West Augusta might not seem like the ideal place to hold an anti-war rally, but the people holding up signs Tuesday along Walton Way Extension got plenty of car horns blowing.

About 40 people, ranging from elementary school pupils to gray-haired retirees, spent a half hour in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta, displaying signs saying, "Surge 'Em Home," "War No More," "Honk For Peace," and, on a large maroon and yellow banner, "Representative Broun, Stand With Georgia, End This War."

Most motorists passed quietly, but about a quarter of them honked, clapped or flashed peace signs or a thumbs up.

Lois Hand, 58, said most Americans have become detached from the war because it doesn't affect them, unlike during the Vietnam War when she feared her brother would be drafted and die on foreign soil. Mrs. Hand said she demonstrated against that war, too, but this was the first time her husband, a retired St. Joseph Hospital pathologist, protested anything.

"Enough is enough," said Bob Hand, 73.

One sign-holder identified himself as a sergeant in the Fort Gordon-based 35th Signal Brigade. Chris Selmek, 24, from Toledo, Ohio, said he served in Iraq in the spring of 2003 as a military journalist.

"The surge seems like we're throwing more logs on the fire," Sgt. Selmek said. "We're killing more fathers, sons, mothers and daughters, and they don't need to be put in danger anymore."

Some attendees had opposing views and said they showed up to hear what the demonstrators - organized by the church's Social Justice Committee and organizations such as MoveOn.org, Veterans for Peace and the Georgia Rural Urban Summit - would say.

"Radical Islam, they want to kill me, you and the people holding the signs," said Randy Potter, a 35-year-old Desert Storm veteran.

Augusta attorney Shawn Hammond returned in July after serving for a year in Afghanistan and four months in Iraq. Watching the group sing John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance as they marched into the church for a "Take A Stand" program, he said the country is doing good work in the Mideast that needs to continue.

"Regional stabilization is an honorable mission," the 41-year-old first lieutenant said.