Tucson showed its true colors

Army Sgt. Darvis Perry and four others stood holding the corners of a large cloth flag over their heads for shade.

Perry and his family were flying to Hawaii Tuesday to accept a recruiting award when the attacks grounded them in Los Angeles. They drove a rental car back to Tucson and came to the ballpark, convinced war is likely.

“This is the first step in what is probably going to be a long journey for me and a lot of people,” Perry said.

Sandra Fernandez, a clerk in Pima County’s child-support office, hauled 14 young kids to Tucson Electric Park because she thought it would help heal the trauma of the past week.

“We need to show that we’re all Americans and we’re all one big family and we’re not going to let other countries just step all over us,” she said.

Rhonda Whatley, a 29-year-old medical lab technician who lived in Oklahoma City during the 1995 bombing, went to the ballpark instead of going home to sleep after her all-night shift at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

“I’ve cried every day since this happened because I know what people are going through” in New York, she said.

Joan Philips, a liquor merchandiser, called it inspiring to see so many people stand shoulder to shoulder.

“I believe in mass energy and mass love,” Philips said. “To me, it’s like pulling down the light of God and sending it to all the world.”

The Arizona Daily Star and Eyewitness News 4 joined KRQ in sponsoring the event.

Although some people arrived up to three hours early, most came in around 10 a.m. as planned. By 11 a.m., many of the white shirts carried in under arms were draped over heads to ward off the sun.