Ok, I consider myself a fairly informed person. I read my weekly county newspaper from start to finish, I check out CNN on the web at least two or three times a week, and watch the local news and CNN maybe a couple of times also.

Why is it now October 16^th and I am just now finding out about the defacement of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on September 7^th? Now surely this ran as a news item somewhere and surely I would have heard from the sources I named above or from someone else who would have heard it. This is unconscionable!

I heard about it because I subscribe to military.com and there was a tiny news heading about the AMVETS offerring a reward of $5000 for the arrest and conviction of said person or persons. (we’ll talk more about this in a bit)

First of all, I was drafted out of college in 1972 and enlisted in the United States Army. True I didn’t have a lot of choice and for the most part I didn’t want to be there. BUT, I served my country with distinction and I did the best that I was capable of. I even earned the Army Commendation Medal for my efforts and that was before they started handing them out to everyone. I swore to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States and by God that was what I was going to do. I took an oath.

I wore my uniform home on leave during basic training and then I never ever wore that uniform in public again. The public was so against the war that they looked at soldiers as the chief representative for that sorry assed excuse of a war. Me, I didn’t even make it to Vietnam. I spent the early 70’s in Germany with terrorists. And if you don’t think that’s scary enough, then you my friend are sadly misinformed. You see there were thousands of us who stood at the front line of this nation’s policies whether we judged them good, bad, or indifferent. Why? Because someone had to. Do you think we’d be where we are today if those farmers and craftsman in colonial days hadn’t picked up a rifle to defend this country against the British?

To deface this memorial is the most extreme act of cowardice that I can imagine. Especially the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Of all the ones they picked that one. The Vietnam Vet has sadly been misconstrued, misrepresented, and most of all misplaced as the worst this nation had to offer for democracy. I and many others like me will tell you we were the best of our kind and we did our duty despite our own beliefs, despite a horribly despicable war, and despite the American public at large. This is our thanks.

Speaking of thanks, I bring now to the forefront the AMVETS offering a $5000 reward. You have got to be kidding me! I laud their offer and I suppose no one else came forward to offer any, but $5000? I really do believe that if this story had gotten the coverage it deserved, we could have come up with a bit more substantial number. Hell, I think I could raise that much money locally given the appeal of this thing. Let’s just hope that the people who are investigating this are doing so with a little more enthusiasm and alot more fortitude than the media gave the original story. I think I speak for alot of vets that not only am I outraged at this, but I’m “cocked and locked”. Guess you shoulld have been there to understand.