Posted on 03/03/2003 3:37:00 AM PST by WolfsView
Local residents show support for U.S. troops Monday, March 3, 2003 By MELISSA GRIFFY Repository staff writer
Click here to see more Repository / Kevin Whitlock REMAINING STRONG. Jennifer Soley of Massillon wipes away a tear at the close of Glenn Beck’s Rally for America, sponsored by WTAM 1100 Newsradio, on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. Soley’s fiancé, U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Charles Bigham, is stationed in Kuwait City.
CLEVELAND -- Jennifer Soley sleeps with the last T-shirt her fiancé wore before he was deployed to the Persian Gulf.
The shirt gives comfort to the Massillon woman trying to cope with everyday life without the man she wants to spend the rest of hers with.
But she said it’s a sacrifice she’ll make for freedom.
Soley was just one of more than 5,000 who braved cold weather and snow Sunday afternoon to participate in the Rally For America, sponsored by WTAM 1100 Newsradio and radio personality Glenn Beck.
“I wasn’t going to miss it for anything,” said Soley, who fought back tears throughout the rally.
She joined the crowd chanting “U.S.A.,” belting out “God Bless America” and other patriotic staples at the Nautica Flats. American flags and homemade signs littered the crowd with phrases such as: “God Bless President Bush and God Bless America”, “It’s not about oil” and “Support Our Troops.”
The rally was not pro-war, however, said Beck and Mike Trivisonno, talk radio host.
“There’s nothing pro to war,” Trivisonno said. “With all the anti-war protests we wanted to do something to say, ‘Hey we support our troops.’ We don’t want them to come back and face what Vietnam veterans faced.”
Anti-war protesters did appear at The Flats, but their shouts only could be heard faintly across the Cuyahoga River.
“In the ‘60s we forgot who we were,” Beck said. “Vietnam soldiers who thought they were heroes came back to a country that called them baby killers ... But they are heroes. And military personnel and their families need our support now.”
Soley agreed.
She said life has been hard since her fiancé, U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Charles Bigham, was ordered to Kuwait City on Feb. 1.
She eagerly awaits phone calls and letters that take weeks to arrive.
“He could be gone anywhere from five to 13 months,” she said. “We just don’t really know.”
In the meantime, the couple has put their wedding plans on hold.
But it’s a sacrifice Soley’s willing to make.
“It’s about Sept. 11. It’s about the fact people in Iraq don’t have the right to say ‘I’m Muslim,’ or ‘I’m Christian.’ They do not have freedom,” she said. “We have freedom because of our troops and we have to support them.”
And until Charles comes home, Soley will be holding tight to memories and proudly displaying a yellow ribbon around a tree.
You can reach Repository writer Melissa Griffy at (330) 580-8318 or e-mail:
melissa.griffy@cantonrep.com
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