"It may have been the wrong war. But the people who fought it went there for the right reason and that is, they loved their country. And I think it is a great mistake, particularly for those who were not alive or at memory age at the time, or even those who were, whose memories got jaded by-- In some cases not jaded, were so emotionally influenced by the disaster the war turned out to be, to forget that those who fought it were there because we sent them there." - Dan Rather. Vietnam and the Presidency: Media and the Role of Public Opinion. March 11, 2006 at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum
I haven't blown through too many books lately, as you can see. I started taking a
Universal Class on the Vietnam War. When I was in junior high and high school, it seemed as though we started US history every year with the colonies and never got any further than WW2. I didn't take any US history classes in college because I AP'd out of US History 1 and 2 and so I took other history courses instead. Now I wish I could go back and redo! But, through Universal Class, I now have a chance to study something that has always been on my mind. Back in the late 80s I was working in a library shelving books. I opened a book to make sure the old-fashioned card had been slipped and the book was ready to go back on the shelf. Out from the book slipped a
POW/MIA sticker, created by the
National League of Families. I had never seen one before and this was, of course, pre-internet days. The only thing I could do was write a letter to the address on the sticker. I explained how I had found the sticker and inquired about it. I received a letter explaining about the sticker and the fact that there were still MIA and POW soldiers in Vietnam. I couldn't believe it. I was 15 or 16 at the time and ever since then I have prayed for those men to come home. For some peace to come to their families and loved ones.
So for right now I'm learning things I should have learned long ago. I'll be back soon though. God Bless our service men and women.
