In the last part, I showed you the major area of confrontation between the protesters and the pro-victory Eagles. Where the two factions came closest was in the gathering area for the starting point of ANSWER's march across the bridge to Arlington. Patriots gathered along the sidewalk at the Lincoln Monument directly across from that area and lined the sidewalk all the way up to the bridge.
As protesters were lined up by the march orchestrators, they were carefully watched by SWAT team members. Evidently, there was some fear that anarchist pukes could cause some damage to life or property that day... I think SWAT underestimated the intimidation factor of having 30,000 pro-victory supporters and military veterans in such close proximity to the little punks.
Now gather up, children! Does everyone know their bus number?...
They led their march like it was a Broadway production -- everyone of any importance had a pre-determined order in the march. Cindy "I'm a disgrace to my son's memory" Sheehan and some other folks led the march with their banner followed by a few of the "Veterans for Peace." According to some first-hand accounts, these so-called vets numbered about six and the authenticity of some of them was highly questionable. In some accounts, one of the vets sobbed as he was called a "traitor" by the Eagles in his march past us.
The band of unwashed march off across the bridge to invade the Pentagon!
Eagles lined the road and onto the bridge as far as we could reach until that movement was stopped by police. We were told that the Gathering of Eagles did not have a permit to be on the bridge and so we were restricted to the area just before the start of the bridge.
Of course, being law-abiding citizens, we didn't want to cause the police more trouble. Although Mark was determined that we were going to have a presence on that bridge anyway... so the two of us strolled across on the opposite side with our "We Support the Troops" and Old Glory whipping in the wind. We stopped and stood our ground in the middle of that side of the bridge.
As you can see in the picture below, the full force of the Eagles was unable to line the bridge. The unwashed paraded on the other side.
What I found highly amusing is the number of protesters who felt a need to spout their nonsense at us as they passed by. It was clear why we were there. Did they really think that shouting at us in 30mph winds was suddenly going to convert us to idiots on parade? It was really bizarre.
The other bizarre thing about these Communist organizations who attend all these anti-America protests is the trash trail they leave in their wake. Unfortunately, I didn't get good pictures of the big messes they left but the one below is a typical trash wake left on their side of the bridge. This is extremely minor compared to the way they trashed up their rally areas and the sidewalks throughout the National Mall.
Litter bugs and their minor trash trail
As they were busy strewing trash everywhere, beating their plastic buckets, and skipping along the bridge, I'm sure they had no idea what awaited them on the other side... what a treat!
There were pro-victory supporters and a huge banner in the large triangular median just before Arlington Cemetary! You can't really make out the text of their banner from this picture but it says: "Go to hell Traitors -- You dishonor our dead on hallowed ground!" You'll see pictures elsewhere in the media of a young guy with his face painted red, white, and blue shouting into a bullhorn. As this guy stood in front of the banner and the pro-victory supporters, he did a wonderful job taunting the hate-America crowd as they marched past him. It was fun to watch him and cheer him on in his mission to irritate the idiots on parade.
As the last of the unwashed filed past on their way to the Pentagon, Mark and I gave up the fight. We had been out in the cold and windy weather all day and were chilled to the bone. The wind across that bridge had just about frozen me to the core. It was time to head for warmth. We knew others would witness and report the rest.
What a day it was for those of us who love our country and support our troops both past and present! March 17, 2007 will be forever seared into my memory as the day the silent eagle was finally heard on the streets of Washington, DC. It felt especially good to this daughter of a Vietnam vet because I was finally able to welcome thousands of Vietnam vets home the way they should have been welcomed decades ago -- flags waving, big smiles, and many thanks for all they did back then and all that did that day in DC.
God bless the organizers of The Gathering of Eagles and everyone who put in so much time to make it a huge success. Mark and I were very proud to have been a part of history with so many fine Americans!
As protesters were lined up by the march orchestrators, they were carefully watched by SWAT team members. Evidently, there was some fear that anarchist pukes could cause some damage to life or property that day... I think SWAT underestimated the intimidation factor of having 30,000 pro-victory supporters and military veterans in such close proximity to the little punks.
Now gather up, children! Does everyone know their bus number?... They led their march like it was a Broadway production -- everyone of any importance had a pre-determined order in the march. Cindy "I'm a disgrace to my son's memory" Sheehan and some other folks led the march with their banner followed by a few of the "Veterans for Peace." According to some first-hand accounts, these so-called vets numbered about six and the authenticity of some of them was highly questionable. In some accounts, one of the vets sobbed as he was called a "traitor" by the Eagles in his march past us.
The band of unwashed march off across the bridge to invade the Pentagon!Eagles lined the road and onto the bridge as far as we could reach until that movement was stopped by police. We were told that the Gathering of Eagles did not have a permit to be on the bridge and so we were restricted to the area just before the start of the bridge.
Of course, being law-abiding citizens, we didn't want to cause the police more trouble. Although Mark was determined that we were going to have a presence on that bridge anyway... so the two of us strolled across on the opposite side with our "We Support the Troops" and Old Glory whipping in the wind. We stopped and stood our ground in the middle of that side of the bridge.
As you can see in the picture below, the full force of the Eagles was unable to line the bridge. The unwashed paraded on the other side.
What I found highly amusing is the number of protesters who felt a need to spout their nonsense at us as they passed by. It was clear why we were there. Did they really think that shouting at us in 30mph winds was suddenly going to convert us to idiots on parade? It was really bizarre.
The other bizarre thing about these Communist organizations who attend all these anti-America protests is the trash trail they leave in their wake. Unfortunately, I didn't get good pictures of the big messes they left but the one below is a typical trash wake left on their side of the bridge. This is extremely minor compared to the way they trashed up their rally areas and the sidewalks throughout the National Mall.
Litter bugs and their minor trash trailAs they were busy strewing trash everywhere, beating their plastic buckets, and skipping along the bridge, I'm sure they had no idea what awaited them on the other side... what a treat!
There were pro-victory supporters and a huge banner in the large triangular median just before Arlington Cemetary! You can't really make out the text of their banner from this picture but it says: "Go to hell Traitors -- You dishonor our dead on hallowed ground!" You'll see pictures elsewhere in the media of a young guy with his face painted red, white, and blue shouting into a bullhorn. As this guy stood in front of the banner and the pro-victory supporters, he did a wonderful job taunting the hate-America crowd as they marched past him. It was fun to watch him and cheer him on in his mission to irritate the idiots on parade.
As the last of the unwashed filed past on their way to the Pentagon, Mark and I gave up the fight. We had been out in the cold and windy weather all day and were chilled to the bone. The wind across that bridge had just about frozen me to the core. It was time to head for warmth. We knew others would witness and report the rest.
What a day it was for those of us who love our country and support our troops both past and present! March 17, 2007 will be forever seared into my memory as the day the silent eagle was finally heard on the streets of Washington, DC. It felt especially good to this daughter of a Vietnam vet because I was finally able to welcome thousands of Vietnam vets home the way they should have been welcomed decades ago -- flags waving, big smiles, and many thanks for all they did back then and all that did that day in DC.
God bless the organizers of The Gathering of Eagles and everyone who put in so much time to make it a huge success. Mark and I were very proud to have been a part of history with so many fine Americans!