Patriotism prevails over protest

Her heart was breaking, until the man with the flag restored Monika McGillicuddy's faith.

It was last Wednesday, and the town of Hampstead was saying goodbye to one of its beloved sons, Army Capt. Jonathan Grassbaugh, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on April 8.


The funeral for the 25-year-old Army Ranger was being held at St. Anne Catholic Church.


Just down the street, at the real estate office where she works, McGillicuddy noticed the protesters on the corner.


Three members of a Topeka, Kan., organization that calls itself the Westboro Baptist Church were there, their signs shocking. The group uses extreme language and Biblical references to claim that a variety of events -- from the death of soldiers in Iraq to, most recently, the Virginia Tech shootings -- are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.



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That's when she noticed the man. He was carrying a large American flag, and he placed himself squarely in front of the protesters.


Pat Langlois of Kingston also works at the Hampstead real estate office.


When she first saw the man with the flag, Langlois feared a confrontation; she could tell he was upset. But he just stood there, defiantly, proudly, with his flag. "I felt for that man," she said. "He was so hurt by what they were doing."


"Then all of a sudden, other people started to gather around him. Then a whole procession of other people came up the street with their flags," Langlois said
She went outside and shook the man's hand, "and thanked him for standing there in that cold."




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Jamie