Editor, OBSERVER:
I am angered and disgusted by the rush to condemn fighting men for their action during combat.
Only someone who has endured the trauma of nearly being killed by an enemy is fit to judge whether they are guilty. Politicians and high-ranking military officers have no idea what it is like to kill an enemy just before he kills you. If he is still twitching you put another round into him. You have to hate him to even be a soldier.
Sensation-seeking journalists, government officials and even the Secretary of State are just about peace. Time patriots who have no business judging what happened in the heat of battle.
The American public needs to realize that war is an ugly business and when we send our troops into battle, these things are going to happen no matter how hard we try to prevent them.
LENNY CATALANO,
Dunkirk,
World War II Marine
