Posted on 03/30/2003 5:03:30 AM PST by GailA
Rose Remine, of Oak Ridge, served as head organizer for a war rally held Saturday afternoon in front of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church. The rally location, at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Cedar Bluff, was selected based on high traffic flow and was not directly sponsored by the church.
East Tennessee rallies back troops, war effort Hundreds defy rain, chill to gather in Maryville and on Kingston Pike
By INA HUGHS, hughs@knews.com March 30, 2003
While American troops advanced in the desert, hundreds of area residents battled rain on two fronts Saturday to voice their support of President Bush and the war in Iraq.
By 9 a.m. an estimated 1,500 people under a sea of umbrellas gathered in Maryville's Greenbelt Park for a rally sponsored by Knoxville radio station WIVK, FM-107.7.
Some held signs bearing names of family members on active duty in the war. Before talk-show host Hallerin Hill gave his invocation to begin the formal part of the rally, half a dozen mothers, sisters, and wives warmed up the crowd by coming to the microphone to pay tearful respect to their loved ones and the cause for which they are fighting.
At noon along Kingston Pike in front of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, another 100 or so men, women and children lined the curbside, waving flags and yellow ribbons at a Support Our President demonstration organized by Rose and Rob Remine and their daughter Christie Zanoni, who underwrote the $2,500 cost of newspaper ads and the flags, pins and ribbons handed out free of charge.
Patriotic cheers and flag-related clothing were the mainstay of both gatherings, as were Christian references and an appeal to remember "the volunteer spirit" of East Tennessee.
Arrangements had been made by WIVK to broadcast its rally live to three Navy ships - the USS Roosevelt, USS Truman and the USS Iwo Jima - all on station somewhere in the Mediterrean or Red seas.
The only "booing" by the large crowd in Greenbelt Park was when WIVK's afternoon disc jockey, who goes by the name "Gunner," mentioned "the chicks" - referring to The Dixie Chicks, a well-known singing group whose lead singer recently made uncomplimentary comments about President Bush and his commitment to the war in Iraq.
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. was on hand to boost the crowd's morale by quoting the final verse of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Maj. Gen. Fred Forster told the crowd how much it meant when, some 13 years ago, he and "his gang" felt such strong support from East Tennessee during the Gulf War:
"We were overwhelmed," he said.
"The conflict we are in now," Gen. Forster went on to tell the cheering crowd, "is between good and evil and it is worldwide."
Even as the rain grew harder, the crowd stayed put. Those who had come on walkers or pushing strollers or who forgot their umbrellas and had to bear the wet chill, stood their ground for the hour-long program.
The largest flag among those waved by the crowd was not the Stars and Stripes but a large black banner that read: Remember the POWs and MIAs.
"I feel really concerned about those who end up caught or missing, not just in Vietnam, but in this war," said Chuck Bondy of Maynardville who came to the rally with this flag, which he waved high above the crowd throughout the program and which he keeps on display in front of his house.
"I can't imagine what it would make them feel like to know there are people protesting against what they have suffered for."
The noon crowd in front of Knoxville's Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church had no formal program. Its several dozen participants lined Kingston Pike and encouraged passersby in the steady stream of traffic to honk their horns in support of the president and the American troops.
"Why am I doing this?" says Rose Remine, organizer and underwriter of the demonstration. "Because when I read in the News Sentinel last Sunday about ("West Wing" TV star) Martin Sheen's denouncement of the president and the war, I got mad. I got real mad.
"He doesn't speak for me, and he doesn't speak for a lot of us. If we keep quiet, he will garner public sentiment, and I just couldn't let that happen. So (our family) decided to organize our own demonstration. We just wanted to do something. We decided to go into action ourselves."
Management from nearby Rafferty's saw the small crowd gathering in the damp chilly weather and brought over warm soup to feed these "troops."
Lesley Weiss of the Maryville Police Department expressed what obviously was a common sentiment at both gatherings, the one at Greenbelt Park and the one on Kingston Pike:
"If our soldiers can take the desert sands, we can take the rain."
Ina Hughs may be reached at 865-342-6268.
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