LETTERS

Dear Editor,

Kudos to you, Damon Hodge and Joe Sacco, on the article about Project Counter Recruitment (November 24). I'm a 22-year disabled Army veteran who often wonders what my life would have been like had I not believed what my Army recruiter told me in 1971. I volunteered to be a medic—and ended up learning that the recruiter had lied to me and had signed me up to be a heavy weapons infantryman instead. I went to Vietnam at age 18 and it has proven to be the most life-defining, and limiting event of my life. All because of one Army staff sergeant who had to make a quota one month.

I feel very strongly about always supporting the troops when they are conducting their duties in accordance with the Geneva Convention. We desperately need an all-volunteer military force that has been honestly recruited. But what is happening today hearkens back in history with too many similarities to the Hitler Youth Movement—and it must be changed now.

I also strongly support what we are doing in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan—it is a just war. But I am totally opposed to wasting some of our best young Americans in an unjust war like Iraq.

After Vietnam, I thought America would never, ever again participate in an unjust war. Now we are engaged in both a just and unjust war simultaneously. Had we only gone into Afghanistan, we would be killing many of these same terrorists, in the open (away from innocent children, women and elderly civilians) and our actions would be totally just.

What tears at my soul, still to this day, is not the sweat, tears and blood I shed in Vietnam. Nor, is it the pain from steel, lead, shrapnel or fire I suffered. What traumatized me the worst, and still haunts me to this day, was later learning that my patriotism had been prostituted and I was sent into an unethical, immoral and unjust war. You cannot heal that wound with awards, medals or decorations or a "Welcome Home Parade" 30 years after the fact of being frequently ostracized like a leper all of my life.

Every student in this country should be protected from being "recruited" until their senior year in high school. Only the senior class should have a totally voluntary option to participate in ROTC programs, and every senior should have the right to be on a "no-call list" to opt out of even having to receive a single call from a military recruiter if they so desire to never, ever talk to any of them. The military should be able to participate in "career days"—but, again, only seniors should be allowed to voluntarily participate. Given the recurring problems with the lack of integrity of some recruiters, I'd even go so far as to limit the recruiters from even initiating a conversation with a senior student until the student spoke to the recruiter first in the presence of, at least, one student's parents.

The military, unfortunately, is too often the best available career opportunity for so many of our young people. I am so thankful that my children will never, ever serve in the military. But all of our children have the right to know all of the facts and not be subject to any predators. It should also be mandatory that every military recruiter provide a written disclaimer about the limitations of their civil rights, training, educational opportunities, the quality of their equipment and veterans benefits with every interaction. Call it an "honesty in advertising" clause.

"CIVIL RIGHTS: Upon entering any of the military services of the United States you will, as a matter of law, be voluntarily suspending many of your civil rights and liberties you enjoy as a civilian. For all practical purposes you will be legally regarded much more like a piece of expendable equipment, rather than as a person."

"TRAINING: Though America is renowned for having some of the best trained military forces in the history of warfare, very few actually get the opportunity to receive this high level of training."

"EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: While educational opportunities continue to be the primary reason most enter military service, few are able to pursue these opportunities while they are on active duty in the military. Once discharged there are severe limitations on how you can actually pursue your education under the G. I. Bill program - which is subject to being reduced, or done away with, by each convening Congress striving to save money by denying due benefits to each generation of American veterans."

"EQUIPMENT: Usually the equipment you will be issued will have been provided by the lowest bidder and may not have been adequately field tested in a combat environment. Also, shortages of critically needed equipment, such as body armor to protect your physical person, or armor to protect the vehicles you are transported in, are not rare in a military career. In such cases, you may still be sent into harms way without the critical equipment you need to fight, accomplish your mission, and survive to fight another day."

"VETERAN'S BENEFITS: Before you make a decision to voluntarily join any of the Armed Services of the United States, you should know that The United States of America has a terrible historical track record for not caring about, and not providing the health care benefits promised to our American Veterans." "In fact, millions of American veterans never, ever receive the health benefits they were promised, only to survive suffering, disabled lives and die prematurely." "Currently, there are hundreds of thousands of American veterans that have benefit claims pending that have been languishing in the bureaucratic appeal process for years - some for decades." "When these veterans die, before their benefit claims are processed, their claims end and their families (after years of witnessing the suffering of their veteran) receive absolutely nothing in the way of past compensation due." "Finally, once you are discharged from the military, the burden of obtaining your military service records (so you can prove and support any claim for benefits) will be solely your responsibility and there are no pro-active government assistance programs available to American veterans attempting to process their benefit claims in a timely manner." "Should your military career include a combat tour in a war zone, when you are discharged, you will have to fight, again, in opposition to the very government you defended, when you come home to war with the Veteran's Benefit Administration - and you will be abandoned to fight this overwhelming, bureaucratic administrative war totally alone." "It will, most probably, be a long battle that will require you to have a good academic foundation in both medicine and military and civil law to win." "You may be well advised to either pursue a degree in law or medicine, or both, PRIOR to risking your life in a military service career, or, at the very least, secure the "pro bono" (free) services of a civilian doctor or former military lawyer in advance of entering military service of any kind with the United States."

"Microphone pressed to his mouth and a steady stream of pizza-toting Little Caesars customers staring him down, Joe Sacco unleashes on the U.S. military: 'We are here to combat the message of a U.S. government that continues this racist and sexist practice ...'"

Oh, I see. Instead of noting facts and figures, Sacco plays the racist/sexist card. Instead of discussing a disagreement of the military presence on school campuses, he starts his rant about practices he says the military engages in.

There you can stump for funds for the statue the Canadians want to build in "honor" of the draft dodgers. But make sure it's painted the correct color: YELLOW. Or, at least with a yellow stripe down the back.

Suggestion to Joe:

If you want to be taken seriously, give proof of what you say. If you're going to just rant about the racist and sexist "practices," I'm not the least bit interested. You're just another mouthy moron ranting and raving. Or better yet, why not join your chicken-livered compatriots who went to Canada during the Vietnam conflict?

I wonder what this Sacco-shit would do if the U.S. reinstated the draft? Maybe, if we're lucky, he (and his group, Project Counter Recruitment) would be so upset he/they would have a major myocardial infarction and put us ALL out of his/their misery.

I proudly served in the U.S. Army, where I ALSO got my electronics training and it allowed me to qualify for a well-paying job with a local government contractor, and I object to nimrods like this. They have the right to protest, by law, but dissention and degradation of our military forces goes a bit far. We should be supporting those in service to our country, not calling them sexist or racist.

Individuals like this Sacco-shit are just playing into the hands of those who would like to see this country fall apart, i.e. terrorists.

Dear Editors,

I disagree with Mel's assessment of the ladies who did your birthday issue as "wannabe's" (November 17). In fact I think I'm allergic to the term almost as much as the pessimism behind it. Bothers me nearly as much as society's pseudo-elitist obsession with "ranking" everything. Why is smell so important that it is a metaphor for quality, anyway?

Any chance you could get Serena Williams on the cover? She is the only nationally known celebrity that actually gets me HOT. Scary Spice remains the only international celebrity to do the same.

I think breasts should have rated MUCH higher than 33rd on the list of things to be thankful for. Maybe as high as seventh.

Editor's note:
The list was in no particular order. We had scheduled Serena Williams for next week's cover, but the mental image of you getting HOT forced us to cancel it, as well as the Scary Spice Xmas issue.

There was a man about seven years ago who was in a talent show in Henderson. He played musical instruments and instead of music, made them talk. Then he put the instruments down and did the same thing with just his mouth.

I'm trying to either find him and or info about him (articles, etc.). Do you have any knowledge of him?

I'm sorry I can't be of more help but this is all I know. He would be about 70 years old now.

Thank you for any and all help.

Editor's note:
For a moment, it sounded dangerously like one of our editors, Scott Dickensheets—the act you describe was precisely what he performed for the talent portion of his job interview—but he's not quite 70.

Anyone out there know who this guy is? Let us know and we'll pass it on to Ms. Weinmann.