My reply to Reggie Rivers reply

Mr. Rivers, thanks for your reply.

I am a veteran of 30 years and I just cannot believe you do not understand the American serviceman. Your reply shows just how little you know of our service men and women.

You seem to think the military is a job. That is bad enough but to make the leap to equate military service to “slavery” is beyond the pale. I am not black so I cannot and would not pretend to know how deeply the memory of slavery must hurt. But I do know how deeply offensive it is to service people to be called slaves.

Mr. Rivers, did you know Pat Tillman? You may have played with or against him in some NFL game. Did you consider him a slave? Why do you think he gave up a multi-million dollar contract with the NFL to go and serve his country? He was a patriot who believed in his country and what it stands for – freedom. He wanted the “real slaves” of the world to be free.

Look at your third paragraph. That question is answered by millions of American service personnel every minute of every day and that answer is a resounding yes. It is called patriotism Mr. Rivers. As I said my family and I devoted 30 years of lives, living in foreign lands, facing many hardships and we would gladly do it all over again. Many of us veterans continue to serve as best we can; volunteering our time to bases around the world.

Your entire response if filled with misconceptions. You say most of us would put our families before our careers. All of the military do put their careers before their families.

The war on terror is unlike anything the world has faced before. America and the world are in mortal danger and that is no exaggeration. Today more than ever we need the brave men and women of the US military. The brave men and women I call patriots and you call slaves.

Mr. Rivers, I urge you to go spend some time with some military people. Get to know them and their families. Go visit Pat Tillman’s family.

If someone wrote a racial article you would demand a retraction, an apology and that person to resign. On behalf of all veterans who have been deeply offended by your article, I ask the same of you Mr. Rivers.