Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 10, 1991 TAG: 9102100134
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Saturday afternoon, students from more than a half-dozen colleges flocked to a "Virginians for Victory" rally at W&L's Warner Center. The crowd was estimated at around 600.
Some waved man-sized U.S. flags and held up posters with such messages as "No More Jane Fonda" and "Support our Troops."
The liveliest group was the one from Liberty University, whose students chanted "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A!" several times during the 2 1/2-hour rally.
Former U.S. Sen. Jeremiah Denton, a former Vietnam prisoner of war who was the keynote speaker, broke into tears when he began his address.
"I cannot express how much I like you," Denton said, his voice shaking. "I've not seen anything like this since I've been home."
Denton, a retired admiral who was shot down in North Vietnam and imprisoned for 7 1/2 years, praised students' support for President Bush and urged them to "start a sustained drive across the country."
Unity among U.S. citizens in the war effort is "as essential as adequate ammunition," Denton said.
"In the last big ball game, Vietnam, the weakness was disunity. It's a weakness that has brought defeat to innumerable teams, innumerable combatants, nations in war."
Marc Short, a W&L junior who helped organize the rally, said W&L was chosen as the site because no anti-war protests were expected. Short was the rally's first speaker, and he inspired loud whoops and hollers when he referred to Vietnam-era student activists as "malcontented peaceniks lowering [themselves] to burn the American flag."
"We of the new generation have cast aside the '60s. . . . We will not burn Old Glory. We will honor and thus protect it."
Students stood and applauded after Ali Al-Turrah, a spokesman for the Kuwaiti Embassy, expressed gratitude for "strength, friendship and support" from the United States.
A spokeswoman for the White House, Bobby Kilberg, told the students that the U.S.-led coalition is saving the Middle East from the kind of damage Adolph Hitler inflicted upon Europe.
Denton addressed some tough questions U.S. citizens are asking about the war - such as why the trade embargo against Iraq wasn't given more of a chance.
Denton said continuing sanctions would have caused great suffering among the Iraqi people, while giving Iraqi President Saddam Hussein more time to build military strength.
It would have worn down morale among U.S. troops and led to greater casualties, he said.
At the rally's end, students joined in the singing of "God Bless America," led by "Southern Comfort," an all-male W&L chorus.
The event was organized in cooperation with the Young America's Foundation, a non-profit educational organization that promotes the ideas of free enterprise and a strong national defense among American college students.
by CNB