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Show I rzt ... . M. Letters ''xffikhi T The f V, 7 Editor Editor:. '. i:iyi-h'-A-'' After returfling:. froni andxpar-; . ticipatkig in the MX hearing, held in Salt Lake C-ity this past yeek; ! want to take this opportunity loxpress my : concerns in;the maer. r. i. s: As a ebrn)ayeter;anf W:or&. War II,.i having served :;wth ): the v389th ; Fighter iXujgef the;.yAi$ jftwee ' 1 -, Eiirepean-Tnaitier: 'of Operations, ' I ? "have carfaHy wtcheid. oiff Relation f; noted theehjlging tidebf event&'and ;'?at.titudesbsomeAnie f t MXfhear ihgirdin ;theewraedia eftd?7be bticneha!;5,hye'' f m5eKs iqiee inur:'Arica;"v i thLand afheFree "and Home of the Brabofttyotihg an, bider that do' J ! riot uhdersa tidour pefense Cha in! of j t Oorranand?howCit" w lt-'i's :the-vr.Feibility.: .the' 'i -v Cobgrestllih ;r Republic: to J !iprbvHdAVptibn;art J in ,'ali;faspsTh;Drent -6f i f1 'Defense wasreatled' to enmaceall"". i the. jniMary. -hrahches, -i the ' joint j chiefs-ofithe :military branches; the ;; ijoint-vclwsfrstaff'ynte :4 j agericiesanct es '; prbtectibh- ahd survival., X. !' ; ,AME:Sefogniz4ng!;thatjvi 1 ptoji.HfflpTianfbje 4iiiedeiigd- fy'chifflogil.s'-bls'blutyy ' iimp('';ti . -iauncji or Siffr'an bur.'ea'ppns on i missiles jigai;dle(s,5f olihe; , ria tufe; ihefbujaag;me; j.s.iellptaitfdeiBent rj 'tErppttsaaic lit-bagprpcnch wpjeispjaeenwht' ;$r;p bnreiiy!i ipjVvvae .os-e;:v expensive ' I bhor -the :bobUig;:eering?. jand i 'hissMgof( ooi;iHtary;pewpnnl;wh). S;placb.thevestheijhe to;proVide ' iiVa- id'''; J'jectsurt the' lsidehtandepartmentbf tte.fense jJittoHiid. survival; ' fi;He:;bojoi tediS.vNi.;THE ARMED FOR- 1 CES THAT HAVE PLACED US IN XHIS PRECARIOUS STATE OF, S AFFAIRS ; TODAY;:: BUT RATHER ' 'OCR PRESIDENT,. SENATORS,, f GONGRESSMiEN'ANb:-. ILLi AB--.; ISING pEPrTMENT OF STATE. ; Our.-embarrassment in; Vietnam : ii.Was-:ub5;the civilian'i;arm of JpoUuciansndinbt due' to the brave i ;. menrbf Our armed .forces. Since that : ;embarrassing era ; we have .' gone steadily downhill in bur Will to win, to stand out and. provide the leadership the free world needs so badly. . : . " It is AMERICAN to win whatever the event and to be a winning team. We should not have to wonder about the inability of our armed forces to , get the desired number of good men to enlist in the services and to make a career of military service under such ' . frsutrating conditions andcijr- cumstances embraced by no-win : i"; policies and jeering. I am concerned about the conditions i existing and growing in our country that most certainly will influence the "ability of the United States to SUR-' SUR-' VIVE in the immediate years as well ?,as in the years further ahead.. Our , survival depends on our ability to perpetuate successive parties bf ' mature adults who are committed to; b our major traditions, the foremost of f which is our freedom from oppression of any other world power. This con-' 'v eern involves the character of this generation as molded by-our homes, ; . churches, the news media, television, " schools, colleges and universities, our ; 1; ities, counties, state and federal governments, our armed forces ;as . ii. well as civil services, our professional societies and organizations. . There is considerable evidence all iy around us that the last twenty years has produced a considerable number "i of Unpatriotic and characterless young people. Even more startling .. than this is the considerable number ."'of "my generation" that I see leading iiihe protests, uttering the hisses,1 jeers ' and by -words which ultimately play, pidto the hands of the enemy,We must j; reverse that trend and I believe1 that '"tue- presa and newsem'mu'SrtM'e''''.' fan active and constructive part in the . ? process. ''''..:'.' 9): S!V.;; "' - My answser to Valerie , Cohen's question "what the chances were-for f people like her, with a ten month old ! baby, that in the future there could toe ;v" some hope to be able to beat a, sword i iintQ a ploughshare", is to become a more persuasive part of convincing ; ' the' leaders in the" Soviet Union, that ' their actions will lead to destruction. The Soviets will not beat ; their I weapons of war into ploughshares so . long as AMERICA and other freedom ;V:loving people of the world continue to S&ship them the staff-of-life to survive 'starvation. We have also given them ' technology which permits them to .continue to expand the accuracy of their weapons of war and to make war ' :. : while we struggle for an existence. It is a fact that we need to be freed from - the heavy burden of continually expanding ex-panding for our protection and sur-? sur-? vival, however, it is a two-way street but the Soviets have not yet traveled the route. ' , . I was also attracted by Professor Stanley Albrecht's comment when he . expressed anxiety about the "old : timer who wakes up in the same bed, but in a different town". I submit that to be much more desirable than to ' wake up on the cold floor of a Russian r salt mine or perhaps a concrete floor iy with one blanket and a straw pillow in , ; Gorky. You say, "It can't happen i here"? Let's not wait and see.; I believe there will be missiles in ' Utah. I have believed that for a long, ;'. long time. It now very definitely appears that they will be of MISSILE I , ' ' ' EXPERIMENTAL (MX) variety. I also believe that Governor Matheson and others in the know believe this to be a fact of the present day situation. I well remember the frustrations of not being able to do the things you were prepared and trained to do because of circumstances beyond your control. I also remember the AMERICAN SPIRIT of getting with it and doing something even though it was wrong. At least you might confuse con-fuse the enemy and perhaps you might even determine what you are , doing wrong. To do nothing never solved a problem, therefore, to do nothing is the most dangerous act of all. Two other questions I was prepared , to ask the panel related to federal funds for water and wastewater . projects, for schools and roads within the impacted cities, communities and . , counties, and, cleanup and rehabilitation of the project site in the event the project becomes obsolete or is retir"' These questions were appropriately 1$ ,. answered, affirmatively by . Ms:'- Chayes, undersecretary of the Air Force, during her comments, -vgg. therefore, I did not choose to force my way to the microphone for further comments. I know that these things will be taken care of through the '''tB legislative process when MX comes. ': "?p I have encouraged Iron County and Cedar City to expect MX as a fact of "; life and to begin to prepare for its : fe coming. I believe that such ap- .'IS propriate action is being taken to lessen the negative impacts and ; accentuate the positive impacts. p&jSt$ In summary, I believe the whole country will be better served through &Jf.' a strong military program and weapons that the Soviets will ;f' recognize and respect as the "big stick" instead of broom straws that 5j cause a president to speak so loudly . ;i ; and then back down. Ralph B. (Browning) Piatt .,;,,.(MV-s |