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Locals among thousands in Washington to mark Peace Corps' 50th anniversary
Thousands of people – many wearing woven hats, batik shirts, silk saris, striped serapes and other colorful attire from around the world – gathered in Washington, D.C., on Sunday for a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and a parade of flags across Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. It was the culmination of a weekend of festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United States Peace Corps.
Terry Dougherty, a senior programmer analyst at IPFW, served 1973-74 in Afghanistan. He and his wife, Margie, joined with 65 returned volunteers at an Afghan restaurant called Bamian to relive memories and gathered with a group of about 135 at the Afghanistan embassy. On Saturday they went to a bazaar and a panel discussion with the first three Peace Corps Afghanistan directors.
In Fort Wayne, Dougherty is president of Friends of Afghanistan; works with School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), which brings students to the U.S. to study in high school and college; and also is involved with the Indiana Center for Mideast Peace.
Dougherty said his Peace Corps experience continues to influence his work and volunteerism through ”a desire to understand international circumstances and to help educate and influence Americans to engage in peaceful solutions to world problems.”
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110926%2FNEWS%2F110929723
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