It?s Veterans Day week, when we honor those who have served our nation in its military forces.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001 and this latest Iraq War, I don?t remember as much attention being turned toward our soldiers and veterans as there is now. I?m glad of that because people who have put their lives on the line for our country deserve our attention.
I?m not a veteran. I would have liked to serve in the military, but circumstances prevented me. Consequently, I?ve turned my attention to other things and I confess I don?t really know that much about military life, other than what I see in the media. I?m not an expert in abbreviations and I have to look in the dictionary sometimes to figure out who outranks whom.
Since 9-11, I think we?d all agree that there?s been a bit of a resurgence of patriotism in the United States. Sure, there are plenty of critical thinkers who take the president to task for what they see as his errors. But I see more flags today than I ever did before the 9-11 attacks and they?re not just flown by those from the old school. Along with the rise in patriotism has come a rise in appreciation for our public safety workers and for our military.
A lot of hot air has been expended over this war in Iraq that we?re involved in.
I used to listen to a lot of radio when I drove my 45-minute one-way trip to work at my old job before we moved to Sweet Home. A lot of that talk had to do with the U.S. activities in the Middle East.
I remember, particularly, listening to National Public Radio broadcasts in which the hosts would interview purported experts on both sides of the issue of whether the U.S. should be involved in Iraq.
Some would say that Bush and company have made massive misjudgments or worse in getting us involved in this conflict. Others, including some wives of servicemen who were in high-risk positions in Iraq and Afghanistan, said that the naysayers had completely missed the boat in their rush to demonize Bush.
It is confusing. There isn?t as clear and present danger as there was when the Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor and Hitler was marching across Europe.
I?ve always been interested in the opinions of people who have been around twice as long or more than I have. Many older people have gained a lot of wisdom through their years of experience. So when we decided to interview some World War II veterans, all of whom are in the 80s now, for the special veterans section we?ve published today, I was curious what they think about this Iraq stuff. Consequently, I and some of our writers asked some of these veterans their opinion of the war.
Clinton Bennett, who served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1945, said he didn?t much like the way this war with Iraq began, with unsubstantiated information about weapons of mass destruction, but he believes we have no choice but to support our president and the soldiers who are sacrificing their lives for America.
Mary DeLong, 90, a nurse in the Army during the end of the war, said she can understand the decision to move into Iraq.
?I?m not about to criticize any of the decisions they made,? she said firmly. ?People in the U.S. don?t know what freedom is. It?s an awesome responsibility to protect someone?s freedom.?
Tom Hufford, 82, who still works a regular job as a log truck driver, took a practical view.
?Let?s put it this way: I?d rather have it in Iraq than here,? he said. ?People who think we shouldn?t be involved had better stop and take a long look at what they?re thinking about.?
Hufford also observed that he doesn?t see a lot of difference between ?terrorists there and what we call environmentalists here.
?Environmentalists will burn your logging equipment up,? he said.