Peace March to be held Aug. 4 in West Rehoboth

The Ninth Annual Peace March will begin at 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 4, at the old church on Hebron Road in West Rehoboth, and proceed to Burton Village off Church Street just west of Rehoboth Beach. The march has been held every year since 2008 to commemorate the life of Coley “Pete” Marchtmon, and carry on Pete’s message of love and nonviolence in the community.

Marchtmon died Aug. 4, 2008, from injuries received in a brutal assault in Burton Village. His mother, Eleanor Whaley Marchtmon, founded the march and leads it every year, along with local clergy members, to continue promoting her son’s vision of peaceful community activism and building bridges across generations.

She found a way through her faith to forgive those who caused her son’s death, and she asks all who take part in the march to look out for each other and seek compassion instead of conflict.