War hits home across the USA;A moment forever personal

Carolyn Pesce

02/25/1991

USA Today

FINAL

Page 07A

For many in the USA, the beginning of the ground war held the promise of

completion, a chance to get past the anguish of Vietnam, and, this time, to do it

right.

For others, the escalation of the country's 10th war stirred different hopes and

prayers: for an end to the fighting and for safe return of the troops.

But for everyone Sunday, the war seemed to have become a defining moment.

``The mood which you develop inside yourself during war carries on for a

tremendously long period of time,'' said Tim Blessing, a historian at Penn State

University. ``Wars serve as moments in history which create the nation anew.''

Atlanta

News of the ground offensive came somberly - but not unexpectedly - to Auburn

Avenue, the street where Martin Luther King Jr. was born, grew up, preached

and planned civil rights marches. Tourists and local residents paused quietly

beside King's raised tomb, some dipping their hands into the cool waters of a

blue reflecting pool that surrounds it.

``It makes my heart so heavy to think about this war,'' said Marjorie Reid, 62, a

Lanham, Md., retiree visiting the site with her husband, Hubert Reid. ``We were

hoping this could be avoided.''

Next door to King's tomb, worshipers at Ebenezer Baptist prayed for the troops,

as others did at churches across the USA.

``We had hoped the ground offensive could have been avoided,'' said Godfrey

Finch, 44, a church deacon and police supervisor. ``But now that our national

leaders have decided to go ahead with it, we're fully supporting our troops.''

Venice, Calif.

Patriotism was high in this counterculture hub that brought the USA beachfront

rollerblading, tarot card readings and chainsaw juggling.

Turbaned guitarist Harry Perry, a longtime fixture of the kooky boardwalk scene,

strummed a tune in front of a giant mural of the U.S. flag, as vendors hawked

maps of the Persian Gulf.

Shoppers rushed to buy jeans adorned with the stars and stripes.

Mike Ree of Culver City, Calif., propped himself up on spring stilts to make his

point: ``I stand tall on the issues.''

A dozen miles east, in Hollywood, protesters draped a white sheet over the

Hollywood sign and turned one ``O'' into a peace sign.

New York

With their youngest son in a tank on the front, Herbert and Karlene Beitzel

needed to be at the Statue of Liberty.

They drove to New York Saturday from Canton, Ohio, to surprise a friend for

her 60th birthday. But with news the ground war had begun, ``We had to come

here,'' said Karlene Beitzel, 51, who wore a sweatshirt imprinted with an

American flag.

Many who took the cold ferry ride across the New York Harbor talked of war.

``I'm glad to see that it's happened,'' said Dawn Stoops, of Little Rock, Ark. ``I

wanted it to be over with.''

Bart Rosenblatt, 33, an off-Broadway producer, was worried Saddam Hussein

``would withdraw, and we'd let him off. ... Even among my liberal friends'' there

was near unanimity that the ground war had to be fought. ``And that's pretty

unusual for New York City.''

Livingston, Texas

At the Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 8568, a dozen veterans gathered at the bar

in the back room, sipping beer and watching basketball.

But the war wasn't far away.

On the bar was a notice of a patriotic rally planned in nearby Crockett, Texas,

and a stack of ``We Support Our Troops'' placards, $1 each.

Bill Nerren, 60, a Navy Korean War veteran, said the post was packed Saturday

night when President Bush went on television to announce the ground war.

``When the president asked for prayer, you couldn't find a dry eye in this post,''

said Nerren, who supports the war but is skeptical of reports of light casualties.

``Suppose you're the one that got a son lost. It's no small casualty.''

Washington

Dozens of peace activists and homeless people camped across the street from the

White House, beating drums or whatever else might serve the purpose: old paint

containers, plastic milk jugs, tambourines.

``We're trying to keep Bush on edge,'' said Bob Hartwell, 38, of Boston, who

quit his construction job to join the drum protest, which has been going on since

December.

Hartwell said protesters know the constant thumping is ``nerve-wracking'' for

Bush.

Last month, Bush reportedly told lawmakers, ``Those damned drums are keeping

me up all night.''

Another protester, Kodiak Easterwood, 35, of Louisa, Va., took a week's

vacation three weeks ago to keep the vigil. ``You always hear the term `drums of

war,' '' he said. ``It seems to me they can be drums of peace.''

Detroit

More than 200 Iraqi-Americans marched here Sunday, denouncing the ground

campaign and blasting President Bush as a ``butcher.''

``Bush is the butcher and he shouldn't be in Kuwait,'' Samir Barka, 39, a

Baghdad native, shouted above the chants.

But many of the Arab-Americans in the Detroit area - the USA's largest

Arab-American community - disagree.

Lebanese-born Abdallah Elachi, 34, arrived in the USA 15 years ago: ``The man

brought it upon himself by invading Kuwait. Something had to be done.''

Karen Binno, 21, a U.S.-born Chaldean, or Iraqi Christian, said she got ``chills''

when she heard that the ground war had started. ``There's already all this

bombing, it's going to be so much worse.'' Jacksonville, N.C.

For this home of Camp Lejeune, which has sent 30,000 Marines to the gulf, the

ground war brought fear and relief.

``For us here, this is when it really started,'' says Julie Rousseau, whose husband,

Sgt. Robert Rousseau, is aboard the USS Guam.

For many of the women here, the war has meant facing the possibility of their

husbands' deaths, forcing them to ask questions they otherwise would be too

young to ask.

``I had to ask him, `Where do you want to be buried?'' said Debbie Daniels. Her

husband, Larry, a Marine, is with an amphibious unit.

Daniels and other military spouses live with the dreaded ritual of notifying a

soldier's family of his death - the dress-uniformed visitor who knocks on the

door.

``You know, it takes 24 hours for the casualty officer to notify you, so you have

24 hours to wait,'' Daniels said. ``You have 24 hours of wondering, `Is it yours?'

For everyone here, the future is uncertain - even if their husbands do come home.

``Are they going to be the same men that left?'' said Teresa Hauck, of her

husband, Mark. ``Will my husband still be his same nutty self because he went to

war and was forced to kill someone?''

Contributing: Kathleen Bohland, Carol J. Castaneda, Haya El Nasser, Bruce

Frankel, Deeann Glamser, Maria Goodavage, Mimi Hall, Kevin Johnson, Ann

Koonce, John Larrabee, Jonathan T. Lovitt , Mark Mayfield, Martha T. Moore,

Julie Morris, Thomas Raber, Bob Ross, Sally Ann Stewart.