SWEETWATER, TENN. — The first fundraiser was down at the First Assembly of God church, where Bonnie Cleveland stood in the doorway with a collection basket in hand. She told everyone that the church music group's former teen drummer, Ray Girouard -- now Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard -- was in deep trouble.
The Army has charged Girouard, 24, with ordering the slayings of three Iraqi detainees in May, then orchestrating a coverup. He's in a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., awaiting court-martial.
"He's been fighting for our freedom, and now he needs our help," Cleveland, a schoolteacher and the wife of a dairy farmer, told fellow parishioners.
By the end of the service late last month, parishioners had contributed $6,600 to help hire a civilian lawyer for a church member who became an Army Ranger and served two tours in Iraq.
It was the beginning of an extraordinary outpouring of cash and tributes from this idyllic east Tennessee community of 6,000. The fund now stands at $19,000, fattened by residents who cannot reconcile the Army's portrait of a calculating killer with their memories of a polite and caring boy.
Sense of betrayal
Sweetwater, a conservative community where American flags fly on porches and many residents are veterans, now finds itself at odds with the military. Many here say the Army has betrayed a young patriot who volunteered to fight for his country.
"The military kind of made it personal," said Tammy "Tot" Chapman, who's helping organize an antique car rally as a fundraiser. "When you mess with our boys, you have to deal with us."
Post 106 of the American Legion in Sweetwater is coordinating the contributions. Lloyd Langley, the post vice commander, says Girouard is being "railroaded" by the military.
"A soldier ain't worth a dime if he don't carry out his orders, and that's exactly what Ray was doing over there," Langley said.
Girouard, who enlisted right out of high school, is charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy. Three other soldiers also were charged in the deaths, which occurred during a combat mission May 9 on a marshy island on Tharthar Lake, 60 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Girouard's photo now graces bumper stickers, storefronts and restaurants in Sweetwater. A gazebo on the narrow main street bears a banner that reads, "Staff Sgt. Ray Girouard Fought For Us. Let's Fight For Him."
