Our sons, daughters in Iraq need, deserve our support

Our sons, daughters in Iraqneed, deserve our support
EDITOR:
My son is serving in the military. He was raised to have values such as honor, duty and respect. He went into the military after graduating from Youngstown State University knowing that he would be deployed to Iraq. He could have gone into the teaching profession but chose to be a second lieutenant with the 1st Calvary Division. His duties are to escort and protect convoys delivering supplies to different camps in and around Baghdad.
The soldiers in Iraq don't sit around debating the reasons why they are there. They execute their missions to the best of their abilities with the resources they have. This is a war, and bad things happen. My husband and I live every day in fear that our son could pay the ultimate price. This war is not like any other war we have fought. It shouldn't be compared to other wars. This war is about terror and extreme hatred. Insurgents and terrorists engaging in violence and murder don't care about the welfare or the lives of the Iraqi people. Their presence in Iraq is to create havoc, kill Americans and drive a wedge between Americans and our allies.
My son believes being in Iraq and trying to stabilize that country is the right thing to do. He sees the conditions under which the Iraqi people survive and knows they deserve better.
What he doesn't understand is why some of the American people are so negative about our efforts. The soldiers fighting in Iraq have access to our news and newspapers, and they read and see our president and the military being bashed by Americans for all of the world to see. These soldiers see terrorism firsthand and know it must be stopped where it grows or it will continue to spread to where we live.
I believe our military needs real support and not lip service. They shouldn't have to worry about their families having to defend them. These soldiers are proud men and women who serve our country. We should give them the respect and support they deserve.
MARY GEISLER
Canfield
Call-up of local Guard unitbrings back the memories
EDITOR:
At our house, we like to watch Aaron Brown's evening news program on CNN. Last night (July 9), they ran the usual piece on casualties in Iraq. For the latest casualties, the rank, name, hometown, military unit and the circumstances of death are spelled out on the TV screen.
As I gazed at it absent-mindedly, something jumped out at me. I couldn't believe my eyes. I focused quickly, but not fast enough to get all the information on the screen.
What I did get was "Ohio National Guard" and "1484th Transportation Co."
Oh, my God! Silently I added, "Light-Medium Truck."
That is my unit. The old armory on Rayen Avenue -- is it still there? The unit was moved, to Akron, I guess.
But I was the company commander of that unit back in -- what years? -- 1972 and 73. We shared the Rayen Avenue armory in Youngstown with a military police unit. After leaving the regular Army, I stayed in the reserves for several years, until my doctoral studies got too intense.
People from my unit are dying in Iraq. I wondered if there have been others, or will be more.
The 1484th's company commander today was probably not even born when I ran that ragtag bunch with its then-obsolete equipment. Now, she or he is writing letters to families, letters that I never had to write. We were activated only for a couple of Teamsters strikes, to watch the interstates. Nobody got hurt.
Some of the names from those days -- more than 30 years ago -- began to come back. Chance. Miller. Timms. Schiavello. Latronica. Himes. Fata.
Too long ago. None of my guys would still be there. Yet I wondered aloud, "When can we bring this to an end?"
The Rev. Dr. JAMES H. MACOMBER
Minister, Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, New Mexico
Ohioans can now lose their money in Pennsylvania
EDITOR:
Good job, Gov. Taft. You must be sleeping better at night, now that Ohioans are no longer taking their money to West Virginia to gamble. Now we are going to be taking it to Pennsylvania.
That's OK, though, because I wouldn't want to live in a state that could cut my property taxes by 20 percent and it would probably be an inconvenience if there was an increase in public construction projects. I forgot, that would create jobs and then we wouldn't be one of the states with the highest unemployment rate.
Wake up, Ohio, we are missing the boat. People addicted to gambling will gamble no matter what. Whether it is church bingo, church festivals, the state lottery, betting on horses or slots -- they will gamble. They will also drive 15 minutes or a couple hours, so why not let it be 15 minutes and keep the money in Ohio?
My hat's off to Gov. Rendell. I can now save on gas money since I won't have as far to drive for a little harmless gambling fun. Thank you.
CANDACE L. MAUCH
Mineral Ridge
Girard trades old growth forest for short term gain
EDITOR:
I would like to think that Girard's Mayor James Melfi and the city's lawmakers are just reflecting the economic plight that communities across our nation are experiencing when they approve the decimation of the part of the city's heritage which stands tall in the form of the trees bordering the Girard lakes.
I would also like to think that Melfi isn't being incredibly crass when he also supports (as reported by Mike Braun in a recent column) using the wetlands that will result from the draining of Lower Girard Lake to "mitigate" the loss of other wetlands in the area due to construction (and thus more dollars) for the city.
In the defense of Melfi and other Girard leaders, one could cite what Bill Moyers said in a recent address to a religious gathering. Noting that in the past three years the Bush administration has pushed through $2 trillion in tax cuts, with more than one-half going to the wealthiest one percent, Moyers said:
"You could call it trickle down economics, except that the only thing that trickled down was a sea of red ink in our state and local governments, forcing them to cut services and raise taxes on middle class working Americans."
Although it may be that what Girard is doing does reflect the city's economic plight, factors here beyond only economic ones should certainly be considered.
Old growth forests are becoming more and more a rarity in our nation as the high present prices offered for standing trees make the call of "Timber!" very much a rallying cry. However, while Melfi may be twisting his hands together with glee at the thought of converting Girard's trees into black ink on the city's ledgers, future generations of city residents may react quite differently to the loss of their wooded heritage.
The same goes for the wetlands mitigation proposal. What may be just a bothersome bog to a landowner looking to sell his property to a developer for yet another mini-mall may in fact fill an important ecological role.
Youngstowners may not fully appreciate it, but we have an old growth forest in our midst, replete with lakes (that could conceivably be converted into wetlands). It's called Mill Creek Park.
May I say that I am very grateful that Girard doesn't own Mill Creek Park!
ROBERT R. STANGER
Boardman