High Toll of U.S. Air Shows

Your in-depth article on the toll of U.S. air shows (Part I, Sept. 4) helped shed some light on the tragic results of these military spectacles over the past few years--more than 100 lives and $1 billion in aircraft lost since 1955.

My brother was one of the spectators killed at the Ramstein air-show disaster. He was 41 years old, in the prime of his life, and leaves two small children and a young wife. His 10-year-old son, who also attended the event, escaped with light injuries, but must bear the memory of his father and scores of others being killed in a war-like scene of fire and mutilation for the rest of his life.

The U.S. armed services claim that these government-sponsored events are needed for recruitment and morale-boosting of their troops. My response is that there are many other peaceful, less violent ways to accomplish this goal.

I ask today, in the name of my brother and all the others who died, that no more air shows be held where innocent victims and children could be harmed. Letters protesting such shows should be sent to our congressional delegates, as well as to Rep. Edward F. Feighan (D-Ohio) and Rep. Bill Nichols (D-Ala.), two leading critics of military air demonstrations.

HEIDI WENZEL FELDMAN

Redondo Beach