Stand up for peace
Bellingham’s peace vigil has been waving flags and bearing signs every week since 1966
Story and photos by Malia Fraser
Published Feb. 16, 2026
Kurt Dunbar, a Skagit Valley College history professor, talks with another peace vigilante as he stands with his sign reading, “Apartheid, Zionism, Genocide”. A woman next to him holds a sign reading “War is not the answer!” and a man to the right carries a Palestinian flag on Oct. 31, 2025.
An assortment of predominantly retired folk and veterans post themselves on the corners of Magnolia Street and Cornwall Avenue in downtown Bellingham every Friday evening. During months when the sun likes to linger, they gather from 4 to 5 p.m. When the chillier season hits, they come prepared with umbrellas and layers from 3 to 4 p.m. No matter how the sky is feeling, the group chatters and laughs among themselves while they nod to drivers who honk as they ride past. Everyone holds a sign; some retain crisp edges, while others show years of use. Painted messages call for peace in Gaza, for wars to end, for healthcare and democracy. Palestinian and United States flags wave at the passing cars, and an older man dressed in a turtle costume — despite admitting to not knowing much about them — holds a sign calling for environmental justice.
Each individual has a slightly different reason for being there, but can agree on wanting one thing: peace.
Among the group is 82-year-old Joe Lebitz, perhaps one of the oldest members, standing with his grandson, who looks to be the youngest. On sunnier days, Lebitz shows up wearing a tie-dyed shirt with a peace symbol under his patchworked jean jacket, topped with a cowboy hat adorned with beaded-on bottle caps.
The weekly Peace Vigil in Bellingham was started by two Quakers in 1966 to take a stand against the Vietnam War, right around the same time when Lebitz first took to the streets of New York for the same reason.
“I successfully avoided the draft, just like Trump!” Lebitz said with a hint of a Brooklyn accent. After many letters to the president and various military personnel, he was let off the hook for his allergies.
When Lebitz moved to Bellingham 15 years ago to be closer to his grandkids, he promptly joined the nation’s longest-running peace vigil. His persistence is admirable, but he isn’t sure whether he’s accomplished anything in his 60 years of protesting.
Joe Lebitz and his grandson Sam Lebitz-Braden stand with Terry Pigusch on the corner of Magnolia Street and Cornwall Avenue. nearest the old federal building turned post office on Oct. 17, 2025. Lebitz and Pigusch have been attending the weekly peace vigils nearly every Friday for the last 15 years.
“We are doomed. I really believe that,” Lebitz said.
Lebitz believes his generation is the last one to get out in fairly good shape. He supported his wife and two kids with one job, and feels sorry for the next generation who struggle with rising costs of housing combined with salaries that don’t seem to be keeping up.
Despite claiming to have lost hope, Lebitz looks forward to the vigil every week. As he simply said, it gets him out of the house.
Joe Lebitz’s grandson, Sam Lebitz-Braden, is a Fairhaven College student studying human rights and services and political science. He started coming to the vigil regularly in January 2025 to be more engaged in local political organizing and activism, and to get into the habit of standing up for what he believes in.
Also, he doesn't want his grandpa standing alone on windy days.
“Yeah, Sam does keep an eye on me,” Lebitz said with a small smile.
Each week, the draft dodger stands on the corner near the old federal building with Terry Pigusch, who replies to Lebitz’s comments with hearty laughs. Pigusch, 78, wears a 50-year Bellingham Whatcom Peace Vigil anniversary T-shirt with peace-sign-shaped sunglasses in the colors of the United States flag. Pigusch started attending during the Occupy Wall Street movement 15 years ago. Unlike Lebitz, Pigusch did not avoid the draft. At the ripe age of 12, Pigusch received a stern talk from his mother about her thoughts on fighting for his country.
“Spartan mothers used to tell their sons: ‘Come home with your shield, or on it.’ It means you either win or die,” Pigusch said. “I was a true believer when I went.”
Pigusch’s mother received her draft notice for World War II because her name was spelled Marion, instead of the feminine spelling Marian. Typically, women who were accidentally drafted would be sent home, but Pigusch’s mother refused.
“She made them take her into the Navy on that draft notice!” Pigusch said. “So as far as I know, my mother was the only woman drafted in WWII.”
Pigusch followed in her footsteps, serving in the Navy. He enjoyed some of the best years of his life while traveling the world on the USS Intrepid during the Vietnam War, and made over 750,000 gallons of napalm used in bombs. Now, he holds a cardboard sign that has been taped and retaped to the stake that holds it. Painted on are the words, “Drones Fly, Children Die.”
Samir Jiries has only been to a few peace vigils as of Oct. 17, 2025, but has been advocating for the Palestinian people for much longer. Jiries has noticed that more people have started caring about the violence in Gaza since October 2023, which the United Nations Commission classified as genocide on Sept. 16, 2025.
“I'm responsible for a lot of carnage that went on over there, and I never saw any of it!” Pigusch said.
It was a culmination of many realizations over time that changed Pigusch’s mind about how he thought about his time in the military.
“I realized all the damage I was doing,” Pigusch said, “It's no different than what they're doing in Gaza.”
Samir Jiries recently started attending the peace vigils, but has been advocating for the Palestinian people for much longer. Jiries moved to Bellingham 10 years ago and is of Palestinian descent. He wears a keffiyeh around his neck and a warm smile on his face. He has noticed more people becoming aware of Israel’s violence in Gaza since October 2023, which the United Nations Commission classified as genocide on Sept. 16, 2025.
“Gaza has opened people’s eyes,” Jiries said. “People are getting involved, so I have a lot of hope. More hope than I ever did.”
As of May 2025, the United States has provided Israel $174 billion in bilateral assistance and missile defense funding, according to the Congressional Research Service. Jiries hopes that the liberation of Gaza will help the United States gain a representative government.
“We need to be united,” Jiries said. “People united will never be defeated. That’s what’s needed in this country now more than ever.”
Kurt Dunbar, 73, a Skagit Valley College history professor, stands on an adjacent corner. He started coming 23 years ago when he figured out that the U.S. was going to invade Iraq.
“This is my way of saying I don't agree, small as it may be,” Dunbar said.
The specific issues that the weekly vigil goers stand for shift as wars and injustices rage on, but they continue to show up for peace and for each other.
“These are people who, in times of war and peace, we’ve stood together. It's a great comfort,” Dunbar said.