THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Please count this Marine veteran for Sen. Chuck Robb, also a former Marine Corps officer and decorated Vietnam veteran.
I am a retired Marine Corps pilot of the same rank as Ollie North. I flew in Vietnam and also served with the Korean Marines, who were our allies in that war, in ground combat.
From my experience, I know that the greatest heroes in combat are probably dead. Those who survive relive those experiences for years and usually don't wish to call attention to themselves.
It's a fact most veterans will admit: War exploits grow more daring with the passage of time, and those veterans who did most talk and write the least.
Chuck Robb hasn't written a book yet. Maybe there's a reason for that.
Experience in politics counts alot. Chuck Robb has the experience; Lt. Col. North doesn't.
Chuck Robb was an excellent Virginia governor, and he has been a good senator. He made some poor judgment calls in his personal life, but who hasn't? I have made judgment calls in my life that I would like to change if given the luxury of returning to the past. None of us has that option. Ollie North must have some of his own, if he would admit to a human failing or two.
Chuck Robb continues to gather in his camp an impressive number of high-ranking military men and women who think he is the experienced, steady U.S. senator we need. The great military downsizing that Ollie North blames on President Clinton and, by direct association, on Sen. Robb was actually a plan drawn up during the Bush administration and approved by Congress for implementation over a period of years.
The downsizing would have happened regardless of who followed George Bush into the White House. Those highly credible military people who support Sen. Robb know that.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe required reductions of a huge armed forces structure that was designed primarily to meet and defeat that threat. New threats to stability have appeared in recent years, and we will meet them as we always have.
Sen. Robb seeks to unite people rather than divide them. His manner calms rather than foments emotion. Sen. Robb has been tested in combat, politics and in his personal life. Like Ollie North, Chuck Robb is a patriotic American. He's got my vote.
EDWARD B. CUMMINGS
Norfolk, Oct. 7, 1994 by CNB