Lurker Bill from Maryland is joined on the southeast corner by 3D-Joy.
Posted on 07/27/2006 6:53:33 PM PDT by Albion Wilde
WASHINGTON, DC 7/21/06-- This FReep at the gates of Walter Reed Army Medical Center started out calmly enough, very much like so many others since we, the DC Chapter of Free Republic, have have been coming there every Friday night since March, 2005 to counter anti-war agitators organized by Code Pink. Nothing seemed different except the wildly enthusiastic beeps of passing cars. In summertime's long daylight, with many car windows open, the enthusiasm of the drivers for our support-the-troops rally is much easier to express. Even two DC Metro police officers patrolling the area gave us the thumbs up as they drove up Georgia Avenue, and later, as they drove back down.
As a result of our keeping the pressure on, the Pinkos have bent over backwards to obscure their malevolence towards the Administration, the soldiers and the entire idea of defending this country, not just by having adopted hypocritical signs urging better care of the soldiers, but also by having now brought more American flags -- flags that are not desecrated like ones they have brought to Walter Reed in the past, or the one they recently protested with at the White House.
So, to help passing motorists tell them apart from us, the week before we started a helpful "Burma-Shave" campaign, and mounted it again this week:
Abruptly, one of the Pinkos decided that their feelings were hurt. Free speech is only for the hate-America crowd, not for those who honor the troops and support their mission! So one of the Pinkos performed a stupid human trick and started yanking the signs off the tops of the cars, tossing them over the fence onto Walter Reed's property. Kristinn wrote about it in an earlier thread.
We went up to the gates to see about retrieving our signs, but not so fast. It seems that the Pinkos' anger management issue had generated a call by the gate guards to the U.S. Department of the Army Police, two of whom strolled down to have a talk with the Pinkos:
A friend of the Pinkos arrived on the scene after the brouhaha. A DC lobbyist, he was also an acquaintance of Debbie Does DC. Returning to his car after bringing the Pinkos some sodas, he stopped to tell her that his friend in the Pink camp "felt really bad about it." I was standing with Debbie Does DC and remarked, "It looks like they got their feelings hurt." With a chuckle, she remarked how lucky it was that was all that got hurt.
...and the FReepers carried on as usual, waving to the troops that came and went, and waiting for the bus to return that brings troops and their families back from a night on the town. Pinkos do not wait for the bus, having been visibly disdained, back in the early days of their phony pro-troops vigil, by genuine troops on the bus. FReeper rlmorel hoisted the "THIS CORNER UNDER NEW NON-COMMIE MANAGEMENT" sign, but everything else settled back to normal. Carloads of people kept honking and high-signing us, including soldiers yelling out their car windows, "Thank you!" and "We love you!" to which we shouted back, "Thank YOU! We love YOU!"
An Army active-duty sergeant from California stood next to me for awhile as he waited for a taxi with another solider from Michigan and that soldier's father. The two looked so much alike I asked if they were brothers. "Yes, but from two different mothers," he said, meaning that his comrade-iin-arms was as close as a brother. Sergeant Bientema was from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and Spec. Litherland was from the 562 Engineers. Both had been recovering at Walter Reed. It took me a long while to notice that the sergeant had one prosthetic leg, since he was moving around so effortlessly.
"Thanks for being out here," said Sgt. Bientema. Regarding the anti-war protesters down the street, he continued, "They'll never get rid of us ground-pounders. You can't win a war without ground-pounders, whether for the fightin' or for the clean-up. Thank God for those that support us, and too bad for the ones that don't."
A young servicewoman who, with her mother and a group of other troops was also waiting for rides downtown, related that she is a medic and had been in Balad, Iraq, where there is a trauma hospital in the Iraqi combat zone. Battlefield injury patients are typically stabilized in the combat zone, then flown rapidly to longer-term care facilities such as Landstuhl, Germany or Walter Reed. This medic is now at Walter Reed for further training. "I like being here," she said, "because I get to see some of the patients I took care of in Balad. Now they are getting better."
FReepers present this week included Apple Blossom, Black Republican, bmwcyle, Cindy-True-Supporter, Debbie Does DC, Fraxinus, Gretchen15, Jack Deth, Jimmy Valentine's Brother, Just A Nobody, Kristinn, rlmorel, SenseiErn, tgslTakoma, 3D-Joy, Tom the Redhunter, [Mr & Mrs] Trooprally and myself. Lurkers included Bill from Maryland, Gavin, and his guest, Jeff.
Link to all the previous Walter Reed FReeps, courtesy of BufordP.
As always, the D.C. Chapter's rules for protesting will be in effect. Briefly, they are: No violence, no profanity, no racism, no provocations, obey the law and treat all law enforcement officers with respect.
Re-ping! I messed up the first post so badly the mods kindly pulled it and I reposted it. Enjoy!
Would someone please ping the entire chapter? Thank you.
Ping!
Great Job!!! Thank you for being there for our troops!!!
I live in TEXAS and you good folk(s) just do not understand just how badly I would LOVE to be there with you......even for just one day.....THANK YOU for all that you do. Without our fine troops, we would surely be screwed!
I really do love these Men and Women!!!
Semper Fi!!
This is a great thread. I appreciate the pictures and the narrative. Thanks for what you do. Keep up the good work!
I've heard it said that, "You can fly over it all you want and bomb the hell out of it, but until some 19 year old with an M-16 pees on it, you don't own it."
Mr. Trooprally requested that I post these directions to Walter Reed, which are from the northwest, such as Montgomery County, or for those who circle the Beltway clockwise from N. Virginia (If you approach from the northeast, you may want to use the Rt 29 exit):
FROM THE WASH. BELTWAY TO WALTER REED:
Exit onto Georgia Avenue, get in middle lane, merge right onto 16th Street.
Stay in middle lane again to go around circle at D.C. line. Continue on 16th Street from the circle.
Pass two lights (the second is Holly Street). Make the first left onto Geranium Street.
Follow Geranium to Georgia Avenue and turn right onto Georgia Avenue.
Proceed 2 short blocks to Elder Street directly across from Walter Reed gates.
Turn left to find parking on Elder Street, or make the first quick left on Elder into the church parking lot.
Thanks again for the fine job you all do at Walter Reed for our wounded warriors.
Looks like the Code Pinko's showed their true colors last week. From what I hear, our troops don't pay any attention to them with all you good people there for them.
"PINKO HAGS" on a pink sign? LOVE IT!!!!!
FReepmail me to get on or off the list.
Please attend this Friday as some of our regulars are away and we need all patriots that we can get.
You (you know who you are) went into DC to see the Nationals play baseball. Now please come out for the true heroes, our wounded troops.
Injured Walter Reed patients, including amputees, have repeatedly told us how important it is for us to be there to counter Code Pink.
If we can sufficiently outnumber the leftists often enough, embarrassment may cause some leftists to stop these outrageous morale-damaging ("Maimed for a lie" was one of their signs) demonstrations at the hospital. At the very least, we can peacefully and lawfully minimize the effect of their psych-ops against the troops.
Our troops are bold enough to face bullets, mortars, IEDs, and suicide bombers. Are you bold enough to get out from behind the keyboard, FReep in person, and stand up for the wounded troops at Walter Reed?
If you're in the DC area and don't have family, work or medical considerations that keep you from FReeping, can you spare a few hours on a Friday night? Will you?
I'm just glad "harassment" it not included in the rules. Unless some pinhead key-board FReeper thinks " .. provocations... " means no harassment.
Great thread, BOTH of them!!!
[Mr] T
God Bless you folks.
The joy you bring to the soldiers and their families by just being there is beyond measure.
Well, I'll be snockered. Fraxinus is a handle I use on another board. Didn't figger anybody else had any use for it!! ";^)
Good work, all of you. Maybe I'll be able to do that kind of thing some day when I retire.
Very nicely done, my FRiends!
Thank you Albion, and many thanks to all the great FReepers who spend their Friday evenings supporting the troops! It's just a bonus that you get in the Pinkos' hair too.
Great job and great report. I look forward to reading about your exploits every time.
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