Some day, disasters, wars will be gone

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

Some day, disasters, wars will be gone

I've seen and heard all kinds of weather in my many years since the "Depression" of the '20s and '30s. I don't recall so much destruction of all kinds, especially in such a short period of time.

Most compare it to the atomic bomb destruction of Hiroshima in 1945. I flew over it in my Army C-46 about two months after it happened. It was flattened. I still see it.

In April 1946, about 6,000 of us GIs were on a troop ship going home for discharge. We left the Philippines. All kinds of things happened to us, including a tidal wave. We sailed on top of it.

We were to dock for engine repair in Guam. That didn't happen because the docks were damaged by the tidal wave. We had to bypass Guam to San Francisco.

Some time in October 1945, we, in my C-46, landed on Peleliu Island for refuel and food. There had been many heavy battles there, and thousands of GIs died there. I couldn't see the end of the graves with their crosses showing in the cemetery.

Wars and natural disasters are going to be around for a while, but one of these days, they will be gone, thankfully.

VORON BAUGHAN

Strong Air Force vital to country

The current Defense Department Review has everything on the table for potential cuts.

With the base defense budget consuming 3.5 percent of GDP, that 3.5 percent is not the cause of our economic downturn.

But the Defense Department, with three wars going, is an easy target for cuts.

Going forward, leaders need to decide what kind of military we want to have, what risks we are willing to take and what missions we are willing to support as the nation's key interests.

The Air Force procurement portfolio, slated for the 2020s, is extremely ambitious by necessity. Thirty years of major procurement delays havea price.

The American public expects its security and vital interests to be protected and that we will prevail.

We must provide needed equipment and trained manpower in sufficient quality and numbers, and at the time they are needed. We cannot wait for an imminent conflict to begin to modernize or replace our military.

Current equipment, subject to high usage, incurs continuing and increasing high maintenance costs.

This is a critical time for the nation. We need a strong, flexible and capable Air Force at the time and event of need.

ARTHUR R. MacFADDEN

Lt. Col. USAF (retired)

Debris cleanup is a good deed

On April 27, a third of our maple tree fell in our front yard. We knew there were others with more serious problems, so we just let it lie in the yard.

On May 16, our neighbors Terry Bradshaw cut the tree up and Daniel Carmichael and his Boy Scout Troop 69 from Morris Hill Baptist Church came and picked up the branches and the wood. They also cleaned up the yard.

We want to thank them and let people know that there are good and caring people and young men in this city.

WOODROW ATHERTON FAMILY

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