THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 29, 1995 TAG: 9504290002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
The strength that over the decades and even centuries has made us predominant, that sets us apart from all other nations, is the strength of unity. We lost much of that unity during Vietnam. We almost came apart at the seams. There were those who served their country when called and those who refused.
Now we sit and ``Monday morning quarterback'' some 23 years later. It is ludicrous for a person today to say ``I knew I was right 25 or so years ago when I refused to go to Vietnam.'' Does that mean that those who served their country then made the wrong decision? No one back then, not even the president of the United States (Johnson), had all the answers. Those who were against the war certainly did not.
But the issue is not the rightness or wrongness of our foreign policy. The issue is unity. When citizens are allowed to say no to service to their country, then unity erodes and we lose our strength. The citizenry cannot be allowed to chose which war they wish to fight in and which not. Part of the price of living in the greatest country in the world is a commitment to that country and a belief that its government is endeavoring to do the right thing. It is no different from marriage. Without commitment there is no marriage. Without citizens' commitment to their country, there is no country.
More than 2 million patriots served their country in Vietnam, and we all know that more than 58,000 died there. There will never be vindication for those who turned their back on their country.
ROSS A. WORD
Virginia Beach, April 20, 1995 by CNB