Sandy Wyland offered a parting shot as a group of Topeka-based protesters headed for their car. "You're not in Kansas anymore!" she yelled after the four out-of-towners. "You're in New Kingstown, Pennsylvania! And don't come back!" With that, it was over just as quickly as it began.In between the steady rain and the various Marines, Vietnam veterans and motorcycle groups, the Westboro Baptist Church never had much of a chance to spread its message of hate during a staged visit prior to Thursday's memorial service for Marine Capt. Bryan Willard. The Enola native was killed Feb. 17 when his helicopter crashed into the Red Sea near Djibouti, Africa. The three women and one man sang "God Bless America", while holding signs such as "God is your enemy."
| God told me that he hates greasy preachers who affect cowboy hats without owning any cows and disrupt the funerals of men who're better than them. The Archangel Harry told me, in fact, that there's a special roasting spit reserved in the lower reaches of hell, just for Fred Phelps. |
The Rev. Fred Phelps, Westboro church pastor, believes American military deaths in Iraq and elsewhere are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. Westboro members have showed up to protest at other military funerals across the country. For years, Phelps and members of his independent church, made up mainly of family members, protested funerals of AIDS victims, but they have now shifted to soldiers.
The only hint of confrontation came after the out-of-state protesters began chanting "Semper Fi! Semper Fag!" Marines were lined up along the church sidewalk with their backs to the protesters, who camped across Route 11. Suddenly, the Marines turned around and drowned out the protesters with a spirited rendition of "The Marines' Hymn."