Mother of slain soldier to speak at anti-war rally

Sue Niederer refers to herself as the pit bull on President George W. Bush's pantleg.

As a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace and the mother of a fallen soldier, Niederer has certainly made her opinions known. Niederer, whose son died in Iraq last year, has protested at hundreds of events, including at the White House and at Bush rallies.

She even was detained in September 2004 after she interrupted a campaign speech by first lady Laura Bush while wearing a T-shirt with the words "President Bush You Killed My Son."

Two weeks ago, she visited her friend and another co-founder, Cindy Sheehan, who has garnered national attention by setting up a vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, in an attempt to meet with the president.

One of Niederer's next stops will be in Cape Girardeau, when she speaks at a Sept. 15 event sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Coalition for Peace and Justice. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Osage Community Centre.

Because of logistical reasons, Niederer is replacing Lisa Lipscomb, who also is a member of the Gold Star group, which is made up of families who have lost relatives to the war and are pushing for an immediate pullout from Iraq. Lipscomb appeared in Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911."

But the local group doesn't see getting Niederer instead of Lipscomb as a step down.

"These guys are really in demand because of what's going on with Cindy Sheehan," said Bob Polack, one of the local group's leaders. "We're really happy to have her. I view her as the strongest speaker that we could get. We're not disappointed at all."

Niederer is from Hopewell, N.J., where the 56-year-old woman works as a real estate agent. Her son, Army 1st Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, was killed in Iraq in February 2004 while trying to disarm a bomb.

Reached at her New Jersey office, Niederer said she is in such demand because people know she speaks from the heart. She said she is glad to coming to Southeast Missouri now, considering that a local soldier recently died. She said she hopes the soldier's family comes.

"I'd love to reach out to that family that lost that child," she said. "They need a shoulder to cry on. Unless you've lost a child this way, you can't understand. I can be that shoulder."

Niederer said she went from grief to anger when she learned that there were no weapons of mass destruction.

"I wanted to take something and throw it at the TV," she said. "I wanted to say to Mr. Bush, 'Look what you've done.' And for what?"

She was moved to protesting because it was the only way she knew to bring attention to her cause.

"I am sick, tired and fed up of people deciding we should go to war, without their own children or themselves fighting in it," she said.

She won't quit until Bush admits that he made a mistake in Iraq and apologizes for her son's death.

Niederer also doesn't mind she's coming to Southeast Missouri, a conservative area.

"I love to talk to people who have a different point of view," she said. "I learn from them every day. Hopefully, they will learn something from me. I'm not adversarial. I don't want a hassle. I just think I've earned the right to speak because of what I've lost."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137