Friday, March 16, 2007

The anti-war protesters spat at a wounded Iraq war soldier; they spray-painted graffiti on the U.S. Capitol, the veterans said.

Those acts and others at a large demonstration Jan. 27 birthed a movement of counter-protesters who plan to deploy Saturday in the nation's capital during another anti-war demonstration.

What has come to be called Gathering of Eagles started — at least in large part — in a coffee shop outside Greenville, local vets said.

There, veterans gathered and pledged to make sure war memorials aren't defiled during the planned protest Saturday.

The Web site gatheringof eagles.org lists as the event's goal "to stand silent guard over our nation's memorials, in honor of our fallen, and in solidarity with our armed forces in harm's way today."

Since late January, the grass-roots movement has grown to more than 100,000, possibly as large as 150,000 people, Pitt County participants said.

"It's not an organization; it's an event," said Don McWhorter, a retired Marine captain from the Greenville area, as he sat inside To Bean or Not to Bean, the coffee shop on East 10th Street where he recalls helping to launch the gathering.

"It's pro-America. We just want to show there's another side," he said. McWhorter and other organizers are unsure how many will attend Saturday.

The veterans and other anti-anti-war demonstrators plan to take over the area between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial west of the Mall, squeezing out big-name protesters like Jane Fonda, Sean Penn and those who ally with them.

http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2007/03/16/Gathering_of_Eagles.html