Don Lewis, Mystery Writer: If You’re Going to Fight the Damn Thing … Win It!

I was in Charleston, South Carolina, the other day and decided to stop on the way home to visit the Aircraft Carrier Yorktown CV10, a World War II combat vessel. Walking on its decks and looking at some of the actual planes flown during the war was a strange feeling, like walking back into the past, seeing things I had only heard about. I saw rows of names of Navy airmen and sailors who died for their country. I read the stories of some of them, of their bravery and commitment to defending the rest of us. They and the hundreds of thousands of other service men and women who died did so defending OUR country.

I’ve been to the Arizona in Pearl Harbor several times and it is impressive, but being on the Yorktown and seeing the old fighter planes and the bronzed faces of those pilots on the walls of the hanger-deck staring back at me gave me an increased respect for that war and for the reasons those men and women who fought it were so willing to sacrifice their lives. I realized that WWII was the last time an armed struggle was worthy of being called a “War,” and was worth that kind of sacrifice.

I’m a veteran of the Vietnam War. I wasn’t drafted; I entered the service voluntarily because of the war. I was partly motivated by the fact that I’ve been pretty much of a thrill seeker all my life; those who know me well will verify that. In 1963 I wanted to be part of the war, part of something exciting and important. I was young, and as they say, full of piss and vinegar. I wanted to be a warrior. That’s why I became a paratrooper and a Green Beret. I thought that because my government said so, fighting in Vietnam was somehow important to protecting my own country. I was wrong.

Please don’t misunderstand; I’m very proud of my service and of the men I served with in Vietnam. I believed then and now that South Vietnam was under siege from the North and that if we didn’t go to help them, they would fall to the Communists. I was one of those who thought we were there to save the world from communism, a worthwhile goal. So, my frustration, and even anger, isn’t based on our reason for entering the war; it’s founded on our refusal to win it.

We who served in Vietnam are told we lost the war. We did not lose; we were kickin’ ass the whole time. We never lost a battle during that war. We left in disgrace because those peckerwoods back in Washington, for whatever reason, decided it wasn’t a good idea to win. If the Vietnam War had been fought during WWII, it would have amounted to little more than a three-month operation. We would have shelled the North; dropped bombs on their military installations, sent in the Marines, the Paratroopers and the Infantry, and it would have been “Katy bar the door.”

What happened to America? Have we lost our stones? In World War II we faced two enemies who wanted to take over the world and if we hadn’t entered the war, probably would have. But American soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen came to the rescue. The number of Americans killed and wounded in WWII was 1,076,245, but America’s determination to win saved the world. Those losses and their sacrifices counted for something.

The loss of more than 213, 000 American men and women who were killed, wounded and missing as the result of the Vietnam War counted for nothing. Not because we chose to fight there, but because we refused to win there.

The same thing is happening now in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today’s American warriors are better than when I was in. They’re better trained, better equipped, and well… just plain better, but they’re not going to win those wars. We know it, they know it. Yet, we lose brave young American lives every day there because our government doesn’t have the will or the moxie to do what it takes to win.

Why did all this start in the first place? Was it because of 9-11? 9-11 wasn’t just a terrorist attack, it was an act of War, and we should have gone to the country that knowingly trained and supported those killers and said, “We’ll give you three days to get everyone out of your capital city, then we’re going to bomb it into the stone age.” I know it sounds radical, but if we had done that, a lot of American lives would have been saved, and believe me, there would have been no more “terrorists” actions taken against us. Hell, Truman did it and we haven’t heard an aggressive peep out of Japan or Germany since. As it is, no American is safe in any other part of the world, and even our safety in the U.S. is only marginal. It looks to me like we’re as much at risk from our own government as we are from any foreign armies who dream about triumphantly marching through the streets of New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

History has shown us that there are three elements that will always guarantee defeat; Complacency, Concession, and a lack of Courage. Today our government is riddled with all three, and those of them who aren’t traitors are cowards.

What’s the use in being the strongest military might in the world if you’re not willing to use that strength when it becomes necessary? Wake up, boys and girls; it’s necessary NOW!

Tell your government to either crap or get off the pot!