Perspective: Soldier's mother joins ranks of war protesters

ANDOVER - Anne Chay has spoken at a rally in Boston, and held a sign at a vigil in her hometown of Andover.

Last month, she stood on a stage in Washington, D.C., just feet from Jane Fonda, during a protest of the war in Iraq. She has been interviewed by journalists from around the world.

But Chay insists she is not a political activist - just a regular working mother with a son in Iraq.

"This is the first time I've ever gotten publicly involved in anything," she said. "This is not my regular MO."

Chay only recently signed on to speak out against the war in Iraq, and has already become one of the more vocal members of the Boston-based, anti-war group, Military Families Speak Out.

Though it was once considered taboo to publicly criticize a war your own son is fighting in, Chay is not alone. More family members of soldiers than ever are speaking out against the war, according to Nancy Lissen, cofounder of the anti-war group. Military Families Speak Out, which started out with two military families and now has more than 3,000 members, has seen a surge in membership, with about 300 new members, since President Bush announced plans to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, Lissen said.

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