On Saturday, members of the Philadelphia Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), set off to march twenty-five miles from the National Constitution Center to Valley Forge National Historical Park, "to show support for veterans and service members testifying at Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan," an IVAW event occurring in Washington, D.C. March 13-16. The event gets its name from a quote by Thomas Paine, who said that winter soldiers are those who stand up for their country even in its darkest hours, and will be an opportunity for veterans who served in both locations to give "an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground" in the Middle Eastern war zones.

The Philadelphia-area march was the first event leading up to the four-day-long Winter Soldier, and local photographer JJ Tiziou (a former Phillyist interview and periodic Phillyist photography contributor) was on hand to photograph the entire thing. Embedded here is a slide show he put together from the experience. Whether you agree with the IVAW cause or not, it's certainly worth a look.

For more information, check out this Daily News piece on the march.