Iraq casualties sign will stay up near Duluth recruiting office

[Barrett808]

DULUTH, Minn. - The Steve Kelley for Gov. campaign office in Duluth says it won't take down a sign in its window that keeps a running tally of U.S. casualties in Iraq.

The sign has stirred up some hard feelings because it's right next door to the military recruiting station in downtown Duluth.

The commander of the station says the sign is troubling for some of his recruiters, including one who recently returned from Iraq. He says his recruiters already have to endure the anti-war protesters who gather outside the office every Monday.

But a Kelley campaign spokeswoman says the sign will stay up. It was put up by a campaign volunteer who was wounded in the Vietnam War and says he regrets not speaking out against it then.

Kelley is a D-F-L state senator from Hopkins.

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/13359610.htm

[Critters2]

1. I never thought I'd want to live in Duluth

but it sounds like a great place!! I can always dress in layers!

[rmgustaf]

3. Minnesota and North Dakota both have blue streaks...

...arising from the Non-Partisan League and our independent streak. Sure, both states run conservative (Minneapolis keeps MN in the blue column), but people are really starting to question whether the Republican party is really the party of family values around here.

[merwin]

2. I'm pretty sure the people returning from Iraq are well aware of the

number of casualties before they see the sign.

[saigon68]

4. already have to endure the anti-war protesters who gather outside

BOO FUCKING HOO

Those assholes just want your kid to go and help KILL A FEW (INSERT RACIAL EPITHET HERE)

It takes CAJONES AND COURAGE to stand outside in Duluth in Dec, Jan and Feb and picket the rustics in uniform inside.

[IChing]

5. Sign (#of dead) stirs up controversy next army recruitment center

WAR DEAD: A sign that details the numbers of dead and wounded U.S. soldiers
in the Iraq war won't be removed from a Superior Street campaign office.

BY SCOTT THISTLE

NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Potential U.S. Army recruits face an unofficial and grim reminder of what joining the service could lead to at Duluth's downtown recruiting station.

In the window of the office next to the recruiting station, a sign lists the numbers of U.S. servicemen and women killed or wounded in the Iraq war.

"Iraq," the sign reads. "Remember the Fallen Heroes." Next to it are two green-and-white, "Steve Kelley for Governor" campaign signs.

The war sign was placed in the window by Scott Cameron, a campaign volunteer and disabled Vietnam War veteran. Cameron was wounded when he was shot in the back while riding in a helicopter above the Mekong Delta in 1969.

And despite a request from the nearby recruiting station commander, Army Staff Sgt. Gary Capan, to take the war sign down, it will stay up, a spokeswoman for Kelley's campaign said Wednesday.>>>>snip
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13356992.htm




STEVE KELLEY FOR GOVERNOR ! HOW ABOUT IT!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

6. Good. How dare that Sgt. request that be taken

down.

It should be trumpeted from every window facing every recruiting station in the country. These kids need to know what they are volunteering for.

It is one thing to get drafted into this kind of shit. Quite another to walk into it blind and stupid.

[TacticalPeek]

7. Link?

:shrug:

[IChing]

8. fixed now, sorry

[TacticalPeek]

9. Your link is more detailed. "a plate of cookies and a 'real nice note'"

Cameron agreed the sign won't keep the two men from respecting each other.

"There has not been any yelling or hard feelings," he said. "It's just a difference of opinion."

Cameron even tried a peace offering -- a plate of cookies and a "real nice note."

"But he refused them, unless I took my sign down," Cameron said.

:)

[yorkiemommie1]

10. truth in advertising

at least at the one location there will be some counterpoint to the slick commercial and print ads out there! i even saw an eyeshadow named 'G.I. Jane' as if any female soldiers in the M.E. have time for makeup!

[maxrandb]

11. Tally of war deaths shows up next door to Duluth recruiting station

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5772444.html

"DULUTH - A large sign went up Monday in the storefront next to the U.S. Army recruiting station in downtown Duluth.

What it says and how its message was received by the "Be-All-You-Can-Be" folks next door may well make it a sign of the times.

"Iraq," it says. "Remember the Fallen Heroes." Below, in black numbers changed daily, is a tally of the dead and wounded U.S. soldiers and the number of days the conflict has gone on.

It took only one day for Staff Sgt. Gary Capan from the recruiting office to walk over and politely ask Scott Cameron to take the sign down"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why would the good Staff Sgt. ask the sign be removed? Is it possible that this could hurt recruiting a little?

Applicant: "Gee, thanks for all the info about building character and the GI Bill, and help with my college education and all that, but can I ask you about that sign next door?"

Recruiter: "Oh, don't worry about that. Think about it. Have you actually ever seen coffins or bodies of American soldiers coming home on the TV. That's just more and the 'bad news' spin the LIEberal media is putting on the Iraq War. Do you know how tan and buff you'll be when you get back from a tour in the summer in Iraq?"

[maxrandb]

12. Here's more about the guy who put up the sign

Emphasis added.

Cameron decided to keep the tally going in the window. In explaining why, he talked about Vietnam, which he said was another mistake. There a bullet tore through his spine and shredded his left lung. Forty-six surgeries later, he spends much of his time advocating for better benefits for veterans.

Way too many Americans are insulated from the horror of war, and even the numbers, he said, adding that his sign will help them remember.

--------------------------------------------------------
How long before the Freakers start calling him a "communist, terrorist sympathizing French surrender monkey"?

[maxrandb]

13. Whoops! Answered my own question. WARNING: Link to Freak site

Nice to see how they support a wounded war veteran.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1537049/posts

"The Recruiting office needs to put up it's own sign with a running tally of how many people in the same age group are dying here at home from auto accidents,drive by shootings etc.

These days, the front line in the war on terror, may well be safer for the young, than the streets of America."

To: wallcrawlr
"There a bullet tore through his spine and shredded his left lung. .... He said he was carrying a plate of cookies when he walked into the recruiting office ..."

Walking around after a bullet "tore through his spine"? I would like to get the name of his surgeon

To: wallcrawlr
I think 2,000 dead in Iraq is miraculous.

How could we defeat a country with all those troops, tanks and arms and only lose 2,000 people.

The terrorists know they cannot defeat us so they use the pschyological tool of killing a couple of people a day to try to have the anti war people defeat us for them.

If you think the fact that only two or three US soldiers are killed per day is an accident you are a fool. This is a plan, and with Dimocrats , its working.

Jeez, sorry about that, but talk about "CLASSLESS"!

[gratuitous]

14. God, our military people are pussies

Every little thing seems to hurt their morale or gives them the vapors or gets their frilled panties in a bunch. Soldiers die? Don't mention that, it hurts morale! We're rotating overstretched personnel back to Iraq for their third and even fourth tours in Iraq? You're not standing with the troops! Fifteen thousand of them have been wounded, some so badly that they'll never recover or lead any semblance of a normal life again, and Congress is cutting VA benefits so it can hand out bigger tax cuts to fatcats? You're a traitor for noticing!

Maybe it's not the troops who are hurting from this news at all. I'm sure most of them know who's been hurt, who's been killed, or how many times they've been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Who gets hurt by the truth, except for people who traffic in lies?

:think: