European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Peace movement reawaken to War by Edwin Chen and Richard e. Meyer los Angeles times the persian Gulf crisis is barely four months old but already it has troubled americans in special ways making them a people anxious about War a the people in the 4400 Block of North Oakland Avenue for instance in Shorewood wis. There along a strip of storefront offices is the military families support network a group of unlikely foot soldiers in America s reawakening peace movement. Hardly political radicals these Are solid Middle americans. Even their Headquarters bespeaks the heartland. Tucked in alongside a picture framing shop and a tanning Salon it is flanked by a Bank and a Barbershop. Amid a tangle of wires and stacks of mail conservatively dressed and mostly Middle aged men and women staff telephones fax machines and personal computers. Far from the College students who first protested the Vietnam War they Are the parents and wives of soldiers. Group founder Alex Molnar has a Marine son in saudi Arabia. They do not want their sons and daughters a or their husbands a to risk their lives in a conflict whose rationale they either oppose or find troubling Gay obscure. One of those wives is Judy Davenport in Charleston . Her husband. Larry is a chief boiler technician on a Navy ship in the Middle East. Judy 39, and her youngest son an eighth grader live in military housing at the naval weapons base in Goose Creek . She drives a pickup truck. Painted on the Back window Are the words Quot no  it gets her arid her son a ration of grief. They have been ostracized. Quot we support our troops no matter what Quot she says Quot they took an oath to defend our country and uphold the a Constitution. But they did no to take an oath to keep gasoline at $1 29 a  Judy runs a temporary employment business up nonetheless her husband s absence is a hardship. So is opposition to her activities. Officials at the weapons base have told Ber to quit giving interviews on military property. Harassment is a hardship too. Sometimes it comes when the going gets toughest. But sherries to Buck up Quot it has t been too bad a just some Middle of the night Nasty phone  there is a tiny note of scorn in her voice reserved for College students who were at the forefront of the anti War movement during Vietnam but Are hardly heard from  d see a different reaction Quot she snaps Quot if they were  for the Telephone cads and the military who Wilt not let her speak on per husbands base she is Adamant. A my activities Are my personal business Quot she says. Quot my husband s in the military to protect my Freedom of  _ Soma women who oppose War say their Kin far away in the Middle East feel the same Way. Quot we Don t oppose the multinational defensive Rote Quot 1 says Tracy Meyer a 28-year-old Falls City neb.,woman whose Cousin is a . Commander in saudi Arabia. But she and others criticize what they see As the Bush administrations absolute refusal to consider non military alternatives until Iraq withdraws from Kuwait f Meyer refuses to give the name of her Cousin the commander she cites concern for his Weli being but she adds Quot he feels the Way i do Quot nor Are ail of these dissenters women. Bill White in san Antonio who flew 136 missions Over Vietnam and prosecute narcotics cases in Bexar county Texas thinks Congress has been laying behind the log Quot Congress White said should be challenging Bush to define and explain his policies. Quot now is the time to have an open debate and see where our objections Are Quot White says. He has both a son and a daughter in the guff Region. Quot we started out in Vietnam approving the policy a and then wound up condemning our troops. Let s not let that happen  like White Brenda Jarmon has two Kin in the Gulf her daughter and her daughter s husband. Their names Are Lynette and Isaac Guthrey and they too have a daughter. She is one of a number of youngsters in America who Are calling this crisis Quot momus  because Lynette and Isaac Are both in the army daughter ,2,has been shipped off to Tallahassee fla., to live with her grandmother. Quot its sad when military mothers Are taken away from their peace activist and Vietnam Veteran Ron Kovalc voices his opposition to the . Military buildup in the Middle East during a protest gathering at Lemert Park in los Angeles in october. Children and sent to a potential War zone Quot Jarmon says. Quot my granddaughter has the potential of losing both  Donnita Cole too is worried about War. She has festooned her modest Home in Odessa Texas Quot with yellow ribbons. Her son is an american Soldier in Saud Arabia her husband is a human shield somewhere in Iraq. And she is about to defy her government by a oink to the Middle East Cote 48, wants to see her husband a and Hopes to gain his release a 60-year-old oilfield worker he got trapped in Kuwait at the time of the iraqi invasion. Donnita Cole and about a dozen other wives of hostages will travel in a group undaunted Byjah president admonition not to go a because they might be used by the iraqis for propaganda their feelings Are Clear. Y Quot nobody a helping us Quot says Kim Edwards 38, of Carson City nev., who is heading up the women a delegation Quot and so we have to help . _. In the persian Gull crisis America has deployed an All Volunteer armed Force for the first time in this Century. Not a single . Service member in the Middle East is there because he has been drafted. And what is happening in the United states today reveals the Domestic consequences that will follow from that fact in this and other situations to come. All Volunteer forces tend to attract people without other Means to make a living the . Forces in saudi Arabia for instance include a disproportionate number of Young men and women from Quot a Cross Section of lower Middle class America Quot says Charles Moscos a military manpower specialist at 1 Northwestern University. This Tower middie class armed Force is not Only disproportionately poorer White but also disproportionately Black and latino. 2 More than 25 percent of last year s . Army recruits for example were Black a about twice the percentage of Blacks in the general population. Since the United states adopted its All voluntary military Force in 1973, More often than not the men and women who have joined have been like Ikea Guthrey smother arid father lured by the Promise of vocational training v educational benefits a Chance to Quot be All you can be Quot and maybe escape from poverty. Quot when your kid signs up Yog think it s a Nice Opportunity Quot says Brenda Jarmon Ikea a grandmother and now her sole guardian Quot a just never thought about this combat aspect of the military for Lynette Quot never once did anything like this Cross my mind Quot Jarmon is not alone in her realization of the danger. A recent los Angeles times poll showed that  opposition to War in the Middle East was strongest at the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Fifty eight percent of the respondents from american families with annual incomes of $20,000 or less said they did not want o see a War. That was a far larger percentage of opponents than rom any other income group. At the same time far fewer Blacks and latinos than Whites said the United states should wage War. When asked whether the United states Quot should go to War against Iraq Quot Only 24 percent of the Black respondents to he poll said yes. Thirty two percent of the latinos said is and 40 percent of the Whites. Opposition to War As articulated by people like peace activist Ron Kovic is playing a significant part in a precipitous decline in popular approval of Bush a handling 3t the Gulf crisis. The president enjoyed an immediate increase in support during the first Days after he sent troops to the Middle East. Most americans traditionally Back their commander in chief immediately after a foreign dust up a hat happens to that support however is what counts in he Long run. It went into a Sharp dive in Early autumn. Agai Lup poll on nov. 1t showed that support for Bush s land log of the crisis had fallen from a High of 80 percent in Sarly August Down to 61 percent meantime Bush a general popularity rating had fallen from 76 percent to 58 percent. The drop is breathtaking says Republican political analyst Kevin Phillips. Quot the sharpest decline anyone can member without a  14 a a a the stars and stripes members of a Georgia National guard unit prepare to Board a Plana for saudi Arabia at Savannah a More troops deploy the economies of towns and cities near military bases Are starting to suffer. Desert shield fallout Fayetteville feels the Pinch air Force staff it Karyl Gibson of Largo fat to nor of Tho 91st aeromedical Airlift so fills Aan Baga monday 3,1990 by sue Ellen Christian a los Angeles times n of Long ago shopkeepers and residents of dowdy sem Rural Fayetteville n, City adjoining fort Bragg a had a love hate feeling for the troops stationed there that was t far removed from the Quot soldiers and dogs keep out Quot _ mentality of military towns in years past. But these Days people Are far More conciliatory about the paratroopers who Are based there and store windows along Bragg Boulevard sport new placards with far More caring messages says one almost pleadingly Quot bring our troops Back Home Quot the change of heart is understandable. The . Venture in the persian Gulf has resulted in the deployment of at least 25,000 soldiers and airmen from fort Bragg and adjoining Pope fab and has devastated the Economy of the quiet Southern Community of 70,q00. A Auto dealers in Fayetteville report their car sales Are Down As much As 70 percent from last years Levels. Gun Racks in the Pawn shops Are chock full. And new Loans Are off by 60 percent a. While mortgage payments and other _ Bills simply Are not being met. A slowly but steadily the Fayetteville area Economy is shr Velling. Popes family Center a thriving department a Quot store in nearby Spring Lake is holding a going out of business Sale. John Mason closed his Plantation laundromat after suffering $t,000-a-week losses. And real estate agent Charles Wilons found himself with 300 vacant Mobile Homes and 80 apartments on his hands literally overnight when the troops abruptly pulled out for saudi Arabia. A As a result local residents attitudes about Quot those Damn soldiers Are decidedly More positive than they were a possibly even nostalgic some Fayetteville residents say. Quot whenever the 82nd airborne goes out for More than 25 Days people tart appreciating the military a Tot More said Marion Quot Rex Quot Harris a local entrepreneur who has seen his own dry cleaning business a and fast food restaurant Wilt in the absence of the 82nd airborne. A Fayetteville is not the Only military Community to feet the Pinch in the Wake of operation desert shield All across the United states Smalt towns and cities that abut or serve targe military installations Are finding that their main sources of business have unexpectedly evaporated a and May not reappear for months a Killeen Texas lost 20,000 of its 120.000 potential Consumers when troops from nearby fort Hood were sent to the Gulf. In the past two weeks 14 businesses there have closed and unemployment a which was at 12 percent before the Gulf crisis a is rising rapidly local Oft coals say. A. A. A. A a Jacksonville n a. Lost 11,000 troops from Camp v Lejeune and Cherry Point Marine corps air station in August and local analysts say that future deployments could slash the number of military in the City by up to 30,000 More within Only a few months. What s More these cities have not just lost the soldiers for All practical purposes they also lost the paratroopers spouses and youngsters As Many families return to grandparents Homes with the approach of the Holiday season a. A a. Vl7 Debbie Roberts husband James left with the 35th signal brigade three months ago and the family is due $110a month in hazardous duty pay. But they have yet to receive the extra Money. Instead their chock is Short some $182. The food subsidy has been withheld because the army is now feeding James. Quot that $200 can go a Long Way when you need it too Quot said Debbie Roberts who has three children. Quot families done to have Money Quot she said adding that a Friend who also is an army wife did t receive any military paycheck in t november. 7. 77 a a _. A. A expect edly by far the hardest hit places in Fayetteville Are those usually frequented by of duty enlisted men and their families restaurants particularly fast food places Pawn shops and used car lots to mention a few. The seedy Side of town is in a deeper recession. Tips Are Jess than half of what they used to be for Buffy a topless dancer at Rick s lounge on Hay Street. The skin fantasies Tattoo shop has lost 90 percent of its business and currently is closed four Days a week. To to sure not everyone in americans military ghost towns is hurting As a result of the deployment to the persian Gulf some businesses actually Are profiting from the sendoff often in strange a sometimes sad a ways. In Killeen for example chamber of Commerce president Rick Murphy reports that greeting card stores Are doing a landmark business so unfortunately is the local psychiatric Hospital As stresses become too much for some families to absorb. A. To 7 -7 / Quot Vav a. In Fayetteville sales of burglar alarms have jumped a full 10 percent since the deployment began and social worker Pat Richards at the Concord professional group has taken on 30 new clients mostly children and military wives since the iraqi invasion of Kuwait last August since almost every scrap of news is precious a especially when every other resident has a Friend relative or neighbor overseas a subscriptions for the 24-hour Cable news network Are decidedly on the Rise. Quot i hate to complain because they Are on the front lines Quot said Quot stash Quot Gondro manager of the Tai Sho japanese restaurant which being just a Hile from fort Bragg has been hit hard by the deploy Flent. Quot they re putting it on the line for us-1 can t be selfish thinking about my business Quot Gondro said. Quot it s sad that it takes this for people to see the military As  the Start and stripes Page 15 v a t