How soon do some people forget or care not to remember the events in the years past? The disrobed man who preaches peace in this great country of ours has been named as a possible recipient of a peace award.

How can he and his followers desecrate with blood the very vessel named after the Sullivans? Doesn’t he know this ship was named to honor the memories of our fine young American boys, a ship now beneath the waves of a vast ocean? Many service men and women perished trying to secure our peace and now lie beneath the sea.

These youth fought and died for us in America and the other peaceful people of the world. They died defending the principles of peace in which this great country of ours was formed.

Our beloved dead, together with our veterans, deserve the prize of peace. Our young men formed a shield to defend our way of life. Our young men fought to rid the world of an evil empire that was to last 1,000 years.

The blood of countless people — Christian, Jew and people of many other faiths and creeds — have soaked the ground so we here in America and around the world can someday walk in peace. Stephen J. Comando Kingman

It is not too late to make a New Year’s resolution to become interested in the numerous problems that confront our veterans and their families.

First of all, the chemical defoliant, Agent Orange, has had tragic side effects for many Vietnam veterans. The VA began its Agent Orange Registry examination program in 1978. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 finally recognized presumption for specific diseases, including several cancers. The fight to recognize other diseases continues.

Thousands of veterans who served in the Gulf War became ill. The Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs held a hearing on Persian Gulf War illnesses on Jan. 29, 1997. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired from the U.S. Army, testified at this hearing. The last paragraph of this report reads: “Finally, for me the bottom line now is that some of the men and women who served under my command during the Gulf War are sick. I believe we should leave no stone unturned and do everything we possibly can to seak cures for these veterans, so that they may return to full and productive lives. They deserve nothing less.”

There is still much to be done regarding our POW-MIA situation. Progress has been made in identifying the remains of some of our servicemen. This is a small portion of what needs to be done.

Become interested in the problems of those who gave so much. Contact you elected officials for information on these important issues. If they don’t have current information ask them to research these questions and get back to you. Dawn Roundy District 2 VFW Bangor