Black Leaders at GI’s Funeral Urge Peace
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NEWARK, N.J. — Black leaders called for negotiations and a cease-fire in the Persian Gulf at the funeral Tuesday of Robert Talley, an 18-year-old Army private believed to be the youngest U.S. casualty so far in the war.
“There could be no better tribute to Robert Talley than to have the guns of war cease,” the Rev. Benjamin Chavis Jr. of Cleveland said in a eulogy.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chavis, head of the Commission for Racial Justice, joined Talley’s family for the funeral at Calvary Baptist Church. While they honored Talley’s sacrifice, the black leaders and the man’s family also criticized the government for going to war while ignoring domestic needs.
“Hopefully the loss of life of this young man will illuminate our world as to the dangers of war and the need to have a commitment to justice at home,” Jackson said. “Maybe the death of this young man will illuminate the crisis at home as it has the crisis abroad.”
Talley and a sergeant were killed last week when the vehicle in which he was riding was hit by a missile fired by a U.S. Apache attack helicopter.
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