By James Hannah
The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - A support-the-troops rally that drew about 600 people downtown on Friday waving flags and singing patriotic songs was special for Divina Livaudais.

Livaudais' 23-year-old son - Army Staff Sgt. Nino Livaudais of Ogden, Utah - was killed April 3 in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in Iraq he was patrolling.

Divina Livaudais, who transferred to nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from Hill Air Force Base in Utah in January, sat in the front row for the 45-minute rally on Courthouse Square.

Afterward, Livaudais said her son fought to free the Iraqi people and protect Americans at home.

"And I don't want the people to forget that. He died for what he strongly believed in," Livaudais said. "My son will be happy for all Americans to be united. We should really support our troops."

Nino Livaudais and fellow Army Rangers were at a checkpoint in Iraq when a pregnant woman jumped from a car screaming. The soldiers approached the car and it exploded, killing Livaudais, two other soldiers, the woman and driver.

Also at the rally were four members of the Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Wright-Patterson who helped provide medical care aboard the flight that returned Pfc. Jessica Lynch and other wounded soldiers to the United States.

Lynch, 19, of Palestine, W.Va., was rescued April 1 from an Iraqi hospital by U.S. forces.

The rally featured patriotic songs as well as speeches from U.S. Reps. John Boehner and Mike Turner, both Ohio Republicans from the area, and Gov. Bob Taft.

Gen. Lester Lyles, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson, told the crowd the support they were showing is something soldiers don't ask for. "But I can tell you it really means a lot to all of us," Lyles said. "It helps to spur us on even more."

Among those in the crowd was Harry Rohm, a 54-year-old suburban Fairborn man waving an American flag. "There is too much focus on the war protesters," Rohm said. "We're here to tell them today they are not the majority."