Hundreds Attend Vigil Held In Honor Of (hostage) Matt Maupin

9News/WCPO.com ^ | 4-17-04 | Liz Foreman

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Hundreds of people showed up for a Friday night vigil in support of hostage Matt Maupin on the steps of the Clermont County courthouse in Batavia.

The events kicked off at 7 p.m. off with the Pledge of Allegiance led by by Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud.

"I know when we planned this, we planned this with the thought that he's alive. Now we know he's alive and being held hostage. We must keep strong," said Proud following the pledge.

Proud stressed the importance of yellow ribbons as a sign of support in the community. He also announced that ClermontYellowRibbon.com will be created as a resource center for people in the area. (The Web site does not yet exist.)

Lance Woodward of the the Veteran's Commission then sang the country song "I Am An American."

Mia Supe, who started the an online support group "For The Troops", spoke about her group's mission and about her brother just got back from Iraq a week and a half ago.

A local youth minister then led a prayer and the vigil concluded with a sing-along of "God Bless America."

Maupin's sister's boyfriend also spoke at the vigil, thanking the public for their support, and saying that the family is amazed at the support it is receiving.

The vigil was attended by some big names, including U.S. Senator Rob Portman, who issued a keynote address, and talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer.

WCPO has set up a special section regarding Matt Maupin: CLICK HERE

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You can post a message to Matt Maupin's family at the link provided at the end of the article.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

I think the message has to be - we hope for the best outcome in this matter, but we need to proceed as we would have in the absence of a hostage taking. Any deviation in our effort as an accommodation to hostage takers will only lead to more of the problem.

Although I have essentially no experience in such matters - something tells me we need to get dome sniper teams working on this Sadr problem.

[DoughtyOne]

I hope Maupin comes out of this unscathed. My heart goes out to him.

[stlnative]

I am still thinking about and praying for this young man and his family.