Allied Victory in Mideast War

I watched our proud and valiant service persons leave for war in the Gulf. Never have I felt so proud to be American. I wept with the women they left behind. With their fathers and husbands, I raised my fists in defiance of Saddam. I felt deeply the loneliness and confusion of the children.

They all became someone I knew personally, and I feared for their safety as they fought to free Kuwait.

Not since WWII has this country seemed so united in its support of our President and our troops. The dissenters seemed many until the silent majority decided not to be so silent. The Fondas and Haydens are just whispers of the past. Even Ron Kovic seems less convincing now. Will he protest every war? Will he welcome our troops home like he would have wanted to be welcomed? Maybe he, too, can become just a shadow of the past.

The grateful and happy faces of the Kuwaitis and the jubilance in their cities is proof enough--not “blood for oil” but “freedom.” We have sent a message around the world that no allies of ours will ever have to suffer such injustices.

To all the families who have lost a loved one in the Gulf, you are not alone. All America mourns with you. You have my sympathy and undying gratitude for your sacrifice. Your loss was not in vain. You must know that your loved one is in a special place that will never see the likes of Saddam Hussein.

God bless you! God bless our troops! God bless America!

CHRIS SUMNER

Irvine