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Show The Sellout By KIU 0 S ROBERTS I once had a very good friend whom I had known for the past eight years. During that time, we developed a friendly relationship that pro-vided pro-vided a lot of good times for both of us. I first met him when we were both playing little league football. He was already showing signs of talent and appeared to have an excellent athletic future ahead of him. I went through junior high and high school with him, and we had established a close friendship. State Champ I had bagged athletics by that time, but my friend had continued his pursuits. He was an outstanding defensive back for the football team, went to the state championships in swimming, and also won region honors with the track team. In his senior year, he earned honors as one of the school's outstanding all-around athletes. After graduation, my friend came up to the University of Utah, where he worked his way up to a starting position on the freshman football foot-ball team. Throughout my association with him, I had never met anyone who did not thoroughly enjoy this young man's company. He was a great athlete and a true gentlemen an all-around fine person. Marine Corps Oddly enough, my relationship with this friend came to an end on the little league football field this past fall. He was helping my brother cach a group of kids while on leave from the Marine Corps. He had just finished basic training and was talking quite casually about being sent to Vietnam. He knew that he would be sent to Vietnam, yet he overlooked what might happen there, and was looking forward to his discharge dis-charge and return to school. I never saw him after that day, and I never will. He was killed in action last week in Vietnam. Barbaric Those who mourn his loss will pray that he died for a cause, but it is doubtful that this will be the case. He died in one of the most senseless, sense-less, barbaric manners ever conceived United States involvement in Vietnam. I find it hard to possess a positive attitude about this war when people my age, whom I've known and grown up with, are being killed in a land 7,000 miles away from our shores supposedly fighting to preserve world democracy. No one can say whether or not we belong in Vietnam, but it seems that a lot of American lives are being wasted over there. To think that because of some foolish mistakes made by our illustrious government, govern-ment, the youth of America is participating in a conflict of which they have or want no part. And when men such as my old friend are killed over there, I can only say that I don't dig it. |