Protesting statue of soldier holding a gun

[wiffleball 4,790]

Littleton - With its green lawn, jungle gym and picnic gazebo, Berry Park is an unlikely battlefield, but the local flap over the statue of a fallen war hero set to be placed here brewed into a national conflict Thursday.

 

The Internet, talk radio and cable news spread the word of some parents' concerns about the planned bronze sculpture of Navy SEAL Danny Dietz holding his automatic rifle.

 

"There's no middle ground here, and that's unfortunate," said Emily Cassidy, one of a handful of Littleton parents who say the statue with the gun should not be near three schools and two playgrounds at the southeast corner of South Lowell Boulevard and West Berry Avenue.

 

"We're continuing to try to spread our message," Cassidy said. "The message is not against Danny Dietz, his family or the war. It's location, location and the audience that will view it."

Reached at home Thursday in Virginia Beach, Va., Patsy Dietz, Dietz's widow, said she sympathizes with the message that guns and schools shouldn't mix, especially in the community where the Columbine shootings took place.

 

But to use her husband to forge such a political statement about guns is irresponsible, she said.

 

"It's a parent's job, including these parents who are protesting, to teach their children the difference between two thugs who murder their classmates and a soldier who died fighting for their freedom," she said. "Danny represents every soldier and sailor who has fallen, and for them to take this stand, well, that's offensive to me."

 

Patsy Dietz found out about the opposition via an e-mail forwarded by Janice Caulfield, the parent-teacher association president at Centennial Academy of Fine Arts Education.

 

Caulfield had received the e-mail, which solicited opposition the statue.

 

"They were barking up the wrong tree," said Caulfield, the daughter of a 24-year Navy man and the cousin of a Navy SEAL who

 

Shell pieces for the bronze statue of Navy SEAL Danny Dietz are drying at the Bronze Services of Loveland foundry. The statue is scheduled to be unveiled at Berry Park in Littleton on July 4, the second anniversary of the discovery of Dietz's body. (Post / Hyoung Chang)served with Danny Dietz.

Caulfield said she could not speak for the PTA, but in her opinion admiring a local war hero is good for children.

 

"I'll be proud to take my children there, and I'll be glad to show them a hero who died fighting for them and how we live our lives in freedom," she said.

 

The statue of the Heritage High School graduate is being cast at a foundry in Loveland. Sculptor Robert Henderson of Cañon City based it on the last photo taken of Dietz, showing him in a crouched position and holding the rifle on one knee.

 

It is scheduled to be unveiled at the park July 4, the second anniversary of the discovery of his body on a mountainside in Afghanistan. Dietz died June 28, 2005, fighting off dozens of al-Qaeda guerrillas. He posthumously received the Navy Cross for heroism.

 

The opposition to a war memorial is unprecedented in Jim Carrier's experience He is a national board member for both the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Navy SEAL Warrior Fund, foundations that help the families of those who die in service to the country.

 

"They are missing the point," Carrier said. "It takes guns to defend our freedoms against terrorists when they are trying to kill you and your children."

 

But those who side with Cassidy see a different depiction.

 

"A statue of a soldier holding a child would send a better message," said Calvin Freehling, a Vietnam veteran from Indianola,

 

Cañon City sculptor Robert Henderson based his clay form of Navy SEAL Danny Dietz on the last photo taken of him. (Courtesy Tracy Harmon)Neb., who e-mailed The Denver Post. "An automatic weapon doesn't signify protection. It signifies violence. I'm 64 years old now, and I'm tired of violence."

Ann Levy of Denver, who calls herself a "peacenik," would like to see Dietz's sacrifice honored in a different way.

 

"They should be putting up a peace dove instead," she said. "The question is do we stand for peace or do we stand for war?"

_______________________________

 

Summary For the ADD among you- Statue of soldier with gun. some people don't want kids to see gun.

 

Some people are really focking stupid.

[MDC 7,406]

The pussification of America continues!

[GobbleDog 996]

I can understand parents not wanting a gun toting soldier statue standing in the middle of a playground. But the article says the playgrounds are merely nearby.

 

I bet the protestors lose this fight. Most Americans love a good ass-kicking statue. Ever see the one of Audie Murphy holding that giant machine gun? Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

 

Audie Leon Murphy

[DAVID RUFFIN 2]

I can understand parents not wanting a gun toting soldier statue standing in the middle of a playground. But the article says the playgrounds are merely nearby.

 

I bet the protestors lose this fight. Most Americans love a good ass-kicking statue. Ever see the one of Audie Murphy holding that giant machine gun? Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

 

Audie Leon Murphy

 

Getting goose bumps thinking about a guy holding a giant machine gun explains alot.

[Chronic Husker 85]

You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead statue.

[GobbleDog 996]

Getting goose bumps thinking about a guy holding a giant machine gun explains alot.

 

Audie Murphy isn't just any guy. He's the greatest war hero the world has ever seen.

[DAVID RUFFIN 2]

Audie Murphy isn't just any guy. He's the greatest war hero the world has ever seen.

 

To Hell and Back was a great flick.

[GobbleDog 996]

To Hell and Back was a great flick.

I understand Murphy initially didn't want to star in the movie because he thought it was disrespectful to his fellow soldiers and he didn't want to be thought of as a war profitier of sorts. But eventually, the film company talked him into it.

 

It is somewhat of a cheesy movie, as far as old war movies go, but it's really cool knowing that the man who did all those things is the same guy up on the screen.

 

Maybe someday, they'll dig up Murphy's bones and clone an entire army of Audie Murphy's!!!!

[wiffleball 4,790]

Audie Murphy isn't just any guy. He's the greatest war hero the world has ever seen.

 

True dat. I think "48 Hours" was his best movie.

[Big Blue 06 195]

"They should be putting up a peace dove instead," she said. "The question is do we stand for peace or do we stand for war?"

 

I hate stupid people.

[Old School 360]

The Franceafying of America

[gocolts 300]

"A statue of a soldier holding a child would send a better message,"

[DAVID RUFFIN 2]

I understand Murphy initially didn't want to star in the movie because he thought it was disrespectful to his fellow soldiers and he didn't want to be thought of as a war profitier of sorts. But eventually, the film company talked him into it.

 

It is somewhat of a cheesy movie, as far as old war movies go, but it's really cool knowing that the man who did all those things is the same guy up on the screen.

 

Maybe someday, they'll dig up Murphy's bones and clone an entire army of Audie Murphy's!!!!

 

 

I hope the swift boat guys don't zero in on him.

[gocolts 300]

I hope the swift boat guys don't zero in on him.

They won't. They only go after people who wound themselves to get a purple heart and ticket home.

[kpbuckeye 3]

The pussification of America continues!

 

and you are its poster child

[gocolts 300]

and you are its poster child

No shiat.

[brinett9 0]

how about a compromise:

 

a statue of a soldier holding a child up with his bayonet.