Letters to the Editor: Why couldn’t we save snow-bound mountain community residents?

To the editor: I can forgive officials in our local mountain communities for not having enough snow-moving equipment to cope with the recent blizzards of the century. This is understandable.

However, the 12 deaths reported by The Times are not. These people could have been saved.

Having served as a physician in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, I am well aware of how quickly and efficiently the military can react during a crisis. Troops could have been dropped by helicopter to assist stranded families.

I will never understand how the United States seems always to be the first on site worldwide to assist others in need, yet it has a hard time helping people at home. What should have been a rescue situation is now tragically a recovery effort.

Stephen H. Cooper, Hidden Hills

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To the editor: I have watched the heroic efforts by local governments, law enforcement, fire department personnel, road crews, private citizens and others to rescue, aid and assist those who are still suffering from the record-breaking Southern California snowfall.

What I do not understand is this: Where are our state and federal governments? Where is the Army Corps of Engineers?

If we rush aid and assistance to victims of war, famine and natural disasters halfway across the world, why can’t we take care of our own expeditiously?

Marshall Barth, Encino