Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Letter to the Editor, Jan. 4

This is a letter of remembrance of the wounded and the 2,165-plus men and women who have given their lives in the Iraqi war. I grieve for them and their families.

In remembrance of the 406,000 men and women who died and the thousands who were wounded in World War II, I grieve for them and their families.

In remembrance of the wounded and the 55,000 men and women who gave their lives during the Korean War, I grieve for them and their families.

In remembrance of the thousands wounded and the 109,000 men and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam era, I grieve for them and their families.

There has been so much publicity in the various news media about the Iraqi war that it overshadows the fact that there have been many other wars. The veterans from these other wars are probably not the Greatest Generation any more and are now probably the lost generation.

There was so little acknowledgment from the news media about Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day. I think it was a disservice to the 5 million living World War II veterans and we are losing them at the rate of 1,800 a day. I think the public should pause, reflect and remember.

I will close with this quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “We, born to freedom and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”

Joe Blair

Portales