Alabama Joins Operation Yellow Elephant

From the Montgomery Advertiser:

Young Republicans should join Army

An open letter to Chris Vucovich, antagonizer of Cindy Sheehan and patriot extraordinaire:

As secretary-treasurer of the Capital City Young Republicans you are well-positioned to do your country great service. Confident as I am that the maximum age of membership in your cell does not exceed the maximum age for enlistment in the U. S. Army, I recommend that you encourage, if not shanghai, that patriotic group to enlist en masse.

I am sure your numbers would be greatly appreciated by the Army, strained to its utmost. Unable to meet its recruitment goals, it has been reduced to accepting non-high school graduates and persons with only minor issues of social maladjustment.

Putting your boots on the ground for the Army should have the ancillary benefit for you and your compatriots of purging you of the curse of hypocrisy. Grab your NRA approved weapons, mount your ponies and ride.

Gordon Trawick
Montgomery

And a response:

Services need real patriots

A recent writer says the entire Young Republican cell in Montgomery should enlist in the Army.

At first glance, this seems to be a great idea since most Republicans are so enthused about President Bush's war in Iraq and have nothing but contempt for anyone who questions it.

However, enlisting these Republicans might not be such a good idea. Members of the armed forces must have a certain amount of genuine patriotism and a sense of responsibility.

I am thankful that Republicans such as President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Rush Limbaugh avoided service in Vietnam. During my two years there, I depended on others to come and get me when I had been shot down and to risk their lives for me in many other ways.

The last thing the military needs in time of stress is more Mama's boys to mother.

Carl L. Hess
Ozark

Here's another letter [emphasis added]:

War supporters never fought

I am a Vietnam veteran who retired with 24 years of active duty service to my country. Since the Iraq War I have discovered that the most avid supporters of the war are those who refuse to fight themselves.

Your article on Chris Vucovich's confrontation with Cindy Sheehan is a perfect example of a 31-year-old cheering the war, while leaving the dying to someone else like Cindy Sheehan's son.

However, he is not alone. The blindest supporters of this war, George Bush, Richard Cheney, Newt Gingrich and Joe Lieberman, all refused to fight for the country when they had their chance. They all conveniently dodged service in Vietnam.

Conversely, the avid critics of the Iraq War, Sen. Chuck Hagel, Gen. Colin Powell, Rep. John Murtha, Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Charles Rangel are the men who bravely served and risked their lives for this nation when duty called. These men know, firsthand, the tragedy of war.

Chris Vucovich, while you praise him for challenging Cindy Sheehan, wants others to challenge the Iraqi terrorists. Why does he not volunteer to fight for a cause in which he truly believes?

The question Vucovich asked -- "What will happen if we leave?" -- should have been asked of those chicken hawks Bush and Cheney before they ordered our brave men and women away from the war on terror on such an ill-fated revenge mission in Iraq.

Zack Buckner
Montgomery