Soldiers' families, supporters join rally.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Almost one hundred strong, they marched downtown on Monday with one simple message: Our troops are dying in action, and it's time to close ranks and support them.

"When war starts, we've got to back our people. They're in harm's way," said Ron Graves, a Springfield punch press operator who joined the ranks of ralliers in a hastily organized response to war protests that have made recent local and national headlines. "We may dislike what our president came up with, you don't have to agree with it, but our troops need our support now."

About 90 like-minded people, many carrying Stars and Stripes, crowded on the sidewalk in front of City Hall at 5 p.m. For those who didn't bring their own flags, Iona Kline of the Springfield Veterans of Foreign Wars auxiliary had plenty to share.

"How much are those flags?" asked a teen-ager.

"They don't cost a thing," Kline said and handed him one.

Others carried handmade signs that read "Some gave all, can't we give some? Support the troops," and `Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

The rally came together at the last minute, said Springfield accountant Richard Willis, who began organizing the event Sunday afternoon. Willis has a son in the Marines stationed in Hawaii, and he wanted to encourage the men and women serving. Willis lost a brother in the Vietnam War and has been haunted ever since by the negative reception troops faced on return from that war. He hopes that doesn't happen again.

"We want to say, `We're here and we love you guys and we want you to know it,' ' he said. It's not just a message for those serving but one their families need, too, he said.

The rally drew several parents whose children may be in harm's way.

Jim Gilbert, who lives east of Springfield and delivers mail on a rural postal route, has a son serving as a combat engineer in the Marines somewhere in or near Iraq. Gilbert is not the kind of guy who attends rallies, or worries overtly about things he can't control. But word of Monday's event pulled him out of his usual orbit, and he carried a small flag as he walked along A Street.

"I wanted to make the statement that I do support the troops. They've got a tough job," he said.

As ralliers made their way from City Hall down A Street, then across Mill, drivers in passing cars and trucks honked and waved.

That came as a pleasant surprise for Ed and Marcy Doughty, Creswell residents with a son serving in an artillery unit of the Marines in Iraq.

"This is really good," Marcy Doughty said. "I'm surprised and pleased. All you see on TV is people putting it down."

The anti-war rallies give a lopsided view of people's real feelings about the the war, several said. But the peace rallies often happen when most people are working.

"We can't go down in the middle of the day and show our side," said Ed Doughty, who drives a truck for a living.

The Doughtys spoke to their son the Sunday before the war started.

"He said he's fine, but he wished we'd write," Marcy Doughty said. The irony is that they write him twice a week and estimate that with all the extended family members writing him, probably a letter a day goes out to him, to say nothing of care packages filled with things he's asked for such as lip balm, sun glasses, an electric razor and disposable camera. But he's received none of the care packages and only three letters, the Doughtys said.

Carol Sylliaasen hoped that America's soldiers get wind of rallies backing their efforts and sacrifices. Her son serves aboard the USS Rainier, which supplies other ships in the Persian Gulf.

"I want those guys over there to see this," she said. "During Vietnam, the men came home and they were spit on. But they didn't have a choice. I don't want that to happen again."

The chance to attend the rally was a welcome change.

"It's a way of getting through it yourself," she said.

The turnout surprised Willis, who had estimated that 25 people might attend. Springfield police obliged the group by blocking traffic as marchers crossed through intersections.

CAPTION(S):

Marcy and Ed Doughty of Creswell join a group at Springfield City Hall on Monday evening to show their support for the troops. The Doughtys believe their son, a Marine, is now inside Iraq. Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard About 90 people showed up at Springfield City Hall on Monday to show support for U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf. Several said they had seen too many anti-war protesters in the news and came to show that they care about the troops and support the war effort. The group walked from City Hall to the bridge across the Willamette River to greet motorists entering the city. Please turn to RALLY, Page A8 Rally: Message meant for those serving Continued from Page A1