LEWISTON – For 45 minutes Wednesday night, a group of three dozen people stood on the Longley Bridge in quiet support of a person hundreds of miles away.

The 7:30 p.m. vigil was one of many held across the country on Wednesday in a show of support for Cindy Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son was killed last year in Iraq.

Sheehan has been camped outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, since Aug. 6. So far, the president has not stopped to speak with her.

In the Twin Cities, 36 people gathered along the sidewalk at the center of the bridge. They held candles and signs proclaiming their support for Sheehan.

Reaction from early evening traffic was mostly supportive.

“Two people who drove by made negative gestures,” said Renee Cote, one of those who stood in vigil. “Everyone else was very positive.”

Cote said the people who showed up locally were men, women and children. The youngest was 16 years old. The oldest was 84.

At least a dozen similar vigils were held across Maine, part of an effort initiated by the political action group MoveOn.org. The group planned 1,600 vigils across the country.

Sheehan, mother of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was recently joined by more mothers who lost children in Iraq, as well as other military families.