DALLAS - Several hundred people braved a cold, constant rain Saturday to support the president and American troops in an "I Love America Pro-Military Rally" in downtown Dallas.
Many participants said they don't want to repeat the mistake made during the Vietnam War, when U.S. protests demoralized soldiers far from home.
"Our troops do need the support over there, I'll tell you," said Ron Hill, a disabled Vietnam veteran who drove from Houston for the two-hour event.
About two dozen anti-war protesters also showed up at the rally sponsored by area Republican and conservative groups, but the confrontation was mild compared to clashes in Manhattan, San Francisco, Hollywood and elsewhere in the country.
New York City drew more than 100,000 anti-war demonstrators, challenged by thousands who support the troops in Iraq. In Chicago, about 800 troop supporters were jeered by opponents.
The message in Dallas was that Texans who support President Bush and the U.S. troops in Iraq can no longer remain the silent majority. Drivers in dozens of passing cars honked and waved in a show of support.
"We need to have a strong voice that says we stand behind our president and we love the men and women in our military," U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, told the cheering crowd.
The crowd of war veterans, college students, and moms and dads spent much of the afternoon exchanging banter with war protesters standing behind a police barricade with a large sign that read "Peace is Patriotic."
Rally participants told them to "go home to France," but anti-war advocates said that their presence was important.
Rachel Clary, a 23-year-old Plano resident, said it's not anti-American to speak out against military action.
"They're under the impression that we don't love our country or support our troops. We do. We want them to come home alive," Cox said.
But rally participants said that questioning the president sends the military the wrong message.
"All around the world, people are thirsty and hungry for freedom," Dallas resident and rally organizer Charles Kingerfelt told the crowd. "The people in Iraq have been thirsty too long."
The support comforted Monty Mickey, whose son is overseas fighting. And he said he didn't mind the protesters.
"Blood was shed for them to be over here, just like blood was shed for me to be here," he said.
This report includes material from the Associated Press.