America's greatest just fading away

6/23/2007

On June 6, 1944, The Blade published two extra editions. Huge headlines in the second extra: Allies invade North France in landings by air and sea.

Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation was attacking the beaches of Normandy with a ferocious assault that would result in the freedom of Europe and the unconditional surrender of Germany within one year.

More than 6,000 allied troops were killed on the first day. I scoured the first and second sections of The Blade on June 6, 2007, to see if D-Day was mentioned. Absolutely nothing, however in the Peach Section, The Peanuts Classics cartoon showed Snoopy, the dog, running through a wading pool pretending to be a world famous G.I. attacking Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Gen. Douglas McArthur once said, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." That is changing now because World War II vets are dying at the rate of about 1,500 a day.

I hope that anti-military history revisionists don't some day write that the American military viciously attacked some peace-loving Germans who were touring the French beaches.

By the way, how many lines do you thing Iraq will receive in a few years?

May God Bless our military.

Del Bordner

Fairfax Road

Can The Blade editors or other learned individuals explain and justify why U.S. taxpayers, our government, is funding a missile defense system for Europe? Gosh, there aren't even any oil fields in western Europe to serve the U.S. Is not the United States again intervening where we are not asked, wanted, or needed? In the process, understandably, we embitter Vladimir Putin by ignoring Russia as an affected "neighbor."

After President Reagan, the U.S. has seemingly failed to treat Russia as an equal partner in world affairs, rather as though it were a Third World nation. We even supported Chechnya in its efforts to separate from Russia. No wonder Mr. Putin opposes this seemingly arrogant U.S. intervention.

Gwynne Dyer's column on the projected eastern Europe missile defense system did not help me understand. This is my latest disillusionment with President George Bush. As a lifelong Republican, I have been deserted and abandoned by a "new" Republican Party.

An "America First" party would garner millions of supporters. Unfortunately, any third party would be defeated by the entrenched.

DeFord R. Schwall

Wauseon

A free country, successfully fueled by capitalism, held captive by a petulant, agenda-driven Congress fueled by socialism.

Wake up, America!

Edwin F. Durivage