Chris Beam’s guest column Feb. 15 hit the nail square on the head. I, too, served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968 and also came home disillusioned about our role in that insane war.
Like John Kerry and Chris, I went there voluntarily to serve our country and fight for what I thought was a just cause. When I returned, after seeing things that still keep me awake 37 years later, I wanted to speak out about the war like Kerry did, but chose to keep it to myself and try to forget about it.
I wrote a song called “The Wisdom That We Gained,” which has been heard by many folks in the Lewiston-Auburn area and which travels throughout the United States with the Moving Vietnam Wall. Unlike John Kerry, this was the only statement I could make to try to convince every person who listened to it that, “Our kids must never see a Vietnam.”
All I could do was write a song, but John Kerry jumped on the issue and lobbied to bring this insanity to an end.
Kerry’s service record rivals that of John Kennedy. No short cuts, deferments, excuses or tardiness. He did his job with valor, has served our country with distinction and is a true American patriot.
Mr. Beam was right – I won’t beat up on President Bush, but if Kerry would have been in charge and totally privy to intelligence regarding Iraq, perhaps Maine’s 133rd would be still be in Maine.
Al Pelletier, Norway
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