Happy Memorial Day to all Our American Steyr Club brethern or for that matter to our members found the whole world wide. I was looking at some moving photos on MSN of members of our American Armed Forces and decided to take a look at yahoo's home page to see what Memorial day articles they had honoring the American Military when low and behond I find this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060529/ap_on_re_as/no_gun_ri_letter_lh1 This is a brief clip of the above article: I can not believe for the life of me that this article was so time sensitive that it had to be posted on Memorial Day of all days. Furthermore, the article makes some major leaps to use scattered statements and vague letters to draw the conclusion that it was U.S. policy to shoot Korean refugees as stated in the very title of the article. Anyways, sorry I have to put this up here in the first place, but I felt I had to vent to some folks who know how a guy like me could get very upset about this type of thing. Safe Shooting and Enjoy Your Day Off.
Minister, I have been thinking about stuff like this all day, and even a glass of wine fails to provide clarity. I have never been in combat, but from 1973-1976 I was a staff member at a Naval Drug Rehab Center that dealt with sailors and Marines who had become drug dependent, most of them in Viet Nam. I have seen what the stress of combat can do to these young men and women who serve our country. I think the military is much more sophisticated now, and the incidence of drug and alcohol abuse is much less. Despite their training and professionalism, our service members in combat are under tremendous stress, and sometimes that stress leads to lapses in judgement. I think if we are going to put them in harms way, we should do everything possible to prevent these young people from reacting in ways that will bring shame to them. We should never allow, condone, or encourage behavior that will reflect poorly on our nation, and haunt them for the rest of their lives. These servicemen and women are a precious resource and should not be squandered or cheapened. For that reason, I think it is our responsibility to examine instances where things have gone wrong, so we can prevent them next time. But I agree with you wholeheartedly, NOT TODAY!! Today is a day to remember those who have fallen, and those who have suffered physical and emotional traumas, so that we might continue to enjoy our constitutional freedoms. THANK YOU SERVICEMEN EVERYWHERE, PAST AND PRESENT. THANK YOU FAMILIES, LOVED ONES, AND FRIENDS WHO GAVE THEM TO US FOR A TIME OR FOREVER.
