A military command vehicle with a mock machine gun mounted on the passenger side will be allowed in Coeur d'Alene's Fourth of July parade Wednesday. But the loud prop gun, which thrilled and startled parade watchers last year, is to remain silent. A close replica of U.S. Army Gen. George Patton's command vehicle in World War II, the entry appeared in last year's parade firing thunderous bursts from the theatrical 50-caliber M-4. The owner, retired Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Bob Brooke, of Hayden, stood stiffly in the Jeep dressed as Old Blood and Guts himself, accompanied by state Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, and two other friends.

Ron G. Johnson/Rathdrum: "This is the Fourth of July, and freedom was won with guns that made noise, and I don't see any reason why we can't do that in the parade."

DFO: Mayor Sandi Bloem and the chamber made a good call. There's no reason for a parade entry to spoil this celebration b/c a coupla middle-agers want to shoot off their own version of fireworks along the route.

Question: Do you support the chamber's decision to allow the Patton command vehicle replica but not the noise from the 50-calibre gun?

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