Posted on 04/02/2003 4:56:11 AM PST by Libloather
Radio reports place the next rally at the LJVM Coliseum on Saturday, April 5, 2003, running from 10am thru noon.
Sun, March 23, 2003
Salute to Service
Vietnam-vets group rallies crowd in city in support of troops
By Jim Sparks
JOURNAL REPORTER
You may be against the war, but you shouldn't be against the troops.
That was the primary sentiment expressed yesterday morning at a Support the Troops rally sponsored by the Triad chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Association in front of Joel Coliseum.
A few hundred people, many dressed in red, white and blue and waving flags, attended the rally. Many said they wanted to show the troops overseas that people at home support them, even if national media coverage of large anti-war protests in other parts of the country might indicate otherwise.
Gwen Gregory held a sign with a picture of her son, Garrett Call, 21, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps. She said she was glad to find out about the rally.
Although she said she believes in freedom of speech, she felt that some of the more heated protests aired on television had sent a message that military service wasn't valued.
"I think it's bad when the protesters say they want peace then act in a hateful way," Gregory said. "I think that everybody should support the troops regardless, because the troops don't have a choice about being over there."
Pam Baity, a friend of Gregory and her son, said she found it ironic that the rally to support U.S. forces was sponsored by a group of veterans who did not feel much respected by the country, at least not initially. "I think that because many Vietnam veterans know what it's like to not be supported, they want to make sure the guys fighting now know that people care," Baity said.
That was exactly the reason behind yesterday's effort and a similar rally the group sponsored 12 years ago during the first Gulf War, said Dickie Speas, the president of the Triad organization.
"Nobody likes war," Speas said. "But we wanted to show the troops that most folks were behind them."
The rally featured groups of local children leading the crowd in patriotic songs and several impromptu speakers. It ended with a parade around the coliseum grounds. One of those who spoke was Tim Randall of Winston-Salem. Wearing a shirt made in the form of a U.S. flag, Randall read a poem called "A soldier gave his life today," which he said he wrote earlier this week in response to the anti-war protests he had seen across the country.
"I just finished watching a protest take place, my blood is still boiling because they put it in my face,
I understand your problem you don't like to see war, neither do any of us but the signal you're sending is poor."
After Randall spoke, he walked up to another speaker, Bill Hinson, a Winston-Salem resident who served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. Randall thanked Hinson for the time he has spent overseas on the nation's behalf.
"You don't know how much that means to me," Hinson said in response. He served in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
Hinson said he usually didn't talk much about his war. He decided to speak at the rally, he said, to help himself and other veterans come to terms with their experiences.
Hinson said that when he landed in California upon returning from Vietnam, he and others in his unit were greeted by taunts, doused with urine and treated like criminals for doing what they had perceived as their duty. He said he was scarred by the experience and suppressed it for years. He also said that even though society had initially scorned him and his fellow Vietnam veterans, those who serve their country have no reason to feel ashamed.
"This is a healing process for me," he said. "I think we need to be proud of the way we served, because we did what we felt like we were supposed to do."
He then pointed to the crowd.
"See this support?" Hinson asked. "This is what we needed when we were in Vietnam."
• Jim Sparks can be reached in Wilkesboro at (336) 667-5691 or at jsparks@wsjournal.com
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