LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Veterans’ vote is their redress

Mon, Sep 28, 2020 (2 a.m.)

Growing up, I heard a lot of stories from my dad and his friends about WWII. No one made themselves out as heroes, but just related the bit part they played in the war.

My dad had five brothers in the war, and two were sent to the Philippines for duty before the war broke out for America. Both were captured by the Japanese and one became a POW for over three years in mainland Japan. Another was believed torpedoed on the way to Japan in an unmarked hospital ship. Our neighbor was a Pearl Harbor survivor, and down the street, a couple lost their son in the Korean War. While teaching with the Navy a few years ago, I saw my killed uncle’s name in white stone at the Manila American Cemetery memorial, quite a thrill for me.

I was a teenage soldier during the Vietnam War in the late ’60s and extended my tour to get out early so I could work and save up money for college. College was much easier with a small stipend coming in. Years later, I purchased a house on a VA no-down program in Las Vegas in 1976.

My only son took advantage of a Naval ROTC scholarship and went to a top academic university. He served two combat tours in the Gulf and is currently an officer in the reserves in Missouri. Recently hearing that President Donald Trump thinks people like us are losers and suckers, perhaps others also insulted should join us in the first day of early voting. So vote with us on Oct. 17.

Back to top

SHARE