Exhibit at Holy Cross to Display Boots of Local Fallen Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross presents “Eyes Wide Open,” an exhibit of the boots of approximately 250 New England soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The exhibit, which is meant to spur discussion about the realities of contemporary warfare, will be on display from Tuesday, April 13 - Friday, April 16, in front of the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel.

“In bringing the Eyes Wide Open exhibit to Holy Cross, we hope to raise consciousness about the human cost of war,” explains Rev. Greg Lynch, S.J., assistant chaplain and coordinator of the event.

In conjunction with the exhibit, there will be a faculty ‘fishbowl’ discussion about the display and the costs of war, on Wednesday, April 14 at 4:30 p.m. the Rehm Library.  Faculty members include Karen Turner (history), Stephanie Yuhl (history), Pedrag Cicovacki (philosophy), David Gyscek (visual arts), Ward Thomas (political science), and Thomas Landy (Center for Religion Ethics and Culture).

There will also be a memorial prayer service on Thursday, April 15 from 12:40 – 1 p.m. on the Chapel Plaza.

The exhibit and all events are free and open to the public.

Since 2004, this traveling exhibit, put on by the American Friends Service Committee has made its way across the country. It features a pair of boots honoring each U.S. military casualty, a field of shoes and a Wall of Remembrance to memorialize the Iraqis killed in the conflict, and a multimedia display exploring the history, cost and consequences of the war.

The event is sponsored by the chaplains’ office, the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture, and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery.

For more information on the exhibit visit: http://www.afsc.org/eyes/.