Ironing out the irony / LJWorld.com

Letters to the Editor

Ironing out the irony

By William Skepnek, Lawrence

January 21, 2012

To the editor:

It was not a “party.” Vietnam was a nightmare, one the soldiers of Vietnam have never stopped living. I have been called to task by several Vietnam vets for my attempted use of irony in the letter published in Friday’s Journal-World. I have apologized to them, and I apologize to anyone who was misled by my use of the word “party.” The soldiers in the photo will be living a similar nightmare for the remainder of their lives. When we send men off to fight our wars we should not be quick to judge them harshly.

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Did_I_say_that 1 year, 4 months ago

Seriously? Your original LTE (http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/jan...), which praised and defended our vets and servicemen, offended some? Because of a colloquialism? People are getting too thin-skinned. It is a saying, for crying out loud, not a statement about the event. In fact, you used it as a statement about yourself - not the event.

Nice of you to apologize, Bill. However, anyone who took insult was just looking for a reason to be offended; and, the apology will not matter.

Ron Holzwarth 1 year, 4 months ago

"When we send men off to fight our wars we should not be quick to judge them harshly."

Especially when they were drafted, and had no choice of whether they wanted to go or not.

BigAl 1 year, 4 months ago

"Especially when they were drafted, and had no choice of whether they wanted to go or not"

Except of course for people like Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh, the deferment kings. It seems to be easy for these guys to be "hawks" today.

DougCounty 1 year, 4 months ago

Hey, Bill, Thanks for recognizing that even tho it didn't even rise to the point of recognition for most of us, there are vets out there who paid a high price out there and had their skin thinned by the experience through no choice of his or her own. I have friends who can't stand the 4th of July for precisely this reason, and it's a gut response that they can't control. Thanks for recognizing that.