Cindy Sheehan is an American peace activist whose public opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began after her son was killed in Iraq while serving. Sheehan’s vigil outside U.S. Pres. George W. Bush’s ranch in Texas in 2005 received international media coverage and established her as one of the most visible and controversial figures in the antiwar movement at that time.
Sheehan became one of the strongest, most personal and persistent voices in the movement against the war in Iraq. Her quest to end the war, bring soldiers home, and hold politicians accountable for the decisions that sent the troops to Iraq in the first place, has been indefatigable.
The American Friends Service Committee created a traveling exhibition of combat boots, each pair representing a U.S. military casualty. They invited Sheehan to speak at the opening of the exhibit, titled "Eyes Wide Open: the Human Cost of War", which coincided with President George W. Bush´s second inauguration in January 2005. At that event, Sheehan got the idea to start an organization called Gold Star Families for Peace. Cindy said this about the organization: "When a mom has a child killed in a war, she becomes a Gold Star Mom. Well, we expanded the idea to include all family members because an entire family is affected because of the death."
