SwiftVets.com

BC · PO3 Joined: 08 Aug 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Oklahoma City

Found this from the AP

Vietnam Vets Rally Against Kerry in D.C.
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Bostonian · Seaman Apprentice Joined: 14 Aug 2004 Posts: 81

Somebody please post some pictures so we can see the actual size of the crowd. AP says it was about 1,000.

hopeful · Seaman Recruit Joined: 11 Aug 2004 Posts: 38

What a great gathering. My son said to me after the rally that he didn't reralize how pissed off the vets actually were at Kerry. I told him he had to be there. He was really quite impressed and had a chance to talk to some of the vets at the Capitol Brewing Co. after the rally.

I reckon there were about 3,000. A lot of young people too.

All the speakers were great. John O'Neill got an unbelievable reception.

We have pictures to share with those of you that couldn't make it or didn't see it on C Span. As my son said there were some really imaginative signs!!

You will have to wait until I get back to NJ tomorrow night.

Kudos to the organizers and Kudos to all those that travelled so far to make a great event (I had a convenient excuse, my son lives here).

This was a really terrific family day. My first demonstration and I shared it with my wife, son and so many great people.

Any way I am on my way out to feed him and his buddies again (you college parents know what that's about!).

Oh, and by the way...Welcome Home!!!!!!!!!!
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Navy_Navy_Navy · Admin Joined: 07 May 2004 Posts: 5777

I guessed about 3000, too, but the AP is reporting only 1000.

They didn't show an awful lot of crowd shots, just many closeups of people in the crowd. Mostly focused on the stage.

I'll be interested to see what DCPD estimates for crowd strength.
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~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

BC · PO3 Joined: 08 Aug 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Oklahoma City

Beatrice1000 · Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 11:45 pm Post subject:

ASW Tech · Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2004 11:56 pm Post subject: Rally Pics

I agree that there were about 3000 people there. Here is a panoramic series of pics I took. Sorry about the framing...I was holding the camera over my head.

These are 1.5Mb jpgs, so they'll take awhile to download if you're on a slow connection. The good news is, you should be able to zoom them pretty good.

(I know this is a crude way to present them, but I'm sitting in a hotel in DC connected with my cellphone.)

http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20005.jpg
http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20006.jpg
http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20007.jpg
http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20008.jpg
http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20009.jpg
http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20010.jpg
http://216.145.242.120/images/Rally/Rally%20011.jpg
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VP-31/HSL-31/HSL-35 '70-'74

Navy_Navy_Navy · Admin Joined: 07 May 2004 Posts: 5777

Woohoo!!!! Thanks for the great pictures!

Sure looks like more than a thousand to me. Wink

_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

Beatrice1000 · Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:14 am Post subject: Re: Rally Pics

ArmyMedicsMom · LCDR Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 430

I watched on CSpan and cried through alot of it. It really touched me.

CSpan will air it again tonight, 2 A.M. on the East Coast and again on monday (not sure what time).

The speeches reminded me of a letter my son had sent me while he was in Iraq last winter.

He wrote it in response to the pictures and letters that his 8 year old brothers classmates had sent him
(Matthew joined the Army right out of highschool, after 911).

"Imagine yourself as a kid like any other, who grew up in a small town close
to nature, a modernized version of a town from a thousand years past, who
even swatted your siblings with sticks and rocks, and could find no shortage
of exploring, since your house was almost all alone on the edge of a forest
and a river. Like all children, mischief was your best friend.
When I was little, I wanted to be a hero. I never gave the Army any
thought; as it was, the only traces of the Army I ever saw was on TV during
various conflicts, since the only military members nearby were recruiters.
Instead, I considered being a firefighter or policeman while fantasizing
about knights and such. As time passed, I found that heroics ranged from a
much more broad definition than I had envisioned - a hero can easily be
anything from a librarian to a general to a teacher to a missionary.
I guess what I'm getting at is that even though I'm trying to make
everyone's lives easier here in Iraq as a medic, the definition of a hero
isn't limited to television coverage or gossip or a limited range of
imagination, as one may have in the throes of youth, but is really more
along the lines of doing good for others without harm to another party, and
to expect little to nothing in return. We all grow up and learn
self-sacrifice, and I believe that if we do right, we can all be heroes."

angelwings · Seaman Recruit Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 12

Thanks for the pictures as I did not see the Rally on the news anywhere. One of these days I am going to a protest rally before I get too feeble!!! Speaking of heroes..
I watch CSpan once in awhile but this morning watched a young man {reporter author} speaking at a Special Forces Museum in Fayettsville{sp} He spoke of those who serve in the Armed Forces as heroes, why they are the best Forces in the world as it is not only their equipment but the positive, intelligent and independent mentality of our Forces. He spoke of so many things that made sense..like the reporters who are not reporting a true picture of the gains the US has made and why they have such a different mind set. He went back in history to our own history Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW11 ect after 16 months and gave interesting parallels. At this time in the Revolutionary War people Washington had lost most of his Army, the people were starting to turn to the Tory Government..anyhow it was so interesting. His name wasKarl Zinsmeister latest book "Dawn Over Bagdad". It was such a positive message about our young people and their task.

Me#1You#10 · Site Admin Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 6503

Interesting shot the AP uses to "depict" the protest. ONE guy trying to disrupt is their idea of a representative photo?
God bless this young lady getting in his face. I believe she was one of the speakers. I'll get her name shortly.

Navy_Navy_Navy · Admin Joined: 07 May 2004 Posts: 5777

You do know who HE is, right? Wink

_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

Prisoner · Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:09 am Post subject:

I hope you don't mind that I took the pictures, made them a bit smaller and made a quick webpage in order to make them more accessible to those of us on a dial-up.

http://www.freespeechforums.net/veterans/

If you want me to display more, email them to me and I will be glad to do it.

rickpris@yahoo.com

If you prefer that I not display them, let me know. My intentions are not to offend anyone.
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