Mothers Plan Opposing War Marches On D.C.

Diane Ibbotson and H. Elaine Johnson are grieving mothers. Both lost sons in Iraq, and both feel strongly enough about the war to travel to the nation's capital for demonstrations. That is where the similarities end. Johnson will be protesting the war, while Ibbotson will be speaking out in support of the military action. Organizers of Saturday's anti-war protest predict about 100,000 people will crowd the Ellipse near the White House for a rally and march. Among those expected are Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who drew thousands of protesters to her 26-day vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch last month. Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. Ibbotson's son, Forest Jostes, was killed in the same ambush. Ibbotson, from Albion, Ill., said war protesters dishonor the service of her son and others who have died. "There are families who lose children in accidents, in tragic illnesses. Young people die and it seems without a purpose," said Ibbotson, whose son was 21. "My son gave his life for a cause that he believed in. He fought and died for God and country." Ibbotson is part of the Iowa-based group Families United for Our Troops. She's one of 25 "Gold Star" families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan or Iraq who will speak at a news conference Saturday morning and then attend a rally for military families on the Mall on Sunday.