Posted on 03/18/2003 2:14:24 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Soldiers’ journey halts for protest
182nd transport group heads to training, war
From Record-Eagle staff
TRAVERSE CITY — The 182nd Transportation Co. got off to a late and emotional start Monday morning after peace activists blocked the 60-vehicle convoy.
The National Guard reservists later left amid hugs and tears from loved ones and waving flags of supporters, family, friends and veterans.
One of the 14 protesters threw himself under a fuel tanker while the others plopped down in front of the truck about 7:20 a.m. as it stopped at a sign just outside the gate of the Army Reserve Center on Airport Access Road.
Yells from 30 to 40 family members and veterans gathered for the send-off filled the air. Some mothers and daughters cried. Some of the 30 demonstrators sang “We shall not be moved.”
From the family and veteran side of the street came:
“Why are you doing this? It’s not the time or the place. If it weren’t for these soldiers, you wouldn’t be able to do this right now.”
And from the protesters side:
“No, we love you. We’re doing this for the soldiers.”
“We love you, too,” one veteran countered. “But you shouldn’t be doing this.”
The 132 reservists stayed in the tankers, Humvees and other military transport vehicles they’ll drive to Fort McCoy, Wis. There the group will undergo some last-minute training before leaving for an as-yet-unknown assignment in a likely war with Iraq.
The sit-down lasted about 30 minutes while a handful of Traverse City police and Grand Traverse County sheriff’s deputies assigned to escort the convoy and direct traffic called for backup.
As a few onlookers yelled at the protesters, police asked them to leave the situation to them.
“You’re not helping the situation, please step back,” an officer said.
City Sgt. Joe McCarthy came to the line of protesters and told them they would be arrested if they didn’t move before police backups came. Two protesters got up and a little while later four more, leaving eight — five men and three women — on the ground.
After additional police units arrived, an officer from the 182nd ordered some reservists to form a line about 100 yards from the gate to make sure no protesters crossed into the reserve base.
Police then began the task of pulling protesters apart and taking them to waiting SUVs. No one resisted and no one was injured, police said.
The three women walked to the waiting SUVs. The five men had to be dragged and carried to police vehicles. The names of those arrested are: Leelanau County residents Sally Neal, Robert Bartle, Edmund Frost, and Joseph Flowers; Benzie County residents Kay Bond, Susan Lavender and Dan Kelly; and Zachary Johnson of Traverse City.
All were taken to the Grand Traverse County Jail on misdemeanor trespass charges, given court appearance dates and released.
For many family members and veterans, the sendoff was an emotional moment.
Dawn Stickney, wife of Pvt. Fred Stickney of Mancelona, huddled with her husband’s parents in the chill and drizzle.
“They alerted him on Feb. 14,” she said, adding she was not prepared for the call-up. “That was our Valentine’s Day present. We were married on Oct. 22 and this has been an emotional roller coaster.”
The farewell was also hard on Scott Howard of Boyne City, whose wife, Sgt. Kelli Howard, left with the convoy. He held his 16-month-old daughter Kassidy and tried to keep an eye on sons Jeffery, 7, and Branndon, 4, while waving as each truck passed by.
Howard is a diesel mechanic at an International dealership in Elmira that burned down recently putting him on layoff.
“While (the fire) was a cataclysm, it was good timing because I can take care of the kids for a while,” he said. “They’re rebuilding the dealership, so I’ll go back when they’re ready. We will have a sitter and family members will help. But there’s a big hole there and that’s not going to be filled.”
Kelly Albright, of Kalkaska, got married Feb. 1 when it became clear her finance, Sgt. Dean Albright, a truck driver for the 182nd, was likely to be called up.
“We were supposed to have a big wedding in the summer,” she said, her voice tight with tension.
Robin Hartman of Fairgrove, Mich. had come to Traverse City with her 17-year-old daughter Heather, to see her husbsand, Sgt. Dave Hartman. He had previously served in the Gulf War in 1991.
“These protesters out here stunk,” she said. “They should have just run them over. I think they’re stupid.” She and her husband know all about the reality of war, she said. His last tour was only six months long because he had been assigned to escort a body back to the United States from Saudi Arabia.
“I’m worried,” she said. “They have different people attached to the unit now and they’re not familiar with things. I’m praying he’ll be safe.”
Protester Karen Comella said none of the peace activists wanted to create trouble for the troops and their families. “The whole world is against this now. We don’t want the United States to be defamed this way.”
She and others distributed flyers to family members and other well-wishers gathered at the unit’s compound to see the troops off.
She said a peace vigil at the Open Space in Traverse City Sunday drew between 300 and 400 people for 15 minutes of silence. The Monday protest was organized by an ad-hoc group called Traverse Area Citizens Concerned For the Safety and Well Being of Our Soldiers.
That sounds like a mess. Who gets to clean it up? I ain't raising my hand to volunteer.
Excellent observation.
This needs to stop.
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