Removing Mom's "Welcome Home Soldier" Signs Brings Scorn

People from across the United States and as far away as Nova Scotia spent Wednesday telling Cape Coral officials they're un-American, communists and Nazis — among other things. The name calling came in an onslaught of e-mail that blasted a city worker for removing signs and yellow ribbons a mother had posted to greet her U.S. Army daughter as she returned home from Iraq. After receiving more than 100 e-mails, city officials went into damage control. "We now have to try to defuse the situation and prevent an effigy of our part-time employee, an 82-year-old WWII veteran, from being burned across the country," public information officer Connie Barron e-mailed. The out-cry arose after Matt Drudge posted an Internet link on his site, the Drudge Report, to a story about the incident in The News-Press. By 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, about 300,000 viewers had read the story on The News-Press Web site, news-press.com. It's one of the most-read stories in the Web site's history. "It has all gotten too out of hand and big," said Kelly Smith, 44, the single mother of Pfc. Amanda Smith, 19, and two other children. "It just never should have happened if he used a little common sense. "All I wanted to do was welcome my daughter home and hug her." Mayor Eric Feichthaler answered the angry e-mails with an explanation. "The actions that occurred on Tuesday were not a malicious attempt to dishonor or slight a local soldier, whose service we admire and appreciate beyond what words can express," Feichthaler said. On Monday evening, the mayor will read a proclamation in Amanda's honor during the regular city council meeting. He has invited the Smiths to attend.