(CBS 5) LAFAYETTE The tension was obvious Thursday morning as anti-war activists gathered among over 3,000 crosses on a hill near the Lafayette BART station. It was a rally and counter rally in front of the crosses, with people on both sides of the war in Iraq.
On the street, a grassroots group called "Move America Forward," an organization which says the crosses make a political statement at the expense of dead servicemen and women.
"It is not appropriate to put our son's name up there without our permission or even with our permission as far as I'm concerned," said one protestor.
Mark Barnes of Move America Forward said the crosses are "a mock cemetery, and, if anything it mocks those brave men and women who have died. It mocks what they did over there."
Lafayette was Move America Forward's first stop on a nine-day caravan to Washington.
Organizer Debra Johns' son William is serving his third tour in Iraq.
She says the caravan will stop in 25 cities on the way to a March 17th rally at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.
"It just shows to the Democrats that they need to listen to what the heart of the American people is, and that support is still here for our troops and our mission in what they're doing in Iraq," Johns said.
Johns plans to ask Congress to support resolutions giving more help and resources to troops in Iraq.
But opponents of the war say that's not what it's about, as the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war nears.
"The idea is to keep any more from being dead," said protestor Eric Beckyard. "We want to stop the killing, and the best way to get out of a bad poker game is to walk out the door."
Lafayette police stood by until the caravan left for its next stop in Vacaville.