Fox 4 in Kansas
City, November 6:
WESTON,
MO. — People in Weston, Missouri banded together on Saturday. They wanted to
protect loved ones who were saying goodbye to a fallen soldier and stood up to members
of the Westboro Baptist Church who planned to protest at Sgt. First Class C.J. Sadell's funeral.
Sadell died October 24 from injuries he
suffered in a surprise attack in Afghanistan. On Saturday, there was quite a
turnout of people who wanted to keep the protesters away from the funeral.
"I'd
say probably half the people in Weston are here," said Eric Moser, Marine
Corp veteran.
Weston
has less than 2,000 residents, and hundreds of people showed up to support the
family of First Sgt. Sadell.
Sadell was in the Arif
Kala region of Afghanistan when his unit was ambushed October 5. Five soldiers
died and Sadell was badly injured.
"If
you think about it, they've all gone to serve just so we could be able to do
this," said Rebecca Rooney who organized the supporters. "He didn't
die in vain."
Rebecca
Rooney is a Weston resident who wanted to stand up against Fred Phelps and his
followers.
"We
got everybody here early so we could take up all the parking spots,"
Rooney said. "We did that so Mr. Phelps wouldn't have a contingency that
was really close."
Supporters
came armed with patriotic music and American flags. The protesters didn't stick
around long once they saw the supporters.
"I'm
glad they left, but I'm sad they came," Rooney said.
People
came from Blue Springs, California and even Australia to be a part of the band
of patriotic supporters. Half of the group lined up at the intersection while
the the other half created a human shield at the
funeral home.
C.J.
Sadell was 34-years-old. He leaves behind a wife and
two sons.
Westboro Protesters Blocked From
Soldier's Funeral
Missouri town's residents join forces to block protest at
soldier's funeral
Westboro Baptist Church Blocked From
Missouri Funeral By Mourners [Video]
Residents
Work Together to Block Funeral Protestors
Military
funeral saved from spite-filled religious group
People
in Weston, Missouri band together
Supporters Block Westboro Church Funeral Protest In
Mo. (Video)
Mass action shields soldier's funeral
Residents of Missouri Town Block Protesters From
Picketing Soldier's Funeral
Mission forum: http://www.patriotguard.org/Forums/tabid/61/postid/1459171/view/topic/Default.aspx
back to ALL
MISSIONS