Group supports troops, not war
By Kevin Braley March 20, 2008
MANITOWOC — Rita Marquardt of Manitowoc is torn between her concerns for her son fighting in Afghanistan and condemning a war she doesn't feel is justified.
"I'm certainly concerned about my son, but I'm not a believer of any war," Marquardt said. "I haven't seen that wars solve anything."
On Wednesday — the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war — about 30 protesters picketed on the corner of North Eighth Street and Maritime Drive in Manitowoc. Many of the protesters carried signs calling for peace in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan. Some drivers honked showing their support for the protesters.
Lakeshore Peacekeepers, a group devoted to calling for the end of the war and the safe return home of military personnel, organized the protest.
"It's Vietnam all over again," Dennis Larsen of Manitowoc said. "It was a mistake to go in. I think violence is wrong. There are other alternatives."
Patty Marquardt, Rita Marquardt's sister, said the war "sickens" her.
"I was appalled we were doing this in the first place," Patty Marquardt said. "I'm against the killing. I'm not against defending our country, but we're not defending our country by dropping bombs on Iraq."
Patty Marquardt said she fears for the safety of her nephew, William Despins, 19, of Kewaunee, who is in the Army and stationed in Bagram, Afghanistan.
"My hopes are that he doesn't get killed and that he doesn't kill anyone," said Patty Marquardt, admitting she tried to discourage Despins from enlisting.
Patty Marquardt said she supports Despins and the other troops serving overseas while adamantly opposing the war.
"Being against the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan has nothing to do with supporting our troops," Patty Marquardt said.
"People think we don't support the troops," Rita Marquardt said. "We do support the troops — after all, my son's over there — just not the war."
Larsen said he doesn't support "the idiot who sent them over there," alluding to President Bush.
"(The invasion) was a little short-sighted," Larsen said.
Johanna Worley of Manitowoc didn't think she'd be protesting the war five years after it began.
"Who would have thought that five years later, we'd still be here protesting this?" Worley said. "I thought it was going to be short and sweet. That's what we were told."
"I thought it was going to be quickly won or that they'd have enough sense not to stay there as long as they have," Bryan Flaherty of Manitowoc said. "I didn't expect we'd be here five years later when this all started."
Flaherty about five years ago was arrested after walking out of class at Lincoln High School in protest of the war with about 30 other students. Flaherty, now a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was charged with truancy and unlawful assembly. The charges were dismissed.
Protesters on Wednesday said they prefer the troops come home "as soon as possible," Larsen said.
"Too many people have died," he said.
"I want them to come home alive and I want them to survive the war," Worley said. "Bring 'em home."
The Lakeshore Peacemakers will continue to protest the war until it ends, members said. The group protests the war from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Fridays on the corner of North Eighth Street and Maritime Drive.