Civilian deaths sad, but can’t alter will

We are in a war for our survival by an enemy that wants to kill us, but most people and the media don’t seem to realize it. I graduated from high school in 1943, right in the middle of World War II, when everybody knew we were at war. We had reminders every day, ration stamps for gasoline, tires, meat, sugar and shoes, drafts for our military, a 35 mile-an-hour speed limit, and Coast Guard permits to take a rowboat onto Puget Sound. There were also periodic drives to sell War Bonds and a constant reminder on the radio and signboards that “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” I spent the rest of the war in the Navy.

In a war, your object is to eliminate the enemy and his ability to conduct war. In a war, innocent civilians are always killed. Our thousand plane raids into Germany and our firebombing of Tokyo in WWII killed thousands of civilians, but that did not alter our will to continue fighting until ultimate victory. It’s sad that civilians are being killed in our war in the Middle East, but that should not deter us from continuing the fight to victory. In war, we also lose soldiers, sailors and Marines. We had over 6,800 killed and over 21,000 wounded taking one small volcanic rock in the Pacific. If we pull out of the Middle East before achieving victory, the war against America will continue, but at some other locale at our enemy’s choosing. Any sign of our reluctance to continue the fight is taken as a success by our enemies and costs more soldiers’ lives. If we lose this war, we will also lose all of our constitutional freedoms, and those who don’t lose their heads will be bowing five times a day toward Mecca.

Jack E. Sceva

Stanwood

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