USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ SUPPORT THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF UPDATE ~ February 18 2003

SUPPORT THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF UPDATE
EMERGENCY PETITION DELIVERY IN 8 DAYS!
HELP US RALLY AN ADDITIONAL 40,000 CITIZENS WHO SUPPORT OUR PRESIDENT.

In Hollywood, activists Martin Sheen, and Rob Reiner, were among 30,000 chanting marchers who filled
Hollywood Boulevard in protest of the President and his actions.
In all, more than 350 cities throughout the world played host to throngs of peaceniks
who waved banners and chanted anti-war slogans.

NOW IT'S OUR TURN!
In response to the growing peacenik movement, Grassfire.net is making an
EMERGENCY PETITION DELIVERY to our leaders in Washington in just 8 days!
Over the last number of weeks support for our President has literally gone through the roof!
Perhaps it was due to our expanding media campaign.
Perhaps it was sparked by our "Support The Troops" yard signs.
Or maybe people are hearing about our effort on national radio broadcasts...

WHATEVER THE REASON, NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION!
Next week we will be delivering YOUR petition to a number of our key legislative leaders
as a show of support for their actions.
8 DAYS TO HELP US MAKE A STATEMENT.
Over the next week and a half, we are calling on ALL who have signed our "I Support The President" petition to burn up the Internet lines in an effort to spark even more support for our initiative!
Just weeks ago, we thought 100,000 was a solid goal, but our supporters said otherwise, rocketing us to 138,759!
Can we rally an additional 40,000 citizens in the next 9 days?
We think we can, and are calling on you to make help make it happen!

Forwarding this from Comwatch for anyone in the Chicago area.

Fellow Foxhole Freepers... I'd like to pass the torch on the item below. In addition to the brave patriots of this weekend, all across America who met the opposition head on, I can't think of a better bunch than you to present our views to this filmmaker. I'm looking specifically for folks in the Chicago area who might consider a role in this project, who have participated or support our Support our Troop and Commander in Chief demonstrations. Sam, I'll leave it to your to ping likely candidates. Deal?

Just FYI, we've heard back from Ross... any thoughts after reading his reply?
See previous post: 18 posted on 02/18/2003 0:27 AM PST by comwatch

From: <Rosslyons1@---.com>
To: ""Dave Jenest"" <dave@patriotwatch.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 11:16 AM
Subject: Re: Documentary

Dave,

I apologize for my lack of explanation in the use of pro-war. I simply
want all views, from all walks of life. When I say 'pro-war', what I mean
is the belief that we shouldn't just sit around waiting during what seems to
be a hide and seek game with arms. That our military presence in Iraq is
what we need for the goal of peace. A lot of people believe that the only
way to achieve peace is to take out what threatens its existance. The media
has made the division of pro-war and anti-war. I'm looking for the extremes
and everything in between. I was just keywording with the use of 'pro-war'.
Not meaning it quite so literally. This will be a film with everyone's
views. And I'm looking for exactly what you said in your reply. Because I
feel that you speak the same as the majority of Americans. And that is one
of the messages I want to send out. This weekend I'm filming an Anti-war
domonstation, and will be getting their views. But to achieve the goal of
this project, I need people with the same voice as yours. I would greatly
appreciate anything that you can help me with. Once again, I apologize for
not explaining my term better.

Sincerely,
Ross Lyons

Thank you Ross...

I am sharing our communications with a very special group of people. The
attached photo, reprinted with permission, is a sample of ordinary people,
exercising extraordinary effort, to offer a differing viewpoint on the
crisis in Iraq.

Brad Cloven protests outside the Peace Prize Forum, saying it's time to "take Saddam out" and free the Iraqi people from his rule. (MPR Photo/Bob Reha)

"I want people to understand that peace is good but freedom is better,"
Cloven says. "The Iraqis deserve freedom, and cowering in fear of their
impending nuclear weapons isn't freedom for us either. It's time to take
Saddam out."

This weekend, another of our colleague left the comfort of his warm car
because of a poor cell-phone connection. He stood outside in blowing snow to
share his New York City "Support our Troops" experience in the midst of the
Ant-War protests with a west coast talk radio host on KFSO San Francisco.
His friend joined us last night for a follow-up report on KFBK's Mark
Williams show here in Sacramento.

I realize you probably have some time constraints to work around. Our folks
would probably like some examples of your previous works or help you if you
are an emerging filmmaker. Fair enough? Feel free to call me anytime: (916)
448-1636 We'll circulate your email address after you next reply, if that's
alright. Thank you for your clarifications today.

Dave Jenest

To: SAMWolf; All

I trust someone in the Foxhole knows how to get these to our troops. We were in Sacramento and San Francisco for a "Support our Troops and Commander in Chief" Tribute in the faces of the Anti-American protests. The banner you see in the bottom stretched some fifty feet in length and became a human shield between patriots and the unwashed. They other camp shoved signs in our face reading "BETTER KILL AMERICAN TROOPS THAN INNOCENT IRAQI CHILDREN" and "ASSASSINATE BUSH". Two arrests were made of protesters assaulting our group.

More coverage: The Patriot Defenders Network patriotwatch.com

See this post: Anti-war Protests Anger U.S. Troops Inside Kuwait
The Detroit News | Tuesday, February 18, 2003 | M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Today's classic warship, USS San Juan (CL-54)

Atlanta class light cruiser
Displacement: 6,000 t.
Length: 541’6”
Beam: 53’2”
Draft: 20’10”
Speed: 31.8 k.
Complement: 820
Armament: 16 5”; 16 1.1”; 8 20mm; 8 21” torpedo tubes; 2 depth charge tracks; 6 depth charge projectors

The USS SAN JUAN (CL-54) was laid down on 15 May 1940 by the Bethlehem Steel Co. (Fore River), Quincy, Mass.; launched on 6 September 1941; sponsored by Mrs. Margarita Coll de Santori; and commissioned on 28 February 1942, Capt. James E. Maher in command.

After shakedown in the Atlantic, SAN JUAN departed from Hampton Roads, Va., on 5 June 1942 as part of a carrier task group formed around WASP (CV-7) and bound for the Pacific. The group got underway from San Diego on 30 June escorting a large group of troop transports destined for the Solomon Islands where the Navy was about to launch the first major American amphibious operation of the war.

Following rehearsal in the Fiji Islands, SAN JUAN provided gunfire support for the landings at Tulagi on 7 August 1942. On the night of 8 and 9 August, she was patrolling the eastern approaches to the transport area between Tulagi and Guadalcanal when gun flashes indicated that fighting was taking place in the western approaches. The action turned out to be the Battle of Savo Island, in which an enemy cruiser force sank four Allied cruisers. SAN JUAN retired from the forward area with the empty transports on the 9th and escorted them to Noumea.

She then rejoined WASP and operated with the carrier force for several weeks between the New Hebrides and the Solomons, on guard against a Japanese carrier attack. However, when this strike materialized on 24 August, SAN JUAN had withdrawn to refuel and thus missed the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. ENTERPRISE (CV-6) was hit in the battle, and SAN JUAN, which had damaged a gun mount off Guadalcanal, escorted the carrier to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 10 September 1942.

On 5 October, the cruiser again headed for the South Pacific, stopping first at Funafuti in the Ellice Islands to deliver a deck load of 20 millimeter guns to the marines who had just landed there. She then carried out a raid through the Gilberts sinking two Japanese patrol vessels on 16 October. Disembarking Japanese prisoners at Espiritu Santo, the cruiser joined ENTERPRISE on the 23d. Three days later, after patrol planes had made contact with enemy carrier forces, the Battle of Santa Cruz Island was fought in which HORNET (CV-8) was lost and ENTERPRISE damaged while the Japanese suffered severe losses in aircraft and pilots. During the last dive-bombing attack on the formation, one bomb passed through SAN JUAN's stern, flooding several compartments and damaging, though not disabling, her rudder. She arrived at Noumea with the task force on 30 October and then spent 10 days at Sydney Australia, receiving permanent repairs.

SAN JUAN joined carrier SARATOGA (CV-3), at Nandi, Viti Levu Island, in the Fijis on 24 November. From December 1942 to June 1943, the cruiser was based at Noumea and operated in the Coral Sea, both with carrier groups and alone. At the end of June 1943, during the occupation of New Georgia, SAN JUAN’s carrier group patrolled the Coral Sea for 26 days to prevent enemy interference. Late in July, the force made a quick stop at Noumea and moved to the New Hebrides, first to Havannah Harbor, Efate, and later to Espiritu Santo.

On 1 November, the SARATOGA group, including SAN JUAN, neutralized airfields on Bougainville and Rabaul while Allied forces landed on Bougainville. In the middle of November, the task group acted as a covering force for the occupation of the Gilberts. SAN JUAN then joined ESSEX (CV-9) on a raid on Kwajalein in the Marshalls, fighting off persistent torpedo plane attacks on 4 and 5 December. Detached on 6 December, the cruiser returned to the United States for overhaul at Mare Island.

SAN JUAN rejoined SARATOGA off Pearl Harbor on 19 January 1944 and the force covered the occupation of Eniwetok in February. SAN JUAN next escorted carriers, YORKTOWN (CV-10) and LEXINGTON (CV-16), in strikes on Palau, Yap, and Ulithi between 30 March and 1 April. On 7 April, the cruiser joined the new carrier HORNET (CV-12), which covered the landings at Hollandia in April and then struck at Truk on 29 and 30 April. After returning to bases in the Marshalls, the HORNET group began support of the Marianas campaign in early June, striking at Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima in the Bonins, while American troops landed on Saipan. SAN JUAN helped guard her group during the Battle of the Philippine Sea when American naval air power decisively defeated a Japanese counterattack to save the Marianas, and, in doing so, all but wiped out Japanese naval air strength.

After a short stop at Eniwetok, SAN JUAN escorted carriers, WASP (CV-18) and FRANKLIN (CV-13), during July as they covered the capture of Guam with strikes on Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima. After a strike on Palau and Ulithi, SAN JUAN was ordered to San Francisco for overhaul, and departed from Eniwetok on 4 August escorting YORKTOWN.

Following refresher training at San Diego and Pearl Harbor, SAN JUAN joined LEXINGTON’s task group at Ulithi on 21 November. In early December, she screened the carriers in strikes on Formosa and Luzon in support of landings on Mindoro. During this operation, she was sent alone within scouting range of Japanese airfields in an effort to draw out Japanese aircraft by radio deception, but none rose to the bait. On 18 and 19 December, the force was battered by a typhoon, and returned to Ulithi on Christmas Eve. Underway again six days later, the carriers covered the occupation of Luzon with strikes on Formosa, Okinawa, and Luzon from 3 through 9 January 1945, and then from 10 to 20 January, raided ports and shipping in the South China Sea, particularly Saigon, Cam Ranh Bay, and Hong Kong. After replenishing at Ulithi, SAN JUAN escorted carrier HORNET in air strikes on Tokyo during the Iwo Jima operation in February and then returned to Ulithi on 1 March to prepare for the Okinawa invasion.

SAN JUAN rejoined HORNET on 22 March and, until 30 April, operated with her to the north and east of Nansei Shoto, interrupting her regular occupation of supporting air strikes and replenishment at sea with a bombardment, on 21 April, of Minami Daito Shima, a small island about 180 miles from Okinawa. Planes from SAN JUAN's group helped sink the giant Japanese battleship YAMATO, on 7 April. After nine days at Ulithi, the HORNET group was back on station off Nansei Shoto for strikes on targets in Japan. SAN JUAN arrived in Leyte Gulf on 13 June for repairs and then joined carrier, BENNINGTON (CV-20), on 1 July for more strikes on the Japanese home islands. She was at sea when the news of the Japanese capitulation was received on 15 August, and, on the 27th, after 59 days at sea, she joined the van forces for the triumphal entry of the 3d Fleet into Sagami Wan, just outside Tokyo Bay.

SAN JUAN's embarked unit commander, Commodore Rodger W. Simpson, was assigned responsibility for freeing, caring for, and evacuating Allied prisoners of war in Japan. On 29 August, the ship entered Tokyo Bay and landed parties which liberated prisoners at camps at Omori and Ofuna and the Shanagawa hospital. The former prisoners were transferred to hospital ships BENEVOLENCE (AH-13) and RESCUE (AH-18). After evacuating camps in the Tokyo Bay area, SAN JUAN moved to the Nagoya-Hamamatsu area to the south and then to the Sendai-Kamaishi area to the north. On completing her liberation duty, the cruiser moored on 23 September next to the last Japanese battleship, NAGATO, at Yokosuka shifting to an outer anchorage there on 28 October. She sailed for the United States on 14 November, disembarked Commodore Simpson at Pearl Harbor, and continued to the U.S. with homewardbound troops, arriving on 29 November. Three days later, she sailed on "Magic Carpet" duty to Noumea and Tutuila, returning to San Pedro, Calif., on 9 January 1946 with a full load of troops. The cruiser arrived at Bremerton, Wash., for inactivation on 24 January 1946, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve there on 9 November 1946. SAN JUAN was redesignated CLAA-54 on 28 February 1949. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959 and sold on 31 October 1961 to National Metals and Steel Co., Terminal Island, Calif., for scrapping.

SAN JUAN received 13 battle stars for her World War II service.

Waiting nervously(Many families of Marines are on edge, teachers say)

The 40-year-old Marine said goodbye again this month, leaving the house at 5:30 a.m. to board a bus for an undisclosed location. Their 12-year- daughter, Brooke, was too young to remember the gulf war, but she is all too aware of the confrontation that may lie ahead.

"She pretty much asks every day when we're going to war," said VanHorn, an aide at the USO, "so I know she's concerned."

The effect on children has become one of the area's chief concerns, prompting the creation of support groups such as "Parents Away," which offer counseling to the sons and daughters of deployed service personnel.

Most of those deployed are fathers, although an undetermined number of children are saying goodbye to mothers who are in either the Marine Corps or the Navy. In some households, say school officials, both parents may be sent overseas, forcing the children to move in with relatives or other families.

Camp Lejeune volunteers have also formed a network called "Key Wives" to assist women whose husbands are deployed. Social events such as "Sweethearts without Sweethearts" help combat the loneliness. (My Aunt does this in San Deigo. Some of these families need food, etc.)

Older wives who endured past conflicts -- from the Vietnam War to the gulf war -- often serve as surrogate mothers for younger wives who are watching their husbands depart for the first time.

The USO has installed 10 computers to enable spouses to send and receive e-mails from the conflict zone. One frequent user is Melissa Edwards, 18, who showed up at the USO last week wearing a T-shirt that read: "If you think it's hard being a Marine, try being a Marine's wife."

She and her husband, Cpl. Justin Edwards, married more than a year ago. Their first child -- already named Tatum Marie -- will arrive next month.

"It's hard knowing I'm going to have a baby without him," she said, sitting down at a computer to write another e-mail. In her electronic dispatches, she said, "I remind him he's got a little girl on the way and he'll have something to come home to."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.