Posted on 04/06/2003 4:36:37 AM PDT by dawn53
For troops, only love
An estimated 20,000 turn out to support U.S. troops in Iraq - and one another - at a rally at Coachman Park in Clearwater.
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times published April 6, 2003
CLEARWATER -- Barbara Gibb wore a "Marine Mom" T-shirt, carried an American flag and held a placard with a photo of Lance Cpl. Shawn Bosel, who turns 20 today somewhere in Iraq.
To the thousands of people at Coachman Park in Clearwater on Saturday morning, she was the next best thing to a hero in their midst.
"Thank you," strangers gushed as they shook her hand.
"Have you heard from him?" another asked.
And from someone else she didn't know: "Can I send him a care package?"
"You can't help but take this personally," Gibb said. "It's absolutely reassuring."
In the shadow of a war that has divided the world, as many as 20,000 people -- from military veterans, to families of the soldiers, to people with no connection beyond the heart-tugging they feel as they watch on TV -- gathered in the Saturday heat to wave the flag and support the troops.
Many at the rally remembered an American era when servicemen returning from Vietnam were mocked and degraded. For those who support U.S. efforts in Iraq or simply the soldiers who are fighting it, Saturday was a chance to say: Never again.
"Each generation has its defining moments," said Gov. Jeb Bush, introduced at the rally not as the governor, but as brother of the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. "This generation's legacy is beginning right now in the seas and the sands of the Middle East."
Bush made his way through the crowd after his speech, pausing in front of military families to offer encouragement. When he reached Louise Sheelen, mother of 26-year-old Marine Sgt. Timothy Sheelen, Bush thanked her for her son's service, hugged her and kissed her cheek.
The event embraced many of the emotions prevalent in the days after Sept. 11, 2001: patriotism, spiritualism, a sense of togetherness. Many of the families waiting for word on their sons and daughters overseas watched their children sign up for the military after the terrorist attacks.
"After Sept. 11, we said hello to people we didn't know," said Glenn Beck, a syndicated talk radio host who prompted the Rally for America by encouraging listeners and local radio stations to sponsor rallies to support the troops.
"We asked them one important question -- 'How are you?' -- and we actually cared about the answer," Beck said. "We became our real selves."
Similar events have been held in 17 cities nationwide, and Clearwater attracted more people than all the cities except Atlanta. The local rally was sponsored by radio station WFLA-AM 970.
Flags of every size waved. Yellow ribbons were tied around not just trunks of trees in the park, but around multiple branches. More yellow ribbons turned up as hair ribbons and ankle bracelets.
Several people held large banner-sized flags in front of the designated protest area to shield the messages of antiwar protesters from the stage and most of the ralliers. "We're trying to cover up the zoo," said Thomas Alfonso of Tampa, a 20-year veteran of the National Guard, as he held one of the flags.
Clearwater police reported that the rally was generally peaceful, despite wars of words between ralliers and about two dozen antiwar protesters who marched and displayed signs from a designated protest area.
When the protesters left, they were escorted by police past people who shouted "Go home, traitors!"
One person was arrested for disorderly conduct at the event; one person was ejected; and five were treated for minor medical problems, such as dehydration. Clearwater police Lt. James D. Steffans said he did not think the arrest and ejection were related to problems between the ralliers and the protesters.
The protesters' right to be at the rally wasn't lost on JoAnn Boccia of Dunedin, whose son is stationed in Afghanistan.
"You know something? I'd fight to the death for them to have the right to do it," she said.
Jeremiah Thidodeau, a bushy-bearded Vietnam veteran with blue eyes, watched the rally from a park bench, one of the Clearwater spots he calls home. He did two tours of duty in Vietnam as a combat infantry soldier and returned home to be slapped in the face and called a "baby killer."
Eventually, he stopped wearing his uniform in public.
"I'm trying to survive," Thidodeau said of his life on the streets. "I thank the Lord that I'm alive. But I don't care whether I work or I don't work."
On his T-shirt, Thidodeau wore a button from a rally vendor. It read: "I Support Our Troops and President Bush."
There are right here.
5.56mm
God bless Glenn Beck
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