| Gandhi Birthday Celebration |
Gandhi Alliance for Peace
Board of Directors: Deb Sawyer, president; Allan Smart, vice-president; Boyer Jarvis, treasurer; Sarah Smith, secretary; Rolf Kay;
Catherine Kreuter; and Sharon Odekirk
Board of Directors: Deb Sawyer, president; Allan Smart, vice-president; Boyer Jarvis, treasurer; Sarah Smith, secretary; Rolf Kay;
Catherine Kreuter; and Sharon Odekirk
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Each year, on or near Gandhi's birthday, the Alliance mounts a celebration of Gandhi's life.
The highlight of the event, held at Salt Lake's Jordan Park, is the presentation of the
Gandhi Peace Award. The following article profiles the 2009 award recipient:
Peace activist, Marshall Thompson, received the 2009 Gandhi Peace Award on October 4th
at the annual Gandhi Birthday Celebration at Salt Lake's Jordan Park.
As rain poured down, a crowd gathered under the roof of the park pavilion for speeches,
music and birthday cake to celebrate Gandhi and honor Thompson, one of Gandhi's
successors in the practice of long distance marching as a form of protest.
In 2006, 86 years since Gandhi's famous March to the Sea protesting the British salt tax,
Thompson walked the length of Utah protesting the Iraq War from which he had recently
returned after a year's military duty in the war zone.
In remarks following the award presentation, Thompson told of an experience in Iraq when
he thought his death was imminent. As mortar fire pounded down nearby, he realized there
was much left to do. "I didn't move. I didn't run. I just sat there," he said. "I contemplated
my death. I had the disturbing thought that if i died there, I would not be able to share my
thoughts on the war."
Thompson's peace march was a way of sharing those thoughts. "I felt an urgency to do
whatever I could to dispel the myths surrounding the conflict and hasten its end," he says. "I
wanted to raise awareness of the many peaceful and responsible plans for U.S. troop
withdrawal, as well as show Americans that soldiers can dissent, and that supporting the
troops is not in conflict with opposing the war."
The 500-mile, 27-day peace march is chronicled in a 90-minute, award-winning
documentary film, A Soldier's Peace, co-edited by Thompson and his wife, Kristen.
(Visit www.asoldierspeace.com for more information.)
Thompson received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Utah State University and is
finishing a master's degree in mass communications from Ohio State University. He has
worked as a journalist for the Salt Lake Tribune, the Ogden Standard Examiner and the
Associated Press in Jerusalem. In addition to his service in Iraq, Thompson has worked as a
journalist for the U.S. Army in Kosovo and South Korea. Currently, Thompson is online
marketing director for Advent Creative in Logan, Utah, where he lives with his wife and
children, Eliza and Peter. He is giving some thought to pursuing a law degree.
A member of the Cache Valley Peace Works, a community of peace activists based in
Logan, Thompson frequently joins the regular Friday evening peace vigils on Main Street. He
also maintains a blog at www.marshallthompson.org where he shares his thoughts on
subject ranging from acts of conscience to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.
The highlight of the event, held at Salt Lake's Jordan Park, is the presentation of the
Gandhi Peace Award. The following article profiles the 2009 award recipient:
Peace activist, Marshall Thompson, received the 2009 Gandhi Peace Award on October 4th
at the annual Gandhi Birthday Celebration at Salt Lake's Jordan Park.
As rain poured down, a crowd gathered under the roof of the park pavilion for speeches,
music and birthday cake to celebrate Gandhi and honor Thompson, one of Gandhi's
successors in the practice of long distance marching as a form of protest.
In 2006, 86 years since Gandhi's famous March to the Sea protesting the British salt tax,
Thompson walked the length of Utah protesting the Iraq War from which he had recently
returned after a year's military duty in the war zone.
In remarks following the award presentation, Thompson told of an experience in Iraq when
he thought his death was imminent. As mortar fire pounded down nearby, he realized there
was much left to do. "I didn't move. I didn't run. I just sat there," he said. "I contemplated
my death. I had the disturbing thought that if i died there, I would not be able to share my
thoughts on the war."
Thompson's peace march was a way of sharing those thoughts. "I felt an urgency to do
whatever I could to dispel the myths surrounding the conflict and hasten its end," he says. "I
wanted to raise awareness of the many peaceful and responsible plans for U.S. troop
withdrawal, as well as show Americans that soldiers can dissent, and that supporting the
troops is not in conflict with opposing the war."
The 500-mile, 27-day peace march is chronicled in a 90-minute, award-winning
documentary film, A Soldier's Peace, co-edited by Thompson and his wife, Kristen.
(Visit www.asoldierspeace.com for more information.)
Thompson received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Utah State University and is
finishing a master's degree in mass communications from Ohio State University. He has
worked as a journalist for the Salt Lake Tribune, the Ogden Standard Examiner and the
Associated Press in Jerusalem. In addition to his service in Iraq, Thompson has worked as a
journalist for the U.S. Army in Kosovo and South Korea. Currently, Thompson is online
marketing director for Advent Creative in Logan, Utah, where he lives with his wife and
children, Eliza and Peter. He is giving some thought to pursuing a law degree.
A member of the Cache Valley Peace Works, a community of peace activists based in
Logan, Thompson frequently joins the regular Friday evening peace vigils on Main Street. He
also maintains a blog at www.marshallthompson.org where he shares his thoughts on
subject ranging from acts of conscience to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.
