thedrifter
08-26-07, 07:55 AM
Marcos Bretón: Returning Marine raps war critics
By Marcos Bretón -
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, August 26, 2007
Afew weeks ago, Nicholas Burns found out for certain he was coming home from Iraq.
A Marine Corps sergeant and former San Juan High School student, Burns will complete a second tour of duty with deadly violence still raging in the Middle East.
Other Marines will take his place; the war will go on. He'll come home to a country poised for a presidential campaign with Iraq as a turbulent centerpiece.
Burns, 27, plans to play golf.
"I'm going to let loose on some balls, enjoy the fresh air," he said in a telephone interview. "What I've missed most is the American way of life."
Part of that way of life is opposition to the war Burns has been fighting. During the Vietnam War, soldiers like him might have encountered their first anti-war dissent upon returning home.
In Iraq, in the Internet age, Burns already has sparred with anti-war folks on sacbee.com.
Call it wartime debate in the 21st century. The soldiers whose mission you ridicule might write you back -- with extreme prejudice.
"One guy couldn't spell a word correctly," Burns said of reader comments he disliked on sacbee.com. "Graduate first grade and then come talk to me."
Burns was the subject of a July 29 column in which he asked if readers could send care packages to the troops.
They responded with heart. Burns said hundreds of care packages and letters were sent to him from the Sacramento region.
"We have more Q-tips than we know what to do with," Burns said. "People sent candy and snacks, books and magazines. It was awesome."
But when Burns went online to read about himself, he found more than just well-wishers.
One person wrote: "Hello right wing fascists (sic) ... Please, stop and think about the victims that STILL have less electricity than they did before US troops 'liberated' them."
Another wrote: "For Christ's sake, would somebody explain to me -- with any degree of logic or intelligence -- why I should support any human being who VOUNTEERS (sic) to fight an illegal and dishonestly induced war???"
At least Burns put his full name on his response.
"Do you drive a car? Because you are putting yourself in harm's way just by driving everyday. Be a grown up!," Burns wrote. "Our Marines also saved a little boys (sic) life and reunited him with his family ..."
In other correspondence he received, Burns said, a Sacramento-area woman urged him to become a conscientious objector to the war. The note made him giggle.
He also heard from a guy who played sports with him at San Juan High. He heard from a high school teacher he admired. And from an elderly woman who knew his grandparents.
Burns expects to return to Camp Pendleton in early October and asks that Bee readers stop sending packages and letters because he soon won't be there to receive them.
Upon landing in California, Burns will be different from Vietnam-era soldiers returning from the last unpopular war in another important way:
The prevailing sentiment he carries home is gratitude for the show of support.
"I thank you very much on behalf of my family, the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, all troops supported by our wonderful citizens, and the United States Marine Corps," he wrote in a thank-you letter to Bee readers.
"God speed and Semper Fidelis!"
Ellie
By Marcos Bretón -
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, August 26, 2007
Afew weeks ago, Nicholas Burns found out for certain he was coming home from Iraq.
A Marine Corps sergeant and former San Juan High School student, Burns will complete a second tour of duty with deadly violence still raging in the Middle East.
Other Marines will take his place; the war will go on. He'll come home to a country poised for a presidential campaign with Iraq as a turbulent centerpiece.
Burns, 27, plans to play golf.
"I'm going to let loose on some balls, enjoy the fresh air," he said in a telephone interview. "What I've missed most is the American way of life."
Part of that way of life is opposition to the war Burns has been fighting. During the Vietnam War, soldiers like him might have encountered their first anti-war dissent upon returning home.
In Iraq, in the Internet age, Burns already has sparred with anti-war folks on sacbee.com.
Call it wartime debate in the 21st century. The soldiers whose mission you ridicule might write you back -- with extreme prejudice.
"One guy couldn't spell a word correctly," Burns said of reader comments he disliked on sacbee.com. "Graduate first grade and then come talk to me."
Burns was the subject of a July 29 column in which he asked if readers could send care packages to the troops.
They responded with heart. Burns said hundreds of care packages and letters were sent to him from the Sacramento region.
"We have more Q-tips than we know what to do with," Burns said. "People sent candy and snacks, books and magazines. It was awesome."
But when Burns went online to read about himself, he found more than just well-wishers.
One person wrote: "Hello right wing fascists (sic) ... Please, stop and think about the victims that STILL have less electricity than they did before US troops 'liberated' them."
Another wrote: "For Christ's sake, would somebody explain to me -- with any degree of logic or intelligence -- why I should support any human being who VOUNTEERS (sic) to fight an illegal and dishonestly induced war???"
At least Burns put his full name on his response.
"Do you drive a car? Because you are putting yourself in harm's way just by driving everyday. Be a grown up!," Burns wrote. "Our Marines also saved a little boys (sic) life and reunited him with his family ..."
In other correspondence he received, Burns said, a Sacramento-area woman urged him to become a conscientious objector to the war. The note made him giggle.
He also heard from a guy who played sports with him at San Juan High. He heard from a high school teacher he admired. And from an elderly woman who knew his grandparents.
Burns expects to return to Camp Pendleton in early October and asks that Bee readers stop sending packages and letters because he soon won't be there to receive them.
Upon landing in California, Burns will be different from Vietnam-era soldiers returning from the last unpopular war in another important way:
The prevailing sentiment he carries home is gratitude for the show of support.
"I thank you very much on behalf of my family, the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, all troops supported by our wonderful citizens, and the United States Marine Corps," he wrote in a thank-you letter to Bee readers.
"God speed and Semper Fidelis!"
Ellie