York military recruitment center gets more civilian support
Photo by Kate Penn, York Daily Record / Sunday News
Pastor Ken Gibson of Red Lion, left, and Emy Delgaudio of West Manchester Township, speak after laying flowers in front of the Armed Forces Career Center in West Manchester Township Tuesday. The two were representing Action of Pennsylvania York County Chapter and the Philippine American Heritage Council, honoring memory of the four Marines and one sailor who were shot and killed in Chattanooga, Tenn. last week.
(York) — For the second day in a row, the U.S. Armed Forces Career Center, and the armed forces in general, was getting some love from the local public.
The pastor and York County chapter president of Americans for Christian Traditions in Our Nation, or ACTION, gave a message of support Tuesday at the Manchester Crossroads shopping center on Loucks Road. The day before, armed civilians who said they were part of a patriot group, the III%ers, stood guard outside the center in the York area on Monday. The III%ers guards were not present at the center Tuesday and calls to two of them were not answered or returned. Pastor Ken Gibson of ACTION said he was unaware of Monday’s guards and said his event was unaffiliated.
Gibson, of Red Lion, said ACTION “offers our prayers for the five families that lost loved ones in this senseless and tragic shooting of our military personnel in Chattanooga.”
He condemned the violence and called on the Pentagon to allow military personnel at recruiting sites to be armed to protect themselves and the public, “especially during these volatile times we are living in.”
Gibson was joined in the display of support by Emy Delgaudio, the chairwoman of the Philippine American Heritage Council and also a member of ACTION, who delivered flowers and a poster honoring the five victims of Thursday’s shooting in Chattanooga: Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist, Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells and Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt.
“A soldier without a gun leads to Americans without freedom,” Delgaudio’s poster said. “Our country of origin, the Republic of the Philippines, is free thanks to armed Americans in World War II. We could never have been free without you. God bless America.”
Delgaudio, of West Manchester Township, said her group is “pro American exceptionalism and pro military.”
While a recruiter inside the center said it is U.S. Marine Corps policy for him not to offer comments to media, he did seem appreciative of the efforts of both groups and thanked them for their support when they presented him with flowers and the poster.
Photo by Kate Penn, York Daily Record / Sunday News
Pastor Ken Gibson of Red Lion, left, and Emy Delgaudio of West Manchester Township lay flowers in front of the Armed Forces Career Center in West Manchester Township Tuesday. The two were representing Action of Pennsylvania York County Chapter and the Philippine American Heritage Council, laying flowers in memory of the four Marines and one sailor who were shot and killed in Chattanooga, Tn. last week.
Armed civilians guard York-area recruiting center
This article comes to us through a partnership between York Daily Record and WITF.
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