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NORTH MANCHESTER - Hundreds of American flags waved in the spring breeze as more than four hundred North Manchester citizens took to the streets yesterday in support of troops fighting the war in Iraq.
The Support Our Troops Rally, organized by Colleena Jiminez and Shelly Lambert, was "not a pro-war rally," Jiminez said. "It's to show support to the troops over there."
Jiminez, whose military husband is in the Middle East, said she thought of organizing the rally after her 8-year-old daughter became upset with anti-war protesters and their signs. She wanted to show her daughter the right way to demonstrate her opinions instead of "rolling down the car window and yelling at the protesters, like some people do."
People participated in the rally for a variety of reasons. Some came to learn about the "other side's" views, while many more came in support of friends and family fighting in Iraq.
Matt Wilson, a student at the traditionally pacifist Manchester College, said he came to "see the other side of Manchester." Wilson said that often only the peace demonstrations receive publicity and that many town citizens and college students have different views.
Another college student, Joel Hartman, echoed Wilson's thoughts, saying that while he is a pacifist, he is "sick of the one-sidedness" of opinions expressed regarding this war.
Patricia Rinsenberg, of North Manchester, said she believes most people came to the rally to show support for the troops, just as intended.
"We believe in America," Rinsenberg said. "We believe in what she stands for."
Don Huffman, father of a soldier in Iraq, said his reason for attending could be summed up without words. Holding up a poster with a picture of his son in full soldier's uniform, he said, "This'll tell you why we're here."
Rally participants met at the corner of Market and Main streets in North Manchester at 4:30 p.m., where they said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang "America the Beautiful" before marching eight blocks to the high school parking lot.
There, more than 90 names of local servicemen and -women were read aloud, family members of servicepeople spoke and a prayer was led by J.P. Freeman, pastor of the Congressional Christian Church.
Speakers at the high school included Linda Torpy. Torpy spoke to the cheering crowd on peace through victory.
"The men and women who are serving over there are our heroes - real heroes," Torpy said. "Never, never forget why we're there. We all watched those two towers go down with 3,000 innocent people inside. Our heroes are over there to make sure it never happens again."
With more than four times the estimated number of people attending the rally, support for the troops seems certain in North Manchester.
A 22-year Army veteran and soldier in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, Capt. John Hoffman knows how important homeland support is to the troops.
"I'm really pleased with the turnout," Hoffman said. "We need to let our young men know we support them."
For Hoffman, support for the military extends beyond the fact that he is a long-term Army man. The military is a tradition in his family and he has "two grandsons and three grandnephews over there right now."
"I'm John Hoffman," he said. "That's my grandson's name too, and I don't want to see it on a casualty list."
