Thinking of my dad
On Veterans Day, I think of my dad, O.B. Hughes. He began his military career in the 1930s in the horse cavalry in New Mexico. When horses gave way to tanks, he became a tanker.
He made the first-wave landing on D-Day in Normandy, Utah Beach, and was part of Patton's 3rd Army that raced to rescue the solders trapped in the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded twice during World War II. He also went to Korea in 1950 as part of the police action there. He was not wounded, but he did suffer from frozen feet. They bothered him the rest of his life.
He retired as a master sergeant in 1958. He passed away, still a hero to me, on Sept. 27, 1994.
MIKE HUGHES
Sherwood
Care our vets deserve
With Veterans Day approaching, I want to thank the administration and staff (and taxpayers) who provide the state-of-the-art facility for veterans at the Arkansas State Veterans Home in North Little Rock. My family has experienced care in other facilities, and the Veterans Home (especially Cottage 2) is by far the best.
The eight cottages each provide care for 12 veterans. Each is set up to operate with a home-like atmosphere, though each veteran is given a necklace/button to wear so they may alert workers of their needs or location. Delicious meals are served at a big table in the dining room; menus are printed out daily so they know ahead of time what will be served (with individual needs also met for special diets or preferences); those who give care also prepare and serve meals (as well as kindness, love, compassion, and respect); activities are planned for socialization; a therapy dog visits each resident at least weekly; transportation is provided for doctor visits; registered nurses as well as LPN's help with round-the-clock care; and ... each cottage is always spotless!
As mentioned, it is a family, home-like atmosphere. The staff gets to know each veteran and visit with them. The wrap-around porch and screened porch, overlooking a beautiful pond, invite veterans and visitors to share stories of life experiences, on and off the battlefield. If you haven't visited the new Arkansas State Veterans Home in North Little Rock, I hope you soon will. Listen to the veterans' stories; witness the love shared; and take time to thank all who provide the care our veterans deserve.
JEANETTE WOOD
Cabot
Against their interests
I can't understand how Arkansans would vote against their own self-interests.
Republican senators have said they will take trillions from Social Security and Medicare (our money) to pay for the $1.5 trillion they conned you into that the rich no longer have to pay in taxes. They continue to try to remove pre-existing condition protection from your health insurance. And they have nothing in place for you that does not require huge premium hikes to get that kind of coverage.
TIM WEAVER
Vilonia
The ultimate sacrifice
Two days before Christmas, Dec. 23, 1957, a crew from Airborne Early Warning squadron VW-14, attached to Barbers Point Naval Air Station, was on a night training mission with 23 men aboard a Lockheed Super Constellation WV-2 and was flying between the islands of Molokai and Oahu. The AWACS aircraft developed engine trouble and plummeted into the Pacific. Despite heroic effort, 19 men were lost--just four survivors.
I was a naval officer attached to VW-12, a sister squadron with an identical mission. I have continued to think about those 19 lost men ever since.
Tragically, earlier that same year, July 23, 1957, I was the duty officer at a shack very close by the southern end of the Barbers Point runway which terminated at the Pacific. Suddenly I became aware of sirens and vehicles rushing toward the end of the runway. I stepped out of the windowless building to see what was happening. I could see three helicopters circling a mile offshore where a Lockheed P2V-5F patrol plane, while attempting a landing with 10 on board, had plunged into the Pacific just a mile from the end of the runway; sadly, almost home. The image of the helicopters circling immediately brought to mind a mother bird circling when finding her young fledglings on the ground where they don't belong. Ten men were lost that day--no survivors.
Ever since that fateful year I continue to think about, honor and preserve the memory of those 10 men who gave their lives, and of the 19 which tragically would follow later in December. All deservedly honorable men who paid the ultimate sacrifice, and by doing so, merit our honor and respect--and not only, not just, on Veterans Day.
JAMES BARRÉ
Little Rock
Coverage of president
I'd like to ask a question of Gordon Gondek of Little Rock, whose letter implies that only Fox News reports the truth about President Trump's actions. I find it puzzling that Gondek states he used to trust the major news networks, but now that all three of them print primarily negative coverage of Trump and his administration, he no longer finds them credible.
Three "formerly" trustworthy networks all find similar issues of concern, yet Gondek chooses to believe the single source that sings Trump's praises. How does that make any sense?
JAN VANSCHUYVER
Fayetteville
Editorial on 11/10/2018