'Baby killer' taunt irks MP with son in Iraq

[MORTARDUDE]

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'Baby killer' taunt irks MP with son in Iraq
Myron Thompson takes protesters' chant personally

Tom Barrett
The Edmonton Journal


Sunday, March 23, 2003

CREDIT: The Canadian Press, File

Alliance MP Myron Thompson

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EDMONTON - It really gets under Myron Thompson's skin when he hears anti-war protesters chanting that United States President George Bush is a baby killer.

The Wild Rose Alliance MP and his wife can't help but think of their 29-year-old son Dennis, who's a U.S. combat soldier somewhere deep in Iraq.

"When they say that, they're accusing the soldiers," he said Saturday. "They should know that there's a young Canadian who's part of that force, and he's my son, and he's no baby killer."

Thompson acknowledges the demonstrators have a right to march and state their opposition.

However, he says, "I only have one message for them: Remember that there were hundreds of thousands of brave men who died on the battlefield so they could have that freedom."

The Thompsons are now going through the torture that millions of parents have experienced when their children go to war.

In his eight years in the U.S. Army, Staff Sgt. Dennis Thompson has served overseas as an engineer in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Taiwan, mostly building schools and hospitals.

This time, he's at the front carrying a rifle, although his parents don't know which division he's in or specifically where he is.

"When I last talked to him he said, 'We will be one of the first ones going in,' but he couldn't say any more," Thompson said.

He and his wife firmly believe their son and his companions are doing the right thing, fighting to liberate the long-suffering people of Iraq from a vicious regime, and making the world safer.

"I'm satisfied in my mind that the risk he's taking is worth it in the long run," Thompson said, "but it's very stressful for his mother and father. We're confident he's going to be OK, and we're praying for him and the others."

Few Canadians know it but Myron Thompson is an American by birth and has served in the U.S. Army himself. A native of Monte Vista, Colo., Thompson joined up in 1958. Two years later, he returned to the family farm before becoming a teacher. In 1968 he decided to try a one-year teaching assignment in Sundre, Alta., thinking it would be interesting because of the great hunting and fishing.

He and his wife liked the place so much they never went back, becoming Canadian citizens in 1974.

Dennis Thompson tried to join the Canadian army in 1994 but couldn't get in because they were downsizing and looking to bring in more women and minority groups, his dad says.

But as a dual citizen, he realized he was eligible for the U.S. Army. He was accepted quickly, has now served for eight years and considers it a career.

The Wild Rose MP said he tried to stay relatively quiet during the buildup to the war, but became increasingly frustrated as Prime Minister Jean Chretien avoided taking a stance until the last possible moment and then decided not to support the U.S. and Britain.

Thomson said he was pleased to hear that Premier Ralph Klein, along with a few other provincial leaders, have expressed their support for their traditional allies.

tbarrett@thejournal.canwest.com