Wichitan stands at busy downtown corner in support of Marines

People driving and walking downtown Friday morning saw a man in camouflage pants, white T shirt and hat standing at the corner of Douglas and Washington with a big sign at his feet saying that Marines could be killed but never beaten.

The man, Marty Cole, said he decided to come out in light of the killing of four Marines on Thursday in Tennessee. The gunman also was killed. The Marines’ deaths are being investigated as a possible act of domestic terrorism.

“This is the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Cole said as traffic zoomed by the southeast corner of the intersection.

Cole said he arrived at the intersection at 7 a.m., and he was there until early afternoon.

“I’m just tired of Marines” serving in other countries “and coming back to America and getting killed in their country where they should be safe,” he said.

Cole said he served in the Marine Corps from 1976 to 1982. He said that people driving by had honked and otherwise showed support.

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Wichitan stands at busy downtown corner in support of Marines."