Celebrate Columbus' knowledge and bravery

Celebrate Columbus' knowledge and bravery
EDITOR:
On this Oct. 12, we honor Christopher Columbus because no other sailor or navigator of his time displayed his kind of knowledge, persistence and sheer guts to sail an uncharted sea in quest of new lands. Although he failed to reach his goal, the Indies of East Asia, we must continue to honor him for the discovery of the New World that later became the home of the many oppressed people of the Old World.
No matter what present-day historians may relate regarding the great discoverer, the fact remains they lack printed documentation to support any account of those who set foot in the Western Hemisphere before the great Christopher Columbus. Today, Columbus would be at home to bravely face those who would strip him of heroics and eventual discovery of America.
He alone united the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, and he did not keep his voyages secret. He was the first discoverer to hold a press conference. Indeed, it was Columbus' well-publicized voyages that led directly to the settlement of the New World. Conclusively, none of the researchers' alternative-discoverer theories have yet to gain general acceptance; and if they continue their efforts we will know nothing new or valid that would convince our real history experts.
It is one of the great ironies of history that throughout the length and breadth of the Americas "we now honor Columbus for doing something he never intended to do, and never knew he had done." Yet we are right in so doing, because no other sailor had the persistence, the knowledge and the sheer guts to sail thousands of miles into an unknown ocean until he found land -- America.
VINCENT J. DORIA
Youngstown
Experienced veteran warns of what lies ahead
EDITOR:
I was stationed in the Middle East for two years during the beginning of the Vietnam War. My duties were keeping records of supplies, and equipment. I was also responsible for the mortuary supplies and equipment.
Every once in a while, I would get a request to send some of what we had to Southeast Asia. At first it didn't bother me, but later as more requests came in, I wondered if one of these coffins or body bags was for a classmate, relative or friend of mine. There was no band playing patriotic songs or speeches on the bravery of our soldiers. There was only silence and the sound of these items being moved for shipment.
After my tour in the Middle East, I was reassigned to a U.S. Air Force base in North Carolina to finish up my enlistment. While there, I worked in a logistic warehouse. We would receive used supplies and small equipment from Vietnam that we would try to salvage for reuse. Every time we opened a cargo container the smell of rotting material would make us sick. We either buried it or burned it. We could salvage very little. And some of our returning soldiers were not in much better shape.
We are at the dawn of a new war, unlike any war we have fought in the past. A young man asked me if he will get drafted, I was stunned for a few seconds. I could only reply "watch the casualty lists." Several fathers with teen-age sons have said to me that they feel there will be hit-and-run tactics that will result in few casualties.
Perhaps they were trying to convince themselves of something better for their children. But I could see in their eyes the doubt and fear of what lies ahead. My experience has taught me that wars have a life of their own despite our best laid plans.
This war will be fought to the death. We have a fanatical enemy who believes that dying will put them in paradise. Yes, we must fight. Every American man, woman and child is at risk until the last terrorist is dead.
I see no glory in killing another human, just the necessity for us to keep our freedom.
TERRY L. ATWOOD
Carrollton