War or Murder
I grew up watching war movies and westerns. They were exciting, they were fast paced and they showed that right can prevail over wrong. There were any number of those heroes. The ones that stood and did their duty. They believed in what we, as young children and adults, were taught to believe. Those same things that we believed in. We were better than those who attacked and persecuted us for our beliefs and dreams. We were better than those who held to the low ground and took advantage of those of us who believed in decent common values. They were less than real men.. I guess what I really want to get to is, that in all of those films; I never saw John Wayne torture a prisoner. He may have slapped the occasional Jap around, but he was always held back.. Then, he would gather his troop and go out to meet the enemy; regardless of the intelligence. He was of course triumphant, He (John Wayne) is an American Icon. But as an honorary Marine, I must wonder what he would think. John Wayne was an "America Love or Leave it",
kind of guy. He believed that the conflict in Viet Nam had to do with
America Vs Communism. That is what I thought when and after I enlisted
and fought in Viet Nam. The knowledge that I have gained since then
leads me down a different path. However, the belief that I share with
John Wayne in this America is still the same. We are a great country.
We stand for all of those decent things that I grew up with, But it
is our responsibility to maintain and continue those beliefs. I am a Marine and those things haunt me. Now, there were
things that happened in Viet Nam that I am less than pleased with. But
those are things that I must live with. Still the outrages that current
Marines are living with goes beyond anything that I will ever have to
face. We may have burned down hutches and destroyed villas. Rape and
Murder is beyond what a Marine stands for or fights for. John Wayne
would want to believe in America. John Wayne would want to believe that
we don't need to torture prisoners to get an edge. John Wayne would
want to believe that the righteousness of America would win. That our
decencies would not only win the day, but that the world would see and
come to our side. |
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