Crawford sits in the midst of the rolling black land prairie of Central Texas, which after an unseasonably rainy August was graced with a bucolic and almost pacific greenness. At the edge of town, a small billboard with a waving George W. Bush and smiling Laura reads, "Welcome to Crawford." A little farther in, a banner atop four large metal grain silos proclaims that this land is "Bush Country."

Supporters of the president and the war were gathered at the four corners in the center of town following their rally on Saturday. At an encampment of red, white and blue tents with banners proclaiming, "God Bless Our Troops! ... America! ... President Bush!" was planted a small patch of maybe 20 white crosses bearing the names of servicemen and women who had died in Iraq. Inside the tents, Ellen Frazier of Waco, who said she was there with Operation Building Bridges, insisted, "You can't support the troops without supporting the war."

Down at the corner in front of the Yellow Rose, a Western store that sells everything from gifts to horse feed to guns and ammo, and of course Bush mementos, a replica of the Liberty Bell sat atop a trailer festooned with flags and stars and stripes bunting, flanked by two stone tablets -- looking much like tombstones -- on which was carved the Ten Commandments. In front of it, a couple wearing pins with red, white and blue ribbons spoke to a video cameraman. "Whether you agree with this war or not, [the troops] are there," the woman told the interviewer. "Agree with it and support them."

"As a citizen, she can do what she wants and she can protest," Frazier said of Sheehan, then adding with a snippy tone, "But she does not have a right to be heard without our side being heard."

"I wonder if she returned all the money that the government paid her for her son's death," Margaret Dunlap of Waco inquired. "She took the money, and what she is doing to this small community is not fair. It's very disruptive." Just like the presence of the president? "That is expected when you have some celebrity move in," said Dunlap.

The 10-mile drive west of town to Camp Casey winds past homes with yard signs bearing slogans like "IM4W." They continue the signatory debate between the Bush supporters and the visitors packed into vans shuttling to and from the Crawford Peace House in town and Sheehan's encampment. Just after passing the white clapboard New Canaan Baptist Church the road gently descends to reveal the eight ivory spires of the giant tent of what on this day is not just Camp but also Church Casey.

In front of the tent by the roadside is the now famed field of hundreds of small white crosses naming serviceman killed in Iraq, some decorated with flowers and their dog tags and combat boots. They underscore the sacrifices and losses that America has suffered in the two and a half years since our nation's armed forces invaded and occupied Iraq.

Amid the line of vehicles parked just past Camp Casey, Ron Teska from Greene County, Penn., was putting the finishing touches on a large stone marker to leave behind after Sheehan's departure. He'd carved the words "Sheehan's Stand" into it. "This is for Cindy's efforts and her message," Teska said.

A hunter green Chevy SUV waving a large American flag and displaying a sign that read "God Bless Bush. God Bless USA" rolled past a parked minivan on which was written in white shoe polish, "Hey Dubya! Meet With Cindy!" Two women stood at the entrance to Camp Casey holding signs that read: "George Bush -- You Make God Cry" and "Cindy's Son Volunteered and Died; Bush's Son Deserted and Lied."

"My daughter and I flew out from Seattle," said Sue Cozza. "We came out and have been working at the Peace House for a couple of days and we finally came out here.

"My dad was hit by a fragmentation grenade in 1966 in Vietnam and war has been a part of my life since I was 11, and I'm 50 now," Cozza added. "So war has never gone away for me, never. When I see how Bush is just killing these kids for his ego, I had to come out. Actually, I was driving my husband crazy. He said, 'Go to Crawford. Go to Crawford.'"

One couldn't help sensing a solemnity at Camp Casey II even if the vibe also felt a bit like a country fair, albeit one devoted to ending the war in Iraq. Sheehan's second encampment sprouted while she went home to California to visit her stricken mother in the hospital.

Inside the tent at one end is a stage from which speeches and performances go on throughout the day. Above it hangs a banner: "Mothers Say No to War." At the other end is a makeshift kitchen and buffet line. People gather at the chairs and tables inside to listen and discuss; others join in as volunteers to keep it all running with a surprisingly organic smoothness. Banners tout the presence of the organizations that have joined Sheehan in Crawford: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace.

At the far side of the tent hangs a giant portrait of the mother's son who sparked it all. Casey Sheehan overlooks the camp that bears his name, with the stars and stripes waving behind him. "When I got back, that's what I was faced with," said Sheehan of Camp Casey II. "I was just overwhelmed. And then to see the big painting of Casey really affected me a lot."

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