Veterans, masks, and Bob Saget's headstone
Commuters wear face masks on the New York City subway in June 2021. Credit: AP/Ted Shaffrey
Give veterans the respect we're due
A reader wrote, “Any government program benefiting someone who is not you works like that," meaning we all pay for these programs ["Student debt relief just a gov't program," Letters, Nov. 2]. He added, "Benefits for veterans? They volunteered.”
I, and millions of veterans, took an oath to defend our country, no matter what the cost to ourselves. Over the years, hundreds of thousands died fulfilling that oath.
The reader is a beneficiary of that oath. I did not volunteer but was drafted into the Army in 1967. After several months of training, I became an infantryman in Vietnam. I witnessed events and did things that you can’t imagine. I came home alive but with a permanent physical disability and, while not life-threatening, it’s something I have dealt with every single day for the past 54 years.
The reader compares paying off voluntary college loans with benefits for veterans? I resent that.
Stephen Rothaug, Baiting Hollow
Most shoppers aren't wearing masks anymore
It seems that the vast majority of people feel that COVID-19 is now gone ["Protect against surging viruses," Editorial, Nov. 2]. In the stores that I shop in, maybe one other person besides me is wearing a mask. Everyone else is shopping without a mask. Even at my local pharmacy, people picking up medications and those behind the counters, for the most part, are not wearing masks.
Does the future hold a virus surge with many getting ill again, as well as many dying because they aren't wearing masks?
Thomas W. Smith, Riverhead
Timing of Saget's headstone not unusual
An item about Bob Saget starts, "The grave of comedian Bob Saget finally has a headstone . . . nearly 10 months after his sudden death" ["Saget gets headstone 10 months after death," flash!, Nov. 1]. Using the word "finally" makes it seem as if the 10-month wait was disrespectful or neglectful. In reality, in Jewish tradition it is common to wait up to 12 months to erect a headstone before its unveiling. Although it can be erected eight or 30 days after burial, it is more common for it to be erected several months after the death.
Carl Maltzman, North Woodmere
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