Posted by Howard Richman on March 30 2008 at 18:06:40:
An article in today´s The Tenessean Freedom National Heroes Tour visit to Tennessee. Here is a selection:
FRANKLIN — Kathy Marerro sat in a pew at the ClearView Baptist Church Saturday with her four home-schooled children by her side and her 19-year-old son away in Army training.The closest the tour will get to Pennsylvania will be Washington DC on April 8 and New York City on April 9.She came to the church to listen to Iraq war veterans with the Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour talk about their experiences on the front lines.
"We wanted to hear from people who are actually over there," said the Hermitage resident. "I am moved by people who are willing to put their life on the line for me."
Marerro´s 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, agreed: "It is cool to hear stories and see what´s going on. We see it on the news, but it is good to hear their firsthand experiences."
The forum at ClearView was the last stop Saturday on the veterans´ trip through Middle Tennessee Saturday, marking the halfway point of a 14-state tour to educate the public on the war in Iraq.
Motorcyclist members of Rolling Thunder, a nonprofit veterans´ service organization, escorted the tour bus as it pulled up at the church on Franklin Road.
Hendersonville resident Gary "Gabby" Covington, a veteran and member of Rolling Thunder, led the convoy.
"The general public doesn´t get the true story that we believe is actually happening in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. "We´re trying to support the effort as a country so we can feel safe at night."...
Retired Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the battalion responsible for the capture of Saddam Hussein, was among the veterans speaking on the tour.
"We want to educate the public of the success our men and women are having and that this war is not only winnable, but without abandonment and defeatism at home, we will prevail," he said.
"(The public) want to hear it from those who have been there, not from those who have some opinion about it. For us, these issues are not academic, they are experiential."...
Howard Richman