Bangor demonstrators support, protest war Flags, slogans, ‘die-in’ mark separate rallies

BANGOR – Scores of people turned out Saturday at separate rallies to protest the war against Iraq and to express support for U.S. troops. Some protesters staged a “die-in,” while veterans, parents of servicemen and women, and other supporters waved flags and held signs with slogans such as “Thank You Patriots.”

At the pro-troops rally late Saturday morning, Hogan Road was lined with the Stars and Stripes, U.S. Army, Marine and POW-MIA flags, and union jacks. Motorists waved, clapped and gave thumbs-up signs and honked horns in solidarity in an almost constant stream.

Waving a small flag and carrying a small placard that read, “We support U.S. troops,” Kathy Bearce was one of the many people lining the road and taking in the cacophony of car and truck horns.

In the past, Bearce had taken to the streets to protest – when Richard M. Nixon was president and again when Joseph Brennan was Maine’s governor – but this time she was there for a different cause, to show her support of U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.

“I thank them every day for defending our freedom,” said the 52-year-old Bangor woman, whose father and brother both served in the Marine Corps. “They’re doing a job the rest of us can’t do or are unable to do.”

It’s a message that Bangor High School students Amanda Dean, 15, and Ansley Hansen, 14, believed the troops may not be getting in the wake of news accounts of anti-war protests in this country and abroad.

“I hope the troops understand that there are actually people out here who support them,” said Dean, who has a cousin stationed in Kuwait.

Ken Seekins, a member of Belfast’s Sons of the American Legion, traveled from Searsmont to express his support.

“Them [the troops] being over there, gives me the right to be here,” said Seekins, whose father fought in World War II. “The world deserves peace, and if it takes war to get that – the freedom to say and do as you please – I’m glad we’re there.”

About 100 demonstrators converged at West Market Square for the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine’s “die-in” protest. A yellow dog wore a sign that read, “Pets For Peace.”

At about 1:15 p.m., as a CD player began blasting the sounds of battle, about 20 people clad in white shirts broke baggies of fake blood on themselves and fell to the ground. Other protesters dressed in black drew chalk lines around the bodies. The bodies were then covered with sheets, and some in the crowd stood and then knelt in mourning.

Protest participant and veteran Mike Reynolds of Veazie said he turned out for the demonstration in frustration over how the Bush administration is dealing with national security and other domestic issues. He stressed he does support U.S. troops.

“I’ve got the flag here,” Reynolds said. “I do support the troops.”

Some downtown shoppers walked silently through the crowd, some shedding tears, while others just tried to avoid stepping on the bodies.

The protesters then moved to Cascade Park to form what Ilze Petersons of the Peace and Justice Center called a “chain of concern.” Petersons said the group planned to line U.S. Route 2 from Eastern Maine Medical Center to Mount Hope Cemetery, holding photographs of Iraqi citizens taken recently by Bangor peace activist Jim Harney.