NOVATO > SATURDAY, APRIL 5 > 12-2 PM > RALLY - PING! : ) Also, look for more Bay Area rallies here - KSFO.com - Click "Activism" (Under "Features")
Posted on 04/03/2003 10:00:43 PM PST by stratman1969
Wayne Smith doesn't care if you're against the war with Iraq. He's not concerned about political affiliation, either. But he said anyone against the safe return of U.S. soldiers is a traitor.
Smith, 64, is a retired Air Force staff sergeant who is organizing a "Support our Troops" rally Saturday at the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center in Novato. He says the idea came to him at a recent pro-troops event in Santa Rosa.
"It hit me like a lightning bolt," Smith said. "I said to myself, 'It's about time we had a local rally.'"
His '88 Dodge Dynasty is adorned with patriotic bumper stickers and he has crafted two poster boards of press clippings about the war. Smith's most recent addition is a news story about Santa Rosa resident Lance Cpl. Patrick O'Day, who was killed last week in Iraq.
O'Day's death scared Smith, whose 20-year-old grandson, David, is a Naval officer on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
"David is the real inspiration for the rally," said Smith, who lives in the San Marin area of Novato.
Since the war began, he has traveled to Santa Rosa, Sacramento and San Francisco to participate in gatherings to counter anti-war rallies. Smith, unapologetic in his support for President Bush, says the issue isn't about politics.
"I'm for the war. A lot of folks aren't. Fine," he said.
"When I saw the anti-war rallies, my first thought was 'traitors,'" Smith said.
Smith's plan follows a rally organized by Reed Benet of Belvedere, who held a "San Francisco supports the troops" event Friday.
"Mine was the first 'support the troops' rally in San Francisco, I'm assuming ever," Benet said.
He is quick to note that while anti-war protests continue across the country, opinion polls show more than 70 percent of Americans support the war with Iraq.
"Let's exhibit democracy," he said. "But we've got to be in support of our troops."
Contact Michael Flaherty at mflaherty@marinij.com
FYI - I e-mailed the reporter and he said the rally would begin at noon and end at 2 p.m.
NOVATO > SATURDAY, APRIL 5 > 12-2 PM > RALLY - PING! : ) Also, look for more Bay Area rallies here - KSFO.com - Click "Activism" (Under "Features")
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