Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, January 27, 2007

Navy vet, 80, in it for the long haul

Al Knorr of La Crosse holds a one man demonstration Tuesday at the corner of West Ave. and La Crosse Street in La Crosse. Knorr has been protesting for a year and a half at several busy La Crosse intersections. PETER THOMSON photo

By JOE ORSO / La Crosse Tribune

Al Knorr knows the issues are more complex than what’s on his signs.

He contrasted the words on the signs he carries — “Stop the War Now” and “War is Like Quicksand-Get Out Now or Never” — to words repeated by those on the other side of the argument: “Stay the course.”

“There’s a lot of slogans,” he said, standing outside the La Crosse Post Office on State Street at 8 a.m. Monday.

But Knorr, an 80-year-old Navy veteran who protests the war in Iraq two hours a day, five days a week, talks about more than slogans.

“If you’re going to demonstrate, you better know your reasons for demonstrating,” he said. “We’re apparently trying to raise an army to bring peace to the Iraqis. The only countries that have an army to guarantee peace are dictatorships.”

Of course, some disagree with Knorr. Monday, a man in a red truck honked and waved a middle-finger salute at Knorr. Another walking by called him a “(expletive) Communist (expletive).”

Another day, a woman told Knorr he was not respecting her son, who is in the military.

“I said, ‘I respect your son,’” Knorr said. “‘But I’m sorry, I don’t respect the leaders who have our troops over there.’”

Knorr, a retired psychiatric social worker, began standing around La Crosse with his anti-war signs a year and a half ago, because he thought people opposed to the war were getting little media coverage.

He thinks the U.S. has wasted billions of dollars on the war. He wishes more people knew about the plan by U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., to bring the troops home.

“We got rid of (Saddam) Hussein,” Knorr said. “The rights are there for the people now. Let us declare victory and bring our troops home.”

He said it’s up to the Iraqis to work peace out among themselves, and at most the U.S. military should ensure other countries don’t become involved in that process.

Standing at any of eight locations around La Crosse —West Avenue and La Crosse Street, the clock tower at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, at Losey Boulevard and State Street — Knorr said he hears more support than heckling, and people who disagree usually just pass by silently.

Recently, a car drove by him several times while he stood on the sidewalk by Logan High School. When a police officer came up, Knorr said he knew his rights, and doesn’t talk to anyone unless spoken to first. The officer walked to the car and the car drove away.

“Why are we so afraid?” Knorr asked. “That’s the terrorism. Now Iran is our enemy. China is our enemy. Why? None of that was true before.”

He said his wife of 57 years, with whom he has two sons, sometimes grows concerned about his protests.

“My wife says, ‘Aren’t you worried for yourself?’” Knorr said. “No, I’m not. I believe people are essentially good. We can have differences of opinion. That’s what makes us a democracy.”

Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.