There are tombs for unknown soldiers in many countries. But the United Nations estimates that 50 percent of people killed in war are civilians. And they are all as dead as any soldier.

So the American peace activist Lewis Randa asked the question “Why are there no memorials to civilians killed in war?”

He commissioned a stone commemorating Unknown Civilians Killed in War which was placed in the grounds of the Peace Abbey in Massachusetts of which he was the founder.

But he was not finished. He believed that the memorial stone should really be placed at Arlington National Cemetery where 400 thousand veterans and dependents are buried alongside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. So he began a campaign to achieve this called “Stonewalk”.

In 1999, the stone, which weighed nearly a ton, was pulled by volunteers on a marathon journey of 500 miles through over 100 towns and cities during 33 sweltering hot summer days. Lewis Randa described these volunteers as “waging peace” and they achieved a lot of public support.

He knew that having the stone erected in Arlington would require an act of Congress. As the stone was pulled over hundreds of hills along miles of burning hot, black asphalt roads from Massachusetts to New York and finally to Washington, Stonewalk obtained support for their goal from thousands of members of the public and many congress members.

Unfortunately the bid was not successful and the stone was taken back to the Pacifist Memorial in Sherborn, Massachusetts where it now serves as a touchstone where prayers for peace are offered and commitments to peace-making are strengthened.

However, a copy of the stone was made and toured many other cities in the USA and England before being installed beneath the walls of the ruined Coventry cathedral in 2001.

Another stone was made and American peace activists participated in pulling it over 375 miles from Nagasaki to Hiroshima, expressing sorrow at the loss of life and injury caused by the bomb. It arrived on the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb.

You can find a video about the origins of these stones and the first journey to Arlington by searching YouTube for “Stonewalk the Documentary”.