EDITOR: On Nov. 11, when I was young, America stood silently at 11 a.m. to remember the 1918 armistice that ended World War I, "the war to end all wars," or so we thought. We didn't foresee that Nov. 11 would be a day when we marched in a parade or witnessed one and shopped the Veterans Day sales.
In 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked and we entered World War II. Almost four times as many Americans were killed in that war as were killed in the earlier World. Since then came wars in Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and another 112,423 American military personnel were killed. In none of these was the United States attacked as in 1941. The wars in which we are now involved have resulted, so far, in more than 6,300 killed in action and have cost at least $1.3 trillion.
Is war after war what America has to look forward to? Honoring veterans is appropriate and important. Perhaps more importantly, we should be devoting our energy to the cause of peace so that there will be no need to send young Americans to their death in foreign lands.
VICTOR CHECHANOVER
Petaluma
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