Peace Vigil in Crawford, Texas: Camp Casey

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Camp Casey, the nickname given to the roadside encampment on Prairie Chapel Road a few miles from President George W. Bush's 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas, is the headquarters for Cindy Sheehan's Peace Vigil in Crawford, Texas, during Bush's August 2005 5-week vacation.

Relocation

"Camp Casey" was to move Thursday, August 18, 2005, onto a one-acre private and secure tract of land "at the corner of Prairie Chapel Road and Camen Church Road" "near a Secret Service checkpoint about a mile from Mr. Bush's ranch" and "adjacent to the church Bush attends while in Crawford" thanks to Fred Mattlage, who is also a veteran and a distant cousin of Larry Mattlage, the man who "fired [a] shotgun in frustration over the protests." The one-acre parcel is owned by Fred's brother, Mark. [1][2][3]

Arrival

"Supported by more than 50 demonstrators who chanted, 'W. killed her son!'" Cindy Sheehan told reporters that she wanted to ask President Bush "'Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?'," Associated Press reporter Deb Reichmann wrote August 7, 2005.

Although she did not speak with Bush, Sheehan "did talk for about 45 minutes with national security adviser Steve Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin, who went out to hear her concerns," Reichmann reported.

"Sheehan arrived in Crawford aboard a bus painted red, white, and blue and emblazoned with the words Impeachment Tour." The Vacaville, Calif., resident had been attending a Veterans for Peace Convention in Dallas.

"She vowed to camp out as close as she could get to the president's ranch until Bush comes out and talks to her. Police were keeping her group about 4 to 5 miles away from the ranch entrance." [4]

"Arlington West"

  • "'What happened last night is very disturbing to all of us, and it should be really disturbing to America,' Ms. Sheehan said in a news conference at Camp Casey. 'Because no matter what you think about the war, we should all honor the sacrifice of the ones who have fallen. And to me it's so ironic that I'm accused of dishonoring my son's memory, by doing what I'm doing, by the other side, and then somebody comes and does this.'" --Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, August 16, 2005.
  • With the relocation of Camp Casey onto private property, the white crosses at "Arlington West" will be moved as well, becoming "Arlington Crawford." [5][6]

Battle of the Porta-Potties

In Crawford, TX, where resident Larry Mattlage says "We just happen in Texas to have a bigger yard than they do in Maryland," the neighbors have been supportive and tolerant of the throngs gathering along the roadside, but are starting to grow weary of all the unusual commotion.

"What this is [is] a war of porta-potties and the one with the most porta-potties is gonna’ win and you know who that is don’t you. You all got started out going to the bathroom in a five gallon bucket. Now, I see three porta-potties. How many more porta-potties are we going to have to put up with? Now, George Bush has more porta-potties than you all, so if I was a bettin’ man, I’d say he’s gonna win. So let’s don’t make this a little more ridiculous than it is now. Everybody go back a winner. You’ve made your point. I’m proud of you. God bless all of you," Larry Mattlage said.

Read the full testimony of Larry Mattlage at the Iconoclast online, with link to audio file.

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