About 6,000 supporters of U.S. troops show colors... Millington, Tennessee

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/america...832717,00.html


I was there.....


About 6,000 supporters of U.S. troops show colors
By Laura Coleman Noeth
noeth@gomemphis.com
March 23, 2003

The one member of the Pirtle family everyone wished could be under the bright sun in Millington Saturday was half a world away in the evening darkness of Qatar.

Marine Sgt. Kevin Pirtle's 4-month-old son Rian was there, in his flag-adorned Onesies, napping in his stroller.

Christina Pirtle of Cordova, Kevin's wife, was there, tears coming down her cheeks as America the Beautiful came from Gordon Abernathy's bagpipes.

And so were his parents, Danny and DeDe Pirtle of Somerville, and his grandmother, Lou Masnica of Bartlett, and his cousin, Jessica Spurlock.

Finally, Masnica said, she could help her grandson.

"I've felt so helpless," she said, wearing a T-shirt with Pirtle's name airbrushed on it. "At least this is something we can do for him."

As about 6,000 others waved flags, held signs and chanted "USA, USA!" they, too, took advantage of the chance to show their support for the 250,000 U.S. troops serving in the Persian Gulf region.

The event, organized by American Legion Post 252, brought military family members, veterans of other wars and citizens together. It began more than 30 minutes after its scheduled noon start to allow the traffic jam of those still arriving to clear. Even after the speaking began, cars streamed into the stadium parking lot for 45 minutes.

The participants came from throughout the region, in flag-adorned cars, on Harleys, in wheelchairs and strollers, bearing yellow ribbons and red-white-and-blue banners.

They carried posters bearing soldiers' pictures. They wore uniforms bearing medals.

And they wore sunglasses to shield their emotions as much as the ultraviolet rays. Vietnam veteran Phil Waldon of Memphis pulled off his glasses to explain.

"You see my eyes don't you?" he said, exposing eyes reddened by the emotion of the event.

Waldon and several other Vietnam veterans expressed gratification that today's soldiers are getting more support than they believe they did more than 30 years ago.

"Oh, it was great, really good," Waldon, 54, said of the rally. "It was cleansing. We didn't have this. I guess you could say we were stealing some of their thunder.

"Finally, at last, the American public is supporting its troops."

Fellow Vietnam veteran Mike Strayberry , 54, agreed.

"We didn't have this when we got home. People spit on me when I arrived at Memphis International Airport."

But, on Saturday, it was a different experience for Jim Latham, another Vietnam veteran.

"I just had a woman come up to me bawling, saying, 'I won't forget.' "

"And we're going to be there to greet these soldiers when they come back from Iraq," said Barry Ryan, president of the West Tennessee chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America.

Moments later, thunderous ovations nearly drowned out the roar of a passing helicopter as speaker after speaker, veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the first Persian Gulf War, often in emotional voices, called for support for the soldiers and their families.

"Vietnam was the first war where we didn't support our troops," said speaker George Berthelson, a veteran of that war. "My plea to you is let's don't let that happen this time. These soldiers are the messengers; they didn't set the policy. They're there to keep war from coming here, and that's the same reason I went to Vietnam."

As Berthelson spoke, Bill Fransioli, 54, of Collierville, held a cell phone in the air in front of him, using it to broadcast the rally to his wife, Sandy, who was home babysitting grandchildren.

Fransioli has no family members serving in the military, he said. He just wanted to attend Saturday's rally to show support.

And what he heard tugged at his emotions as well. "I'm crying," he said, "for the boys and girls over there."

Behind him, a middle-aged man noticed that Murray Habbaz, a veteran of the Korean War, didn't have a seat so he offered his. Then Habbaz sat down with his friend, Leo Wald, 76, a fellow member of the Jewish War Veterans and Holocaust survivor. Wald nodded as he heard about comparisons of Saddam Hussein and Josef Stalin.

"This one man is trying to control all of the Middle East by himself," Wald said of Hussein. "If we don't take care of him, war can happen in our own backyard," he said, as the crowd cheered the rally's main speaker, retired Air Force colonel Tony Lopez of Covington.

Outside the stadium at the American Legion's table, the Legion's 10th district commander, David DuBois, smiled as he watched people buying T-shirts.

But he said he doesn't expect the American Legion to sponsor another such rally. "Probably not. But what we're hoping to do is to have a big homecoming rally when they come."

[Jerry D]

May our men and women in uniform return to open arms insted of the closed hearts of the 70's, We are proud of the great Job they are doing in Iraq.