• American Victory Coalition Rally at DNC, Denver

On Sunday, Aug. 24th. during the anti-war rally at the DNC, across the street about 100 patriots assembled in support of our troops and their mission.  Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission, and Vets for Freedom participated in the event. The anti-war protest across the street fizzled. They said 50,000 would be there: all reports counted under one thousand. 

 

 

Third from the left, in a blue shirt and white capris, is Debbie Lee, Gold Star Mom, mother of Marc Allan Lee, the first Navy Seal killed in Iraq. She spoke movingly, later at the podium, about how her son taught her about heroism, and about her recent trip to Iraq. 

 

 

Read Christopher Hitchen’s Case Closed, if you have any doubts about Sadaam Hussein and WMD’s. Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Democrat Party liberal icons are exposed as subversives in the State Department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy Hecker, Co-Chair, Fort Carson Area Families United for Our Troops and their Mission. Nancy is a Gold Star Mother. Her son died fighting in Iraq.

 

This boy is proud of his Marine dad.

 

There was a much greater media presence than usual for an event like this. The sight of a group of people assembling in support of our military caught the eyes of some of the 15,000 reporters, photographers, etc. in town for the DNC, 

 

Second from left, holding the flag, is Merrilee Carlson, National Chair person of Families United for our Troops and their Mission. Her son, Army Sergeant Michael Carlson, died heroically in combat in Iraq. She spoke to honor him, others who made the ultimate sacrifice, and all of those serving now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Univision interviewed a couple of the patriotic participants in Spanish.

 

Mike Haynes, in white shirt and shorts, is the Colorado Captain of Vets for Freedom.

 

Major Diggs Brown Jr. talked about his experiences in Afghanistan, particularly about rebuilding schools and getting the Afghans to accept the concept of educating girls after years under Taliban rule. He talked about how all the good news never gets reported.

 

Steve Ward, Marine Corps Colonel, veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, talked about the importance of giving support to military families at home while their loved ones are serving in the field.

Dr. Neil Dobro and Joshua Sharf, of Americans Against Terrorism, also spoke to the crowd about the Global War on Terror.

 

Brian Ivers served three tours with the Marines in Iraq. He was an Australian citizen and while serving in Iraq with the Marine Corps he was told he had to return to Australia. His unit told the gov’t that they would have to come through 12,000 Marines before they sent him home. So while serving in Iraq he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen. He is now a Fort Collins police officer and is continuing his military service as a Gunnery Sergeant in the USMC reserves. He spoke very passionately about his love for freedom and his appreciation of our country.  The sailor in the photo is the late Marc Allan Lee, first Navy Seal killed in Iraq.

 

Large numbers of police were nearby, and keeping a close eye on the event, at all times. When the anti-war protesters got ready to march past this rally, police formed a barrier to protect the patriots from the potentially violent peaceniks.  The pro-victory rally blasted Darryl Worley’s Have You Forgotten? and similar tunes through a very loud amplifier as the protesters marched by. 

 

 

 

 

The rally took place at Pioneer Monument Park, at Denver’s Civic Center. There is a classic fountain in the center of the park. Sadly, this park, and the entire area, is usually populated by drug addicts. Perhaps they all went over to get the free meals being served across the street.

UPDATE: Families United held a similar rally in Minneapolis on the first day of the RNC. There is great coverage here, including videos and transcripts of speeches by Merrilee Carlson, Debbie Lee, and actor Jon Voight, who gave a really nice speech.