Back For many Americans, the Iraq war is Chapter Two of a very long and difficult drama that opened in New York on September 11, 2001. On that day, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder watching horrific TV images - of the twin towers reduced to dust by suicide hijackers, of heroic rescue workers, of the grieving families of 3,000 victims. Today, there are gritty, new TV images - not always easy to watch - of American soldiers plugging away through sandstorms and firefights in a faraway desert, of captured U.S. POWs displayed on the Iraqi airwaves, of injured soldiers and civilians, of an ancient city bombarded into "shock and awe." For this story, we talked with St. Louisans who have been interviewed by the Post-Dispatch at various points since Sept. 11, 2001. LaFaye Young, 55, Red Cross Volunteer from Maryland Heights "I hate war, I really do. But I support our troops, and I support our president." LaFaye Young, a St. Louis Red Cross volunteer, hopes the American troops fighting in Iraq don't know about the anti-war protests in this country. She remembers a public response that was just the opposite during the three weeks she spent in New York assisting rescue workers at ground zero. "I remember college kids standing for hours along the road to cheer the rescue workers as they went by," she said. "I remember how much I appreciated that. I hope our servicemen and women can't see the 200,000 protesters marching down Broadway - not when they're putting their lives on the line." Young, a secretary with the Pattonville School District, said she can't bear to watch the war coverage, and she prays for a swift end to the fighting. "War is devastating no matter where it is fought. We had a small taste of that on 9-11," she said. "I'm grateful we have people who are trained to go and fight for our freedom. I pray numerous times a day for protection for them. I also pray for the Iraqi army and their leaders so that they will step down and do the right thing for their people - to keep from seeing their cities torn apart." Young is mindful of the sacrifice of the troops. "For every one of the soldiers killed over there, there are parents back here and wives and family. It isn't just one person; it's a family being torn apart." Young continues to take disaster training because she feels it is important to be prepared." "I think we could see more terrorism," she said. "We are not universally loved throughout the world, although we like to believe that we are." This story may be available for an Adobe Acrobat PDF download. Click on the link below to visit the site download center. If a PDF is available, the file will automatically open in your browser.

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