Buck Creek Station

The Gathering of Eagles - Part 1

It has concluded. The Gathering of Eagles is over.

The Eagles Won. Period.  The moonbats and their Jihad Jane anti-war supporters lost. It was hardly a contest. The official Park Police estimate was 30,000 Eagles - though that sounds high to me. It appeared that the moonbats may have had about 8-10,000.

The Eagles actually didn’t expect to overwhelm the lefties as much as we did. We just wanted to show up and be counted. But something else happened - something that has needed to happen for 25 years, this year being the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. In a very emotional and soul cleansing fashion, the Vietnam Vets and supporters of the Iraq War took their country back and claimed in no uncertain terms that the political processes that doomed earlier conflicts were wrong. And as one of the Eagles speakers said vehemently, …”we are here to stay and the left will have to get over it.” And these same people who for nearly 40 years have been shunned, humiliated, and written off have now jumped up, stood up, and said - in a booming voice - that they will not be on the sidelines of the political processses that doom our troops to inconsequence and paint their mission as “immoral”. The Eagles, many of them veterans and supporters from the Vietnam era, have reclaimed not just the hallowed ground of the memorials to the fallen, but the righteous ground of their experience, resolve, and tenacity of never giving up a fight.

Thet are here to stay and the left is in trouble.  

If there was anything “immoral” to be viewed it was the signs carried by the left (in appropriate yellow colors) and the jihad like chanting of eternal damnation to all things considered strong by American standards. While signs of “Peace”, “Bush Lied”, “Impeach”, yadayada, blah blah blah were common, one typical display of moronic moonbat logic, had an anti-war leftie with a sign that said “Texas has oil. Why don’t we bomb them?” And then there was this piece of left wing elite logic:

Rapture? Really, they smoke too much dope to be involved in foreign policy.

It was a great day to be a part of this. One word can define the environment - COLD!. And not just the weather. While there were more than a few conversations between the two sides, nothing - absolutely frickin NOTHING - was given up by the GOE supporters. And the talking points of the left were the same as before - generalized, whiny, and a rewrite of both historical fact and reality. The best observation I can make on the small groups of supporters and moonbat interaction (not the shouting of the masses at each other) was that every time GOE engaged the left, the left lacked confidence and substance in their arguments. The GOE participants were always strong and to the point, verbally challenging both the logic and the facts of the left wing intellectual jello. Every ANSWER participant I heard did the same thing - when the argument was obviously lost to them, quickly change subject matter and go for the “what if” clause. It was a no-brainer. The moonbats appear to have never had a conversation before with a Veteran - and it was painfully obvious.

As for the shouting of the masses, not only did we have the moral high ground, we had the high ground too. As we looked down from the concrete wall around the Lincoln Memorial on the pathetic sea of pastel colors the retreat crowd draped themselves in, it seemed like a parent disciplining a wayward child. It also reminded me a little of the blog world -  a world on the internet where anyone can say the most ridiculous things to someone else and be smug in the knowledge that the insulted target can never reach back and choke you. On Saturday, the Internet was the DC Police - because the left, nameless but not faceless this time, just smiled - and worried. The GOE was ready for them and will never lack the ability to trump their cards again.  

There was a lot of handshaking - a lot of “Welcome Home” to everyone - especially the Vietnam Vets. And they deserved it. It has strenghtened their resolve and given them an energy level I don’t think they thought they had. Gabby, one of the members I traveled with from Smyrna, Tennessee, shook hands with every Vet he saw. He’s a poster child for GOE Public Relations. The response he got was phenomenal. Every one immediately shook hands with him, seeming to silently say ”This is it. We are back.”  

Rolling Thunder, a group started by Vietnam era vets to honor The Wall, were everywhere. And were glad to engage the lefties anytime there was an opportunity. And there were many, though none at The Wall itself. The DC Park Police set up an inspection line for those who wanted to visit The Wall. It caused some really long lines during the day. Interestingly, the inspection station folded after the ANSWER moonbats left with their parade toward the Pentagon while at least 75% of the Eagles were still around - gives you and idea of why the station was there.

I’ll post more with more photos later. There was much more and I’m just tired at this point. But this was photo is a few of our favorite Rolling Thunder participants from Chapter 1 in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Gabby, Batman, and Tall Pine. Ready to engage.

UPDATE:

Just to show how well informed the anti-war left is, here’s a line from today’s New York Times on the demonstration:

Many in the crowd said they were unfamiliar with the Answer Coalition and puzzled by the many signs about socialism. Several said they had come from across the country for a chance to voice their dismay at the war.

They had no idea who sponsored the demonstration. Probably have no idea who paid for their signs either.

They GOE crowd wasn’t mentioned. The only reference to counter demonstration at the rally was this line:

As they gathered before the march, the protesters met what several veterans of the antiwar movement described as an unusually large contingent of several hundred counterdemonstrators. Many were veterans in biker jackets who said they had come to protect the nearby Vietnam Memorial, citing rumors that had circulated among veterans groups that the demonstrators planned to deface it.

This is the same tactic that the Times uses in the Green Zone - stringer reporting. They weren’t there so they call their buddies in the anti-war movement and get their opinion. Since it’s the New York Times, they won’t be asking anyone who supports the war. So there were only a few hundred of us who wore biker jackets. That’s so ignorant it’s almost funny. But it’s the al-New York Times.

UPDATE II:

The Washington Post has a better article.

March 18th, 2007 Posted by bit | Getting it Right | 3 comments