A patriotic camp with a "God Bless Our President!" banner sprung up downtown Saturday, countering the anti-war demonstration started by a fallen soldier's mother two weeks ago near President Bush's ranch.
The camp is named "Fort Qualls" in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, killed in Fallujah, Iraq, last fall. His father, Gary Qualls of Temple, said his 16-year-old son also wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.
"If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said Qualls, a friend of the local business owner who started the pro-Bush camp, Bill Johnson.
Large counter-protests were held in a ditch near Sheehan's site a week after she arrived, and since then a few Bush supporters have stood in the sun holding signs for several hours each day.
But Johnson, who owns the town's biggest gift and souvenir store Yellow Rose, said he created "Fort Qualls" as a larger, more convenient place for Bush supporters. The tent and a trailer on a vacant lot beside his store will be staffed each day, but people will probably not sleep there.
"A lot of people saw a problem (with the war protest) and said there needs to be relief," Johnson said Saturday afternoon, as patriotic music played at the tent containing a life-size cardboard cutout of Bush.
Qualls gained attention last week when he went to Sheehan's camp, which has hundreds of crosses as a tribute to troops killed, and removed one bearing his son's name. But he said protesters keep replacing it; he has yanked two more crosses, saying the protesters' views are disrespectful to soldiers.
More Supporters of the President :
Friday morning, several dozen backers of the president met for breakfast on the edge of town to gather messages of support written on bed sheets.
Billed as the "I Give a Sheet Vigil and Prayer Rally," the event foreshadowed the likelihood of more counterdemonstrations over the weekend.
"We're not here to antagonize them at all," said Valerie Duty, an organizer from Waco, Texas. "We're only here to show the president and our troops that there are people that do care."
She expected the war protesters to carry on, even while Sheehan was back in California, Duty said. "We're just going to have to carry on, too."
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