S.D. Woman Leads the Drive to Rally Support for Troops

In the little Missouri farming town where Mary Alice Hill grew up, children joined the 4-H Club, did chores, went to church. When young Hill heard the National Anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance, she remembers proud tears pooling in her eyes.

The last time Hill, now 50, cried was watching Camp Pendleton Marines and their wives painfully part during the abrupt departure of U.S. troops to the Middle East crisis in August.

There was the morning Hill arrived at her office and saw her secretary, shaken and “upset that she and her husband had to make a will because he was being deployed.

“There was so much pain, anger, confusion. . I sat in my office and I thought, ‘We’ve got to do something,’ ” Hill said.

What Hill--the former athletic director of San Diego State University who left amid controversy, and now the civilian director of recreation at Camp Pendleton--did has made her the darling of the Marine Corps.

It has also made local peace activists wary.

She dreamed up and delivered an old-fashioned, flag-waving patriotic ceremony to bring military men and women, their families and the public together in an outpouring of support for troops in the Middle East.

About 1,500 people--a disappointing turnout--gathered at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium on Sept. 29 for the “support walk” for Operation Desert Shield. Now, Hill is planning a similar event in North County that she hopes will draw 5,000 people.

And, seeking a major sponsor, she is determined to make the walks spread like a prairie fire across the United States, from places like her hometown of Brookfield, Mo., to the big cities, and maybe even abroad.

“It would send out a great message to our adversary that we are not a people to be taken lightly,” said Hill.

Her zeal is undisputedly from the heart, but some are concerned that patriotic demonstrations risk going beyond giving spiritual backing for U.S. troops.

“There is a distinction between giving support and sympathy to soldiers or their families, who are dealing with a trying situation, and uncritical support for the Bush administration’s political actions,” said Carol Jahnkow, director of the Peace Resource Center of San Diego.

“It’s very hard to make that distinction,” she added.

The 10-year-old center, among other things, advocates nuclear disarmament, banning war toys, seeking alternative energy sources, and has adopted a “no blood for oil” theme for America’s military campaign against Iraq.

“We believe the best way we can show our support for our troops in the Middle East is to bring them home alive,” Jahnkow said.

Yet both Hill and her main colleague, noted local sports announcer Jerry Gross, say the support walks should be taken at face value. There are merely a sincere attempt to let airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines know people back home care.

“It’s not a political thing, it’s an outpouring of love,” said Gross, whose chief role has been to promote and coordinate the events.

“It’s a great opportunity for people overseas to see this is not a Vietnam situation and the people are behind them,” he said. “This is from Mary’s heart.”

The Marine Corps isn’t formally involved, but it has made it known that Hill’s efforts are an appreciated boost to morale.

According to Camp Pendleton’s commander, Brig. Gen. Mike Neil, who attended the first support walk, “The Marines in the Persian Gulf are standing tall and proud knowing that the folks back home are supporting them through efforts like the walk in support of Desert Shield.”

Hill has drifted in and out of the limelight over the years.

She was director of Women’s Athletics at Colorado State University and came to San Diego State University in 1976 as associate director of Women’s Activities. In 1984, she rose at SDSU to become the first women athletic director at a major university.

But the following year, she was fired in a dispute with university President Thomas Day over her dismissal of three athletic department employees for alleged embezzling of university funds.

In 1986, she filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the university, Day and some college employees for purported wrongful termination, emotional distress and defamation. The matter is still in litigation, but Hill has moved on with her life.

She trained horses in California and Arizona, and in August, 1989, her filly, Pardon Dolly, brought in $42,000 for a win at Del Mar Racetrack.

Last May, Hill began directing Camp Pendleton’s recreational program, supervising 340 employees in an assortment of programs for Marines and their dependents. She commutes 200 miles a day, the round-trip between the base and her ranch in Potrero near the U.S.-Mexico border.

She was disappointed the Sept. 29 support walk drew only 1,500 people, but Hill and Gross blame late publicity and late delivery of thousands of letters notifying military families about the event.

Still, she was buoyant about the first support walk, when she saw that families of military personnel no longer felt powerless in acting out their emotions.

“So many people came up and said ‘thanks for doing this.’ We had mothers and fathers come up to us with tears in their eyes,” said Hill.

She is organizing another support walk for 2 p.m., Oct. 21 at Del Mar Beach at Camp Pendleton, for which she plans more elaborate publicity.

Although catering mainly to servicemen and their families, Hill wants the public to participate in the support walks. And she believes that as the months drag on for troops in the Middle East, home-front support won’t wane.

Hill is also seeing a change in herself.

“I think I’ve been a feeling person in all my jobs before. But there’s a difference in whether you win or lose a football game and a mom or dad going to the Persian Gulf,” she said. “It makes that football game pretty insignificant.”

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