This is a letter to the editor in yesterday's Seattle Times. I have included the writer's name because he deserves recognition for his letters, both of them.
One year ago I wandered through the parking lot at the University of Washington Hospital. I noticed a truck parked in the disabled section with Pearl Harbor Survivors license plates and stickers showing life membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the U.S. Marine Corps. I was disappointed someone had placed a parking ticket on the windshield, because it was obvious the owner was there for some emergency.
The next day I wrote a letter that thanked you for your service to this nation in wartime. The Times printed my letter on Memorial Day, May 28, 2001, and you read it. You called me and I was amazed as you described how you survived the attack on Pearl Harbor while aboard the USS Maryland (BB-46). You told me that you were seriously wounded while attacking the defenses at Sugar Loaf Hill on Okinawa with the 6th Division two days before the island was declared secure.
Your country needed your dedication and sacrifice during World War II. We need to know why you were willing to pay such a great price to preserve our freedom. We need to listen to your wisdom.
posted on June 02, 2002 06:13 PM
