Tenacious veteran protested Iraq war until the very end (Lt. Col Nick LaPenta-84)

[RamboLiberal]

When World War II and Korean War veteran Nick LaPenta started his protest against the war in Iraq, he stood alone on a busy street corner in Manchester holding his sign.

For the first three months, he protested by himself, accepting everything from honking horns and waves of approval to insults from passing motorists. But he soon drew a following, with other anti-war demonstrators joining him every Saturday on the corner of Main and Center streets for the next four years.

Those who joined him were inspired by his tenacity and loved his gregariousness. He even earned the respect of a war supporter who stands vigil on the opposite street corner.

But six months ago, LaPenta learned congestive heart failure and kidney disease would soon kill him, and he was admitted into hospice care.

That didn't deter him. His wife still dropped him off Saturday mornings to sit in his wheelchair on the street corner. He wasn't just protesting the war, he was protesting death, LaPenta said. His body may have been ready to go, but his mind wasn't.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2007/09/23/tenacious_veteran_protested_iraq_war_until_the_very_end/

Former Lt. Colonel Nick LaPenta died September 15th, he was 84. :patriot: