Letter to the Editor
Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 3, 2007
Critics Should Give Badmouthing a Break
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
On Christmas Day, I returned from Richmond International Airport after dropping off my son Andrew so he could catch a flight back to his unit in Afghanistan. He has been deployed over there for almost a year and should be leaving for good in several months.
Putting Drew on that flight was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of those wonderful folks in the Richmond area who were so kind to my son while he was home on leave.
As a Vietnam-era vet I can remember being spit on while in uniform in downtown Richmond. Most of the people in Richmond went out of their way to make my son feel welcome and congratulated Drew for being the hero he really is. I will always be grateful to those folks.
I would request that those people who have used this war as a political tool give me a short rest from their demeaning behavior toward our country, our armed forces, and our president.
Christmas morning George Bush spent a lot of time on the phone calling servicepeople all over the globe, thanking them for their service. Those who constantly badmouth these United States did nothing to help. They should be ashamed of themselves. I would ask them please to have a modicum of decency to shut their mouths until my son comes home. Until you know the pain of sending your son back to war, you are not qualified to comment. My son and hundreds of his friends made it possible for them to enjoy this Christmas Day.
K.G., Manakin
[Our thanks to this dad for his Vietnam service to our country, and to his son for his current military service. Our prayers are with him and his family as he stands guard in Afghanistan to keep us safe.]
No comments:
Post a Comment