Some still back fight

Stories of support -- some personal, some principled -- sparser.

Some still back fight

 

 

 

 

Stories of support -- some personal, some principled -- sparser.  

 

 

 

 

By Denny Boyles / The Fresno Bee

 

 

 

 

 03/19/07 05:35:10

 

 

 

 

 Fred Machado has a 10-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty, two flagpoles and a GOP elephant-shaped topiary in his front yard.

 

 

 

 

The hard-working, fast-talking patriot is an unrepentant and unapologetic member of the new minority in -- those who support the war in.

 

 

 

 

As the campaign in reaches its fourth anniversary today, with the number of American dead well over 3,000, support for the war has waned.

 

 

 

 

Some of the supporters have family members or friends serving in. Others, like Machado, just believe strongly that the war is the right thing to do.

 

 

 

 

A poll on FoxNews.com, a favorite Web site for conservatives, shows that support for the president and the war was as high as 60% four years ago. Today, only 34% of Americans approve of Bush.

 

 

 

 

Machado, a 75-year-old Korean War veteran who immigrated from the Azores , doesn't care that the majority of disagrees with him. Instead, he feels sorry for those who he says have been duped by what he considers a biased news media and a corrupt Democratic Party.

 

 

 

 

 "Those people, Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi, are a national disgrace," Machado said.

 

 

 

 

Surrounded by 800 acres of vineyards and a dairy farm he built after arriving in with nothing, Machado said he has no tolerance for those who turn from hard tasks or balk at hard choices.

 

 

 

 

"They don't support our nation, they don't support our troops or recognize the sacrifices our men and women have made," Machado said. "And, they've manipulated most of the media into doing their work for them."

 

 

 

 

Others, like these Fresno residents, agree:

 

 

 

 

Ruth Duke, 69, doesn't talk about the war with two of her daughters. Duke knows they don't agree with her, and doesn't want the war to cause a rift in her family.  

 

 

 

 

"A friend asked me how I could still support the war," Duke said. "I said there's a cause we're fighting for -- a good cause. I'm worried now with the Democrats in power, because they seem to be trying to lose the war already."

 

 

 

 

 -- Jared Gordon, 29, has watched the steady movement away from the war with a mixture of sadness and disbelief. Leaving as it is now, Gordon said, will lead to massive sectarian violence that will cost millions of lives. Gordon believes much of the opposition from the war comes from people who only know what they see on television.

 

 

 

 

Gordon, a Fresno lawyer, said TV doesn't show the good, and doesn't show the whole story behind the bad news of what is happening in . He said he draws his insight from independent war correspondents who write blogs, file their own videos and post reports on their own Web sites.

 

 

 

 

-- Bill Ferguson, 53, still considers the vulnerable to terrorists, and thinks anyone who is not willing to enter a fight for their beliefs better be prepared to live with the consequences.

 

 

 

 

-- Al Pinkerton, 78, was "born" a Democrat but became a Republican because of issues like the war in . Pinkerton believes Democrats could do fine as elected representatives if they would "just be on the side of the "

 

 

 

 

For these four, the fighting in is not about weapons of mass destruction or stories of faulty intelligence. For them, the war in is simply about doing what's right, no matter the cost.

 

 

 

 

Supporters of the war face not only isolation; there's anger, too.

 

 

 

 

For example, a homeowner in Clovis painted an American flag on a garage door and wrote, "I SUPPORT MY COUNTRY RIGHT OR WRONG, 101ST AIRBORNE" on a fence. A visitor to the home last week was berated by a young woman in a large SUV with children in car seats. She stopped her car in front of the house to curse at the visitor, and then said, "I support peace."

 

 

 

 

Machado, the staunch Republican who said his support for the war will never waver, said he lives far enough in the country that people don't come out just to shout at him -- not that it would matter to him. Machado said those people need only to look at history to learn why must remain committed to .

 

 

 

 

"There's no place in history for the guy who comes in second place," Machado said. "Nobody likes to see kids go to war, but since the Revolution, Americans have died to keep our country safe. The worst thing we can do is fail to honor them by tucking our tail and running away."

 

 

 

 

For some, support of the war and the president is less about politics. It's much more personal.

 

 

 

 

For Robin and Keith Butterfield and their three children, no amount of new information will alter the already changed landscape of their lives, or their belief that is fighting for a good cause.

 

 

 

 

The Butterfield home sits on a quiet street along an irrigation canal in Clovis .

 

 

 

 

Neighbors' trees for a hundred yards approaching their driveway are wrapped in yellow ribbons. A large flag flies in front of the house.

 

 

 

 

A smaller flag, with a single gold star on a white field bordered in red, hangs in a window. The gold-star flag flies in honor of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Anthony "Tony" Butterfield.

 

 

 

 

On July 29, 2006, Tony Butterfield and three other Marines were killed by a suicide bomber as they searched a building in 's Anbar province.

 

 

 

 

The war removed forever a piece of the world for this family -- the smiling blue-eyed teenager who perches in front of his parents and siblings in a Christmas card dating from 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But Tony never is far from the minds of his family. Each wears a set of his Marine Corps dog tags, and his sisters wear Marine Corps necklaces.

 

 

 

 

They've also never forgotten that Tony believed in what he was doing, and in his fellow Marines.

 

 

 

 

"Tony would say his death was worth it," said Britney Hunt, 24, the eldest of the Butterfield children. "People want a quick fix. But it doesn't work like that with terrorists. We have to finish what we started."

 

 

 

 

Tony's mother said she refuses to let his death be in vain.

 

 

 

 

"We need to finish the job," Robin Butterfield said.

 

 

 

 

The reporter can be reached at dboyles@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6659.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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