Steve Sorensen of Alden wrote the following letter to the editor. The Tribune printed the letter Nov. 23:

In response to Elton Mertes’s “One soldier’s story,” in the Veterans Day special section, I also was a soldier in Vietnam. Memorial Day and Veterans Day are special days to me.

When I read the section in the Nov. 10 paper, it upset me. I don’t know if it was because Elton wrote it or because the Tribune ran it. It sounded like he was pretty much stoned on his tour. I was not! Nor were the soldiers that were with me. We were too busy trying to do the right thing and watching each other’s back. We had a mission to complete.

Among my citations is a Purple Heart, so let’s just say I know what combat and the horrors of war are all about. I still remember like it was yesterday the times we carried a fallen brother to a medivac chopper hoping he would make it to the rear where he might survive. One was my best friend, he did not survive. Part of me went with him that dark night. I guess getting stoned wasn’t an option for me. We were held together by a bond I still feel today. It got very hard at times, but we moved on. We had to.

Elton kept repeating the phrase “You just do what you have to do.” He chose an easy way out at times, to get stoned and try to forget. I chose not to; it was an easy choice for me. You want all your senses working for you all the time when you have men depending on you. Every soldier did his best in Vietnam. I just want the readers to know that all soldiers didn’t do drugs, very few did. It’s been portrayed many times in movies and books about the drug use. If we would have had it in our unit, we would have taken care of it in our own way.

We were soldiers, we just wanted to complete our tour and go home. Seven days before I was to go home I was still in the bush. I took a chopper to a base camp, caught another to the rear, tried to relax and regroup, turn in my gear and weapons. The next step was to catch another chopper to CamRahnBay, then a plane home to the world! At that time it was very hard to leave, knowing you were leaving them short-handed, knowing some would not make it. That was the hardest. It was a short transition period. From a rice paddy with an M-60 to home in seven days. It wasn’t easy at times, but I made it, without the drugs as so many did.

Elton Mertes, you’re still a Vietnam brother. I wish you the best. Welcome home and thank you for serving.

Reading this letter from Steve Sorenson in our paper last month, I was touched by a couple of things. First, that we forget how many true heroes live right here in Freeborn County.

Steve, thanks for all you did for our country.

We have many sons and daughters of Freeborn County who not only gave their lives, but many who came back and dealt with what they had to encounter during the war and the adjustments they had to make.

At 7 p.m. this Sunday is the DeVries family’s story on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Be sure to tune in.

The Bowl-A-Thon is from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Holiday Lanes. It is a fundraiser for the United Way of Freeborn County. The cost is $100 per team.

Secondly I thought it was great to see that someone could disagree about an issue (drugs and coping) and still support his “Vietnam brother.” I think our world needs more compassion and understanding like this. Everyone deals with problems differently but we all need understanding.

Finally, the reason the Albert Lea Tribune runs stories like these is to show different sides of how people deal with events that make up their lives.

Elton Mertes is a very brave man. First, because he fought for our country in a war that changed his life, and, secondly, because he shared a story of his darkness, his war that he deals with everyday.

I personally thank Elton for sharing his view on his war and how some people did deal with the pain. I do not think it was easy for him, and I hope it helps him in coping with the horrors of war.

So the Tribune wants to always be fair in reporting various sides of different issues. War is costly and the men and women who have been in war have different views and different experiences that might differ from the mainstream, and that is OK.

We as people need to always look for ways to help each other and Steve Sorensen and Elton Mertes helped me through the letter to the editor and the column in our Veterans Day special section understand how even many years later we can still help each other.

To all of our veterans, thank you!

Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer’s column appears every Thursday.