By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin

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Stopping to catch her breath roadside in Foster, R.I., Dot Walsh admitted that lugging a 1,400-pound granite stone is no easy task.

But as members of the Stonewalk make their way down Route 6 into Killingly today, she expects to gain strength through numbers.

Family members of 9/11 victims and fellow peace supporters are dragging the granite memorial from Boston to New York in a show of solidarity with victims of terrorism and war around the world. The stone monument honors "Unknown Civilians Killed in War."

The walk is sponsored by September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of 130 family members of 9/11 victims who have joined forces with The Peace Abbey, a multi-faith retreat center.

Walsh, program coordinator for Massachusetts-based The Peace Abbey, said it is a non-partisan mission of peace.

"It's inspiring for me to see the people. The support they give each other," she said of victims' family members who have come and gone along the walk.

For Dan Jones, a member of Peaceful Tomorrows and part of the small core group moving the stone, it's a personal journey. He lost his brother-in-law in the terrorist attacks. For him, the stone symbolizes "all those that were killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"It also helps make the connection with the suffering going on in other parts of the world," Jones said.

The message is that civilians bear the brunt of casualties in war and this should be a consideration in future policy making.

Not coincidentally, the walk links the sites of tragedy and of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

Jones said there are only a few core walkers who will attempt the entire trek. But help from community members along the way is encouraged, especially on the hills.

The walk is scheduled to wend its way into Killingly Friday and Brooklyn on Sunday. In Brooklyn, a talk is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Meetinghouse at the Brooklyn Town Green.

Family members of 9/11 victims will speak and answer questions.

For more information and a complete list of towns the Stonewalk will visit, go to www.peacefultomorrows.org.

gasmith@norwichbulletin.com

Originally published Friday, August 6, 2004