People of all ages, races and backgrounds colonized on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on Jan. 27. Many held signs, others just chanted but they all had one thing in common – advocating an end to the Iraq war.

While celebrity activists like Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson took to the podium to voice their opposition to the war, tens of thousands of ordinary citizens exercised their rights to free speech and assembly.

Mike Hearington, 53, a Vietnam-era veteran from Memphis, Tenn., attended the rally with other members of Veterans for Peace and held a banner that read, “Impeach Bush.”

Hearington said he attended the rally because he doesn’t support President George W. Bush’s reasons for being in Iraq.

“We had no business going into Iraq in the first place,” Hearington said. “It’s a travesty what we’re doing over there.”