Memorial Day reminders needed
Re: “Pause on Memorial Day … ,” May 27 commentary; “Honor their sacrifice,” May 27 letter
Thank you, John Rohner and Sen. Leroy Garcia, for your thoughtful comments in The Denver Post on Memorial Day. As children, my sister and I used to count the flags flying from Denver residences on Memorial Day and national holidays — a tradition we should revive in these times. As someone said, “We may not be a perfect nation, but find me a better one.”
Stanton D. Rosenbaum, Denver
World War II veteran John R. Rohner’s letter on Memorial Day struck a chord with me. My father also was a WWII veteran, a prisoner of war in Germany at the end of the war, a career fighter pilot and an original member of the Air Force, the Air Defense Command, CONAD, and NORAD, and a NATO fighter squadron commander on two occasions. His entire career was dedicated to keeping the borders of this country safe from Soviet aggression. His days as a P-51 pilot in WWII were dedicated to stopping the threat of Nazism and the genocide of the Jews and other minorities in Europe.
To have let this evil creep back into our society is an insult to his memory and an insult to every service member who fought to keep the world free. Any member of the military who does not understand this needs to be reminded that what we did in WWII was who we really are, and far-right extremism has no place in our social framework.
C. Gunn Haydon, Cañon City
To John R. Rohner of Boulder, whose letter appeared in the Open Forum, I say a very loud amen! I also am a veteran of WWII (although not with the sacrifice of Mr. Rohner), and he couldn’t be more correct in his assessment.
It is bewildering what gets in the minds of these hate groups. They need some serious in-depth enlightenment on what being an American requires of us. We need to help grow “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” not work to stamp it out.
James T. Watson, Highlands Ranch
I was shocked and very disappointed to get my Monday Denver Post and there were not even the words, let alone a story, about Memorial Day on the front page. There was nothing on any other page — until I got to the editorial page, Page 16!
There I found an appropriate Memorial Day cartoon. There was a lovely letter from a 96-year-old WWII veteran, and there was an excellent guest commentary by Leroy Garcia, our Colorado Senate president. There was still nothing from The Denver Post staff. It is sad enough that we often treat Memorial Day as another Veterans Day instead of specifically honoring the brave men and women who never came home after fighting for us in our numerous wars. It felt like some compensation when I heard and saw six planes fly over in formation.
Janet Johnson, Golden
Wrong message from president
During Memorial Day weekend, when we honored Americans who died serving our country and fighting for freedom, I and many veterans and families were shocked and disgusted to hear the president agreeing with the North Korean dictator (whose regime has American blood on its hands), demeaning an American presidential candidate and a former presidentap administration.
There should be immediate bipartisan condemnation of the presidentap outrageous statements; however, many remain silent out of fear. Their collaboration with a president who cozies up to dictators around the world is a stain on our democracy and the memories of those who fought for freedom over 2½ centuries.
Don Stanton, Arvada
Editor’s note: Stanton is a retired Navy commander.
