gainesville Veterans For Peace will be setting up about 4,950 tombstones along Eighth Avenue.
Starting at Northwest 34th Street, there will be one tombstone for each soldier who has died in Iraq. The tombstones will be displayed through Monday, Memorial Day, for visitors to come place flowers, write messages and pay their respects, said Scott Camil, a twice-wounded Vietnam veteran and the coordinator of the Gainesville Chapter of VFP.
"It's a graphic representation of how many guys have died," said John Fullerton, a Vietnam veteran and member of VFP.
Fullerton hopes the display will remind people that Memorial Day is about honoring the soldiers who have lost their lives in war.
"It is very important to remember that these guys did what they were told for their country," he said.
There will also be information available regarding the cost of the war, particularly how much of Gainesville's tax dollars have been spent on war funding.
