In Little Falls, Minn., War Looms Large

L I T T L E   F A L L S, Minn., April 7, 2003 -- In Little Falls, Minn., connections to the war are evident, and a furor has erupted over a French flag.

There are American flags and yellow ribbons on every street, and the plastic banner flapping above the center of town reads, "Support Our Troops." The chatter of gunfire at the training range at Camp Ripley is audible.

More than 300 Guardsmen based there are already in Iraq or on the way. Eight-month-old Simon Pantzke's mother is one of them.

Simon's father, Matt Pantzke, is clearly worried.

"I'm scared that something is going to happen when she goes over there," Pantzke said. "That she might not come home."

While worry permeates every aspect of life here, this community is sharply divided — over a tribute to Little Falls' most famous son.

The French Flag Flap

Aviator Charles Lindbergh grew up in Little Falls, and a French flag flies at a city park, to honor the Paris suburb where Lindbergh ended his history-making trans-Atlantic flight.

"I think the flag should come down," says Craig Johnson, whose daughter is awaiting deployment to Iraq. "The French don't support the United States at all."

Dave DeRosier, the town barber, sees things differently.

"I wish they'd leave the flag alone and forget about that," DeRosier said. "There's a lot of bigger problems than worrying about the flag."

Ultimately, the City Council voted 6 to 2 Monday tokeep the flag in Le Bourget Park over the vehement objections of sometownspeople.

The flag, like other French products became a target of public frustration that was particularly touchy in LittleFalls, home of many veterans and also many people with family andfriends in France.

From Weddings to High School Plays

At the wedding reception of Army reservist Chad Turner and his bride Molly at the Little Falls VFW hall, the best man ends his toast to the newlyweds with a toast to "the men and women on the other side of the world, fighting for you and me."

There are American flags draped behind the towering wedding cake, and red white and blue lights everywhere. The DJ plays Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American," and the groomsmen, many of them members of the military, wave small American flags.

At the high school, the auditorium erupts in patriotic song. Students are putting on the musical Bye Bye, Birdie, the story of a boy reluctantly going off to war. Rehearsals started long before the war began. The songs and the play take on new meaning now.

"I have a friend that was deployed about a week ago so yeah, I do kind of get the lump in the throat just thinking about what's going on over there," says Liz Hecht, who sings in the chorus.

"My dad is also in the Army," says the stage manager, Aaron Tenney, a tall, studious teen in a gray Army T-shirt. "There might be a day my dad has to leave, and I might not see him again."

At that, the young man breaks down in tears.

Nuns Pray for Peace

In a somber ceremony at the edge of town, the Franciscan Sisters, who are opposed to the war, offer prayers for the men and women involved in the fighting. The list of prayer requests that the sisters receive is pinned to the chapel bulletin board. It grows with each deployment.

Raising her voice over the roar of the hair dryer at her tiny beauty salon, Kathleen Sobiech reflects on the flag flap. "It never dawned on me that people would get this wild over it," she said.

Sobiech is a hairdresser, and one of the members of the City Council faced with deciding whether or not Little Falls should take the flag down.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook here," she said before the vote, "and I'm inclined to side with those who served this country and are offended by the flag."