Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 3, 1991 TAG: 9102030272
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES HITE and MELANIE S. HATTER/ STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But as she stood Saturday in a crowd of about 300 people gathered at the Lee Plaza War Memorial in Roanoke, Gibson left no doubt that most of her thoughts were with one soldier.
"I love you, Jeff. We're going to have one heck of a party when you get home, so hurry up and get here." That was the message Gibson scrawled on a hand-made poster.
"I think this is a great idea," Gibson said of the "Support the Troops" rally sponsored by K92-FM. "I'm behind them 100 percent. And I want to get them all home."
Gibson, 26, traveled from Clifton Forge to attend. She and her husband, Sgt. Charles Jeffrey Gibson, met and married there, then moved to Fort Hood, Texas, nearly two years ago. When Jeff Gibson was sent to the Persian Gulf in October, Gibson moved back.
As Gibson and others listened to patriotic speeches and music, the rally was videotaped so that copies could be sent to the troops. American flags of all sizes were in abundance, as were small yellow lapel tags that read, "I Support Our Troops in the Middle East." More than one poster had a personal message for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud to be a Roanoker. I'm proud to support our troops in the Middle East!" City Council member William White told the crowd.
Rhonda Pacetti said the rally brought out mixed feelings. "You're proud of them being there," she said of the troops in the Persian Gulf. "But you want them to come home."
Pacetti's brother, 22-year-old Barry Whisnant, is an Army private who drives a tank.
Walter Lawson, a disabled veteran of the Vietnam War, said he was glad to see the rally but worried whether support for the troops would last.
"It's easy right now" to support the troops, Lawson said. "I want to see this happening when things get bad over there and guys start coming home."
Later Saturday, about 250 people attended a candlelight vigil and support-the-troops rally outside the Salem Library.
The rally was sponsored by the city of Salem and resident B.J. Eubanks, who has devoted her energy for the past two months to boosting the morale of troops in the Persian Gulf.
Eubanks, 36, decided a week ago to organize the rally. The city helped. As friends arrived, giving her hugs and kisses, she passed out heart-shaped wooden buttons with names of soldiers for their mothers to wear.
Listening to the prayers from local ministers, Alma Gibson of Salem clutched a white candle as tears fell from her eyes.
She hasn't heard from her 19-year-old son, Scott, in some time, she said. Her son is serving on the USS Guam. Gibson contacted the Pentagon hoping to learn of his whereabouts, but officials wouldn't say, she said.
"I need to know where he is," Gibson said walking into the crowd.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on February 4, 1991 in the Evening edition\ Amplification
B.J. Eubanks, who helped organize a rally in Salem Saturday in support of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, has been involved in similar efforts since the end of August. Eubanks says an estimated 300 to 350 people attended the rally.
\ ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on February 5, 1991\ Correction
Due to a photographer's error, a caption in Sunday's editions was incorrect. Joyce Jewell`s brother-in-law is stationed at Quantico, and is not in the Persian Gulf.
\
Memo: corrections