NATCHEZ &045; A small chorus in Natchez lent its voice Wednesday evening to a nationwide cry of support for Cindy Sheehan.

The candlelight vigil on the bluff drew about 28 mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, teachers and students, all with one thing on their minds: stopping the war in Iraq.

&uot;We’re making a statement that we want the truth out now and we want to end the war,&uot; Gwen Ball said.

Ball, along with her daughter, Rachel, and Jane Gardner organized the event, part of a national effort coordinated by several liberal activist groups to protest the war in Iraq.

Moveon.org, TrueMajority and Democracy for America expected 50,000 people to attend 1,600 vigils on Wednesday night.

When asked if they thought the president would hear their protest, Grace Steiner answered for the group.

&uot;Whether he answers or not is not important,&uot; she said. &uot;What is important is that we’re asking the questions.&uot;

Among the questions they are asking on behalf of Cindy Sheehan: Why did Casey Sheehan die? When will U.S. troops come home?

Sheehan herself has been camped outside the president’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, since Aug. 6, waiting to ask him those questions in person.

Signs decorated the walkway leading to the gazebo where the vigil was held. They ran the gamut from support of a mother in grief to Vietnam-style protest. &uot;We Support Cindy Sheehan,&uot; &uot;Moms for Peace,&uot; and &uot;Support Troops, Not War&uot; greeted those coming to the vigil and those just passing by.

Not all passersby were pleased with the goings on.

Joe Fortenberry, a decorated U.S. Navy veteran, said he respected the protesters’ right to speak their minds but vehemently disagreed with their message about the war.

&uot;I served my country,&uot; he said. &uot;Those people over there, they don’t know what war is. If war came to them, they’d jump over that bluff over there.&uot;

Two Cathedral High School eighth-graders who attended said the sentiment regarding Iraq at school was sharply divided. Olivia Burns, attending the vigil with her mother and a friend, said most students know where others stand on the issue, and they don’t bring it up. Burns wasn’t afraid to speak up at the vigil.

&uot;This is our second war over there,&uot; she said. &uot;I don’t think we’re going to change anything, and I think that we should just come home.&uot;