A group of 15 to 20 people protesting the Iraq War stationed themselves at the intersection of Lincoln Highway and First Street Friday.

Rising above them was a monument with an engraving that read “May the memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice live forever in the hearts of the people.”

These far-reaching words come alive every Friday evening when the small group gathers to remember the lives lost in Iraq.

A group of 15-20 members from the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice protest the Iraq war weekly. They hold up signs reading “War Kills,” “Stop U.S. Aggression” and “Eliminate Nuclear Weapons.”

Last Friday, thoughts on the president, the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina swirled in the minds of the protestors.

The diverse crowd included veterans, parents of soldiers and regular citizens. Cars sped by honking in agreement, and along with an American flag, a rainbow peace flag fluttered in the breeze.

Cecile Meyer, a DeKalb resident and former Marine who organized the group, notices all the positive and negative responses the group receives from the passersby.

“Let me just put it this way. Sometimes we get two fingers and sometimes we get one,” she said. “One year, we got mooned.”

The rally protesting the Iraq war was established in Dec. 2001. However, the DeKalb Interface for Peace and Justice recently celebrated 20 years together as an organization.

Meyer explained some people involved in the group once had family fighting in the Iraq war.

“We had some families who had children once in the war and one parent in our group had a son who died in the war,” Meyer said.

Realizing young people are recruited for the war in Iraq, Meyer said she would like to see more students show their support to bring the troops home.

“Our kids are getting false promises when they go to war,” Meyer said.

Frances Loubere, a DeKalb resident whose son attends NIU, became involved in the group after attending the Sept. 11 anniversary in 2002.

“I saw the group protest and I had a sense that I needed to do something,” Loubere said. “I was astounded and surprised that Bush was voted into office again.”

DeKalb resident Maylan Dunn began attending the Friday rallies at the beginning of this year. She will be one of the six representing the group this coming weekend during a march in Washington D.C. organized by the United for Peace & Justice, a national, non-partisan anti-war and social change activist organization.