Controversy Over Women in Combat

Women in combat--they have to be kidding. So Mrs. (President) Bush is all for having the gals go to combat, too (Part A, Jan. 17). Since when has “combat” become so coveted? Oh, sure, these little phony wars like Grenada and Panama look like real fun things. You just go in there and shoot up a few scared natives, then fall back in to receive your medals and promotions. And those gals do look cute on the telly all dressed up like the boy soldiers. Maybe they think they should have those glamorous jobs like fighter or gunship pilots.

How do you think they would fit into Oliver Stone’s Vietnam “Platoon,” or that tank platoon I had in Nam? The only showers there were outdoors, and we had those same four-hole type outhouses they showed in the movie. That was the “uptown” part. In the field we went skinny dipping in the South China Sea, or later, just stripped in front of the tank and took a “sponge” bath. (It didn’t seem to bother the natives to see a naked GI.)

This women’s lib thing is the biggest con job of the century.

DON LOVE

Palm Springs