Military service raises issues for vets

Using the Iwo Jima Memorial with the article by Jules Witcover is not only insensitive but disrespectful ["Repeal will help Obama with liberals," Opinion, Dec. 22].

To show that memorial without the American flag for anything other than its intended purpose is very wrong.

The Iwo Jima Memorial is meant to honor the Marines and Navy men who gave their lives on that desolate island in the Pacific. To use that image for any other purpose than its honorable intent is unacceptable.

Charles J. Millner

Plainview

Editor's note: The writer served in the Navy during World War II.

If a reduction in military enlistments occurs because of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," some sort of mandatory military service for our nation's youth and the Selective Service System (the draft) may be reactivated.

If it is, it should include both males and females, and a law should be passed to require the eligible adult children of sitting U.S. senators, members of Congress, the president and the vice president to be conscripted first.

Let's see how many new wars the United States would become involved in, if this occurred.

Ronald Gendron

Smithtown

As a Vietnam combat veteran, I greatly appreciated your editorial ["Delving into the deaths of Viet vets," Dec. 14]. However, I think several things are not being addressed.

Any disease that veterans get has to be proven statistically to be significantly higher than its incidence in the normal population. There are several diseases that the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledges that are directly related to Vietnam service, in particular Agent Orange (dioxin) exposure: prostate cancer, certain types of diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spina bifida in children of vets. Any study should account for the difference between the children of the working classes, who were drafted because we did not have a deferment, as opposed to our comrades of World War II who were taken from the general population.

I would also urge Vietnam veterans to visit the VA to screen for these illnesses and general health issues. They really do a good job - better than when we were discharged.

As a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who sees veterans of all wars with post-traumatic stress disorder, I know that many have a feeling of shortened life. The war's impact affected a generation of the young, and we should all be proud of our service. We should also speak of our service experiences to those who might serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. We owe them that.

Charles Greco

Rocky Point