Letters

EXCESSIVE SENTENCING

A grassroots movement is underway to dismantle Missouri’s 85 percent mandatory minimum sentencing laws on first-time offenders, a law that affects many veterans, is unjust, and is an unnecessary tax burden on Missouri citizens.

There is a petition to get it on a ballot for revision as soon as possible. This petition can be endorsed by anyone of voting age in any state. In no way are we attempting to minimize the acts for which these men and women have been responsible. However, administering nearly a life sentence in first-time non-homicide cases—and even in some cases of non-injury—and to have no incentive for rehabilitation is truly counterproductive to everything our nation stands for.

We have endorsements from a multitude of lawmakers for this change, and the NAACP and Missouri CURE are devoting their resources to revamp this policy. This is not a “get out of jail free card.” It is for first-time violent offenders who have completed positive behavioral programs and have remarkable institutional records. These men and women were caught up in the “get tough on crime” one-upmanship of political campaign promotions. The proposed change will lower the basic mandatory minimum of 85 percent for first-time offenders to 50 percent mandatory sentencing—based on past and current behavior, personal rehabilitation, and parole board discretion.

Information on the petition can be found on the Missouri CURE website, www.mocure.org If you wish to contact the CURE concerning this information, call 877-525-2873 or email missouricure@hotmail.com

George Kniest
Jefferson City, Missouri

HISTORICALLY CORRECT

Whenever I hear the VVA motto, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” I feel ashamed to be a member of VVA because it seems that as an organization we blame our problems on the previous generation of veterans when the real blame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the politicians who sold our sacrifices down the river for what was called “peace with honor,” and the sooner we forget you, the better.    

My dad and my uncles were in World War II, and I had their support. I would dare say that most veterans had the support of the previous generation of veterans. Again, it was the weak-kneed politicians who ignored us and set the tempo for the rest of the country to abandon us.

If we really don’t plan on abandoning the generation of veterans that follows us, what have we done to bring them under our umbrella? Maybe our motto should be “Never again will one generation of veterans allow the government to abandon the next generation of veterans.” That would be historically correct. To say otherwise is to distort history.

Patrick Burke
New Iberia, Louisiana  

JOB WELL DONE

On behalf of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees, I want to thank you for the terrific article in the November/December issue, “Protecting What’s Ours.” Bob Hopkins captured the essence of the event and the teamwork that was involved in the planning and execution. I was extremely proud of Bob Looby and Herb Worthington for their joint leadership from VVA and the American Legion Riders. We have already started planning next year’s ride and car show, and this article gives us a great start.

Bill Linderman
Executive Director, NJVVMF

NO ONE WINS

I must agree with Bud Kenan’s letter that most vets have some degree of PTSD, and some of us have it worse than others. I have memories of Vietnam that come back whenever I talk to my son, who is on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

I hope that in my lifetime there will be no more wars, because in the end no one wins.

Ronald Drinks
By Email

LOYALTY & LOVE

In the November/December issue, there is a letter from Bonnie Brady talking about her husband’s PTSD. Her words sound like those of most wives of PTSD sufferers. In fact, it is nearly a carbon copy of several others I have read. I hope that her husband realizes what a treasure he has. My own wife has stood by me for nearly 39 years now. She is my biggest supporter. 

She didn’t know me before I was drafted. She knew who I was, and she remembers me being a happy-go-lucky guy. But when I came back, I wasn’t so happy and didn’t feel so lucky. Still, she saw something in me. I would be lost without her. She is the reason I finally sought counseling at the VA, and she is also the reason I still attend Vet-to-Vet today. I hope Bonnie Brady’s husband is getting some sort of help, because he is not the only one affected by his PTSD. 

Mrs. Brady is to be commended for her loyalty and love for her husband and her willingness to share her life with a man damaged by the ravages of war. She, like her husband, is a hero.

Mike Reasoner
Indianapolis, Indiana

DISGUSTING & DISRESPECTFUL

Looking at the November/December cover, I am again impressed with my decision not to renew my membership. To portray a soldier in battle dress, holding what purports to be an M-16 and laughing his ass off, is disgusting, disrespectful, and very much disingenuous to those of us who were in combat.

“Blam! Boom! Ha!-Ha!” Silly me, I never saw the humor of combat. And the obvious Arab woman who is giggling her ass off while the dog next to her issues a smiling “Kapow.” What in hell does this signify?

I am tired of seeing supposed Vietnam veterans wear vests in public that feature everything they can buy at a used military surplus store. They look insane and do not benefit our group. Yet I have never read a thing in The Veteran demanding that this stop. The VVA chapter in Crossville, Tennessee, does excellent work in our community but suffers from this idiocy as well.

If you fail to see the lunacy portrayed in your recent cover and your failure to take control of our peers, you have given me proof that VVA is not worthy of my money, let alone my efforts.

Robert L. Daumiller
By Email

The cover of the last issue illustrates the article on page 33, “Red Noses, Happy Hearts.” The Red Nose Institute was the brainchild of two professional clowns—one a former Marine, the other a nurse who lost a brother in Vietnam. Their mission is to “send a little bit of silliness to troops in very serious situations.”

WINNERS & LOSERS

In his letter in the November/December issue, Wayne Tallent writes that Vietnam veterans took part in the only American military force to lose a war, that this weighs heavily on the minds of every Vietnam veteran, and this pain will be with us all until we go to our graves.

As a medic in the 1st Cav in ’65 and ’66, I have a few mental scars. But never once have I lost any sleep or has my mind weighed on the fact that we won or lost the war. And I don’t like being included in the group, “every Vietnam veteran.”

No side or country ever wins a war. I’m still proud of the small part I played in it.

Rob Strub
Hemet, California