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| Dad's weekly protest honors sons' service |
| 2006-01-24 |
| The cost of war in Iraq is indelibly stamped on the hearts of Michael Lucero and Robert Zurheide. Each man carries the endless pain of having buried his eldest son as a result of the nearly 3-year-old conflict. But every Wednesday morning, they stand together in front of the Marine Corps recruiting office on East Speedway Boulevard to make certain others know they'd sacrifice even more for the country they love. And their children, committed already to the military life, stand by their side. "We've been going out there now about six months," said Lucero, whose 19-year-old son, Joshua, died in Al Anbar province in November 2004. "The anti-war people get there between 9 and 10, and we get there before them and we don't leave until they're gone. We want to make sure we're the first thing people see and the last thing they see." Lucero and Zurheide, a former Marine, arrive each Wednesday carrying American flags and handmade signs expressing their commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lucero is accompanied by his wife, Tina, and sons Samuel, 16, and Robert, 15; Zurheide by his 17-year-old son, Courtney, and daughters Esther Moreno, 20, and Rachel Moreno, 22. Samuel Lucero will soon attend the Marines' Devil Pup program, a boot camp for teens who plan to join the Corps. His sister, 18-year-old Antoinette, will graduate from Parris Island boot camp next month. Courtney Zurheide will enter the Marines following his high school graduation. I admire them. They have the guts that I didn't. Robert Zurheide Jr., 20, died in April 2004 while fighting with fellow Marines near Fallujah. Rest in Peace. He was the first Tucsonan to die in combat in Iraq. Fewer than we lost on 9/11, BTW. Lucero said he's "very proud" that his children are following the family's military tradition. "I think every American at one time in their life should support the military by enlisting in one of the branches, even if it's just for two years," he said. Having more children in peril is part of the commitment, Lucero said. "I'm scared every single day of my life. But I'm scared that they could walk out onto the street and get hit by a stray bullet, or struck by a drunk driver," he said. "At least if they fall in military service, I know they've done it for their country." Lucero is proud that supporters of the war have pretty much overtaken what began as a weekly protest of recruiting young men and women into the Marine Corps. "We cover their signs up with our flags," he said. "We don't think people should have to be subjected to their opinions." Quashing free speech in defense of freedom seems a bit incongruous, but Lucero says he's worried about the goals of the anti-war effort. "We don't want this to become another Vietnam and they want it to become that," he said. "In my parents' generation, they sat on their hands and let happen what happened in response to the war." Lucero fears the war protesters' goal is to impede recruitment of an all-volunteer military and bring back the draft, creating widespread opposition to the military. "I tell them that's never going to happen," he said. Pat Birnie, who protests the war as a member of the Women's International League for |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #1 God bless their will and sacrifice. Happily, they'll outlive Crones for Dictators like Pat Birnie |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-24 18:39 |