Love Cruikshank, Love Notes

Between the years of 1961 and 1973, 46,229 American soldiers were killed in Vietnam. These were killed in battle. It does not include those who eventually died from wounds, sickness, accident, nor the ones shot as spies, or died in prison camps. These are the ones shot down in battle.

The reason I’m thinking about it is because on Memorial Day, I listened to various speakers. Many of them speaking from alongside memorials. In one the background was the wall marking those who fell in Vietnam.

The speaker with great sincerity would say something like, &8220;I want to thank these fallen heroes for giving their lives to preserve my liberty.&8221;

From my point of view it was not thanks that should have been offered but an apology. Our liberty was not at stake. We were told, of course, that it was. The Communists were creeping up on us, creeping, creeping.

The war didn’t save us from Communism. The war divided the nation, left a mass of mentally disturbed young people, and probably terminal diseases from such things as Agent Orange to drift down to following generations.

What I recall as our first attack from terrorists was planned and carried out by two Vietnamese veterans, probably too brain damaged to know what they were doing.

There were many debates. In one it was decided that we couldn’t end the war at once because parents who had lost children in the conflict would feel that their children had died in vain.

There was a massacre. A crazed American soldier, I remember, shot a gathering of Vietnamese civilians. We had a fundamentalist columnist at The Tribune then. She wrote a passionate column criticizing the critics of that massacre. She said that Saul was deposed because he didn’t kill ALL the Philistines the way God told him to.

I’ve often thought that if Christianity can survive its adherents it can survive anything.

From the time I could vote I was active in the DFL Party. Then one night a group of DFL women approached me at a meeting. Round and smooth and beaming like contented little cherubs, they were.

They had formed a little inner party, &8220;Democrats for Nixon.&8221; Because, they explained, all these crowds protesting the war in Vietnam &8220;weren’t nice, weren’t patriotic.&8221;

In vain I protested that our Constitution enables citizens to assemble peaceably. So I took my ball and bat and went home.

Sunday I heard of an alleged massacre in Iraq. &8220;Alleged&8221; was the word used and &8220;alleged&8221; is the word I’m using. On the day I retired from The Tribune I breathed a little prayer of thanksgiving that I’d never involved my paper in a libel suit. I don’t want to spoil my record.

The alleged massacre was said to have taken place in November and not been noticed until January. Nothing much has been said about it until now.

I was upset because it sounded like a coverup, but a dear friend visiting me told me, with the kindest of intentions I’m sure, that newspapers make up little stories like this to get more readers.

Because I’ve heard this canard before I’m taking this opportunity to deny it. There are slanted newspapers and &8220;kept&8221; newspaper, but any person old enough to read a newspaper should be able to distinguish a responsible newspaper.

Moreover any person who can think realizes that no Democracy can exist without freedom of the press.

(Albert Lea resident Love Cruikshank’s column publishes Thursdays.)