With honor, dignity
I did serve in Vietnam with engineer soldiers and sucked in the same dust and dirt they did. Shortly before I was stationed at the Pentagon, the Vietnam Memorial Wall was dedicated. The Wall was close and I wanted to go to the memorial more than anything. Frankly, I was afraid to do so. I just could not go, not because I thought its rendering inappropriate. It was just the opposite. It was too appropriate. I knew I would have far too much personal emotion; too many tears; too many recollections of that war scarring my memory; and there were names there that I knew listed along with the thousands of other names. I knew I would grieve for them and cry for us who were despised for our service in that era. There is a Vietnam veterans' truism: Vietnam is a gift that keeps on giving.
Who do I want to remember on this Memorial Day? All of them. All of those names etched in stone, gold on black marble. I honor their sacrifice even though our nation could not at that time do so, and now is finally giving a welcome to all of us who served in that war.
Yes, I have finally made my visits to that memorial. Each time I have wept hot tears of sadness for their sacrifice--their dying. Certainly they served with honor and dignity. I cherish their service and especially their sacrifice. Could not we, as a nation, as a state, do the same?
JAMES H. ROBNOLT
Sherwood
Enormous price paid
Two and a half centuries ago some 5,000 men died fighting against the world's most powerful military so that the United States of America could be born. It became a beacon of liberty to nations everywhere and created the modern Western civilization billions have enjoyed. We all owe a debt to those that sacrificed so much to make that happen. Especially those that gave all.
In the years since, millions have served this country in the military to pay back the debt to those original few. Some of our wars have been just; some not so much. Many of those liberties won at such a high cost have been eroded away, but the call to duty has never gone unanswered. One million American servicemen have died serving during our various wars. They should be remembered. They gave all so others wouldn't have to.
As the Memorial Day weekend ushers in the beginning of summer celebrations and revelry, let us not forget the meaning of the holiday. Let us pause to remember and give thanks to the million souls that gave their lives for us. Let us take just a moment to remember and value the sacrifices they made, so that we can fully understand the tremendous price that was and is still being paid.
MICHAEL KALAGIAS
Rogers
Served nation proudly
Carl Koone is certainly a member of Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation." He grew up in Cleveland, Ark. (a small farming community 19 miles north of Morrilton). When he was 19 or 20 years old, after starting college, he was drafted into the Army.
He served his country proudly. As a waist gunner on a B-17, he completed 50 missions. On one such mission, he was grazed by a bullet and received a Purple Heart. There were other occasions that the plane was under heavy fire and he made sure he was by the hatch because "if we had to jump, I wanted to be the first one out."
We all owe a huge debt to these men and women who fought for our freedom. In those days, if you were drafted, you served. I can only imagine their fear. Yet, my cousin, Carl Koone, served so we could be free. Carl Koone, you are my hero!
KIM NEWBERRY
Little Rock
Memory of a brother
In loving memory of my brother Delbert Walker Parrish, who was killed during the invasion of Okinawa, April 13, 1945.
LAMBERT PARRISH
Springdale
Thank you for service
Thank you to my great-uncle, Lambert Parrish, who was stationed at New Caledonia and Guam during World War II. Thank you for your time served in the U.S. Army.
DIANNE OMOHUNDRO
West Fork
We owe appreciation
War memorials across the U.S. show names of men and women who gave their lives while serving our country. Behind every name is a life and a loss.
On one memorial near Newberry, S.C., is the name of my uncle, Tech Sergeant Lyle Vinson, 23, a flight engineer, and 13 fellow airmen who died when two B-25 bombers collided in midair near Newberry on Feb. 5, 1943. A group of 15 planes and crews were returning from Tampa to Greenville, S.C., after training. Pilots then didn't have sophisticated instruments common today. Flights of three planes flew the same course at slightly different altitudes and stayed in radio contact to avoid collisions. When they encountered rain and dense fog, something went terribly wrong that afternoon 75 years ago.
Lyle, one of seven children from a poor Illinois farm family, enlisted in the Army Air Corps before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He wrote dozens of letters to his family from 1941 to just days before his death. Lyle detailed military life, thoughts of family and the excitement of a young man away from home for the first time. With his letters passed down to our family was the plainly worded telegram reporting Lyle's death.
On Memorial Day, I remember Uncle Lyle, born nearly four decades before me. I wonder what kind of life he, and those who perished with him, might have had. They didn't live to enjoy their families or see many modern innovations.
Military service is serious and potentially deadly. On Memorial Day, and every day, we owe the men and women who died to protect this country our respect and appreciation. Their families deserve our deepest sympathies for the loss of their loved ones whose lives ended honorably, but too soon.
JOYCE WILLIAMS
North Little Rock
So many sacrificed
Thanks be to God and the Arkansas Heart Hospital, I recently had my 67th birthday. My dad's younger brother didn't get to come home to enjoy the wonderful experiences I did because the Japs killed him just before the war's end.
I always try to thank the veterans for their service when I can. One who fought in the Battle of the Bulge told me, "Ray, I don't know if it was worth it." Sad to hear. Let us try to work together with common sense and less greed and save this great nation they sacrificed so much for.
RAY G. CATES
Carlisle
Editorial on 05/28/2018