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usmc4669
03-02-04, 07:26 PM
This was copyed from the net: Not my article:

Published: March 2, 2004

To the Editor:

Re "For Kerry, Bonds Forged With Wartime Crews Hold Strong in Presidential Campaign" (news article, Feb. 24):

Douglas Brinkley, the historian, who wrote a biography of John Kerry, is quoted as saying, "They never had their parade, these Vietnam veterans," repeating the idea that Vietnam vets feel deprived because we didn't get a parade like those seen in film clips of the returning soldiers of World War II. The remark seems to come mainly from those writing about Vietnam vets, as I've never heard another vet even mention it.

While waiting for our tours to be up, we religiously counted the days, thinking only of being home again, not of when "the parade" would be. We know that the dead could never parade, yet we are depicted as whining about not getting our moment.

I had a safe assignment over there, but in thinking of the guys who slogged through the boonies on patrol day after endless day, I often wonder how the repeaters of our supposed petty wish can imagine that a 10-minute parade and a speech by the mayor could have made amends for a year of waiting for that terrifying moment when you might never be able to walk again.

THOMAS O'CONNELL
Brooklyn, Feb. 24, 2004