By Connor Adams Sheets:
February 21, 2012 11:30 AM EST

The Veterans for Ron Paul 2012 White House
march was a success, drawing hundreds of veterans and active-duty
service members to Washington, D.C., on Monday to show their support for
the only veteran in the remaining Republican presidential primary
field.

The President's Day event, dubbed [url=http://www.adamvstheman.com/blog/ron-paul-is-the-choice-of-the-troops-livestream]"Ron Paul is the Choice of the Troops,"[/url] brought
veterans and troops from all over the country together in the nation's
capital, where they marched from the Washington Monument to the White House in order to protest President Barack Obama's foreign policy and to rally for their chosen presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).
About 500 marchers--veterans, active duty troops and their family
members--participated in the fully-permitted event, and hundreds more
onlookers showed their support without actually marching.

After rallying the afternoon of Feb. 20 on the National Mall, the marchers made their way to Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House,
where they stood in a moment of silence, as family members of fallen
warriors held their hands on an American flag. They remained silent for
one second for each service member that has died in conflict since
Obama's inauguration.

The success of the march could be determined by reading the comments on the Veterans for Ron Paul 2012 Facebook page on
Tuesday, where many Ron Paul supporters had come forward to relay their
reflections on having participating in the event, and to post messages
of gratitude and solidarity with those who participated.

Pamela Leffingwell LaBrake,
a Ron Paul 2012 supporter from Schenectady, N.Y., couldn't be in
Washington, D.C., for the event, but she watched along online and said
she was moved nonetheless:
"Watched the live stream yesterday and I don't think there could be a
dry eye watching, just amazing," she wrote on the group's Facebook wall. "God Bless our Troops, Veterans and families. Bring them all home."
A number of march participants and Paul supporters stated messages of
disappointment that the event was not covered by most mainstream media
outlets.
Ron Paul supporter Kellie Swift-Wikel posted
the following message: "Today I am both honered and ashamed to be an
American and a veteran. Today you/we made history and I am honered that
we have that right as American citizens to speak and stand up for what
we believe in. However I am ashamed as America as a whole today as to
the fact that the media is so biased that they were not there to report
the happenings of today after seeing the veterans march for Ron Paul
so ignored and unreported to the nation."
But the overall feel of messages left on the Facebook wall was on of positivity and pride in the march's success.


Tacoma, Washington, Ron Paul supporter Christopher A. Rich posted
the following: "Getting Ron Paul elected is the first battle worth
fighting for in many decades. I have a tremendous amount of respect
for all that participated. I work with many AD AF people on the west
coast that wish they could have been there. Todays event was
historical."
Dr. Ron Paul has become popular with American veterans and
active-duty service members because of his unique approach to foreign
policy. He believes that America should have a strong military, but that
it should not risk lives and waste resources fighting wrong-headed
wars.
He has also gained popularity with the veteran/soldier demographic
because he is the only remaining member of the Republican presidential
primary field this year who has served in the U.S. military. Paul served
as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1965 and in the U.S. Air National Guard from 1965 to 1968. He later entered private medical practice in obstetrics and gynecology.
The idea that Ron Paul has massive support from veterans seems to be
based in some factual evidence, as An internal analysis from the Ron
Paul presidential campaign, shows that Paul received more military
donations than his Republican rivals and President Barack Obama in the fourth quarter, according to Digital Journal.
The Monday march was the brainchild of Adam Kokesh, a U.S. Marine
Corps veteran, political commentator and one-time Republican
congressional candidate, and Nathan Cox, a U.S. Army veteran, political
activist and supporter of Veterans for Ron Paul who first conceived of the event in early January.
The event was followed by an after-party and concert at the Rock N Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C., which will feature performances by Aimee Allen, Jordan Page, Golden State and Rebel INC.


Kokesh described the impetus behind
Veterans for Ron Paul's creation during interview with The Washington
Times: "We want a commander-in-chief who will be decisive, put America's
security first, and only send troops into harm's way with a clear
mission. Ron Paul is the only candidate with a pragmatic and principled
foreign policy."