"AUTHOR SEEKS INFO ON 64TH GENERAL HOSPITAL" American Legion Magazine June 1971

              CONTINUED
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
the dissenters are acting in a way which
they feel is best to bring about peace
quickly. But they are not aware of the
facts: By leaving Vietnam, we are al­lowing
the spread of communism or
oppression of any type. We are admitting
defeat-accepting the fact that all our
men have died there for nothing. And
what is to stop the communists when
they have Vietnam? Why should com­munism
cease to flourish, when it will
have become stronger than ever? If our
troops can see the ignorance in the point
of view the protestors have taken. then
it is time the American public wakes
up to the facts. It is time we took a new
look at ourselves, Vietnam and the war.
ELAINE MUMMERT
Westminster, Md.
SIR: Thank you for publishing those
letters from the Gis. It is good to know
that they are fighting for something they
really take so very much to heart. It
must be the love for freedom that keeps
their morale up when they hear about
the protests and riots back home.
NIKKI HUBBARD
G,.ass Valley, Ore.
SIR: Mr. Ries is a good, conscientious re­porter.
I refer to his splendid article in
:vour April issue. These letters speak
louder than many TV programs to the
contrary that bravery and love for the
U.S. flag have not vanished from the
serviceman's "code."
J. R. GARRISON
Boynton Beach, Fla.
SIR: What a blessing it would be if your
April issue could be placed in the hands
of all of our people. The letters from
Gis are so sincere, so truly American
ar.d in such sharp contrast with the
bleatings of those who have been mis­directed
by those who, in turn, are being
misled by the communists.
CAS!'ER APELAND
Waukegan, Ill.
SIR: The article on the sad and bitter
letters from our boys in Vietnam was
excellent. It should be reprinted in
newspapers and other magazines. As the
w ife of a WW2 vet and mother of three
ex-servicemen. I certainly know what it
is to worry. I can't believe anybody in
this country wants war. But the unfair
publicity that our involvement in this
Vietnam war has been subject to has
c ertainly made it worse for our boys
€1Ver there.
MRs. DoNALD MANTON. SR.
Brewerton. N.Y .
THE NEW ARMY
SIR: ''What the Army is Doing to Make
O ut Without the Draft"' (April) has con­siderable
merit in that it admits that
the Army is suffering from '·self-in-flicted
wounds" that it can very well
get along without-and still be efficient.
Some of the reforms already in practice
are laudable, while prospects for others
are still in the experimental stage and
rightly so. What ever it does, the Army
cannot and must not become soft under
any circumstances. In order to increase
the re-up rate, absolute truth and
candor must prevail on the part of all;
and this must exist in all matters, in­cluding
its advertising techniques.
LEON F. DENIS, USA (RET.)
Lynn, Mass.
SIR: '·What the Army is Doing to Make
Out Without the Draft" was a well-done
article. I can give an amusing example
of the stuff that occurred in WW2. At
the time of the incident I was a private
on duty in the office and lock-up of MP
personnel on town patrol in Newport
News, Va. In the nearby milita:·y area
all traffic officers were non-coms. One
day our top officer, a Brigadier General.
was driving through and a traffic officer
failed to see the one star on his car,
and did not salute. As a result, an order
went out that all closed military vehicles
would be saluted. I had duty off the base
and so drove to lunch in a military se­dan.
All traffic officers gave this private
a salute. And 1 always returned it,
though not in the accepted military
manner.
A. J. REITEMEIER
Lafctyette, Ind.
SIR: I am all for the "new" Army. Some
of the regulations of long ago do not
fit in with today·s thinking. Hooray for
General Westmoreland.
EuGENE G. RAMIREZ
Los Angeles, Calif.
VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS
SIR: Congratulations on your magnifi­cent
article, "The Rowdy Early Days of
the Volunteer Fire Departments"
(April) . With all of the true heroism of
these men, there were many faults as
well. There is still, in New York City, a
volunteer fire department in an area
known as Gerritson Beach, and it is
active.
In these days when there is so much
social apathy, someone, perhaps your
author Paul Ditzel, should undertake
doing an article on the highly trained
and skilled volunteer fireman of today.
Many communities depend completely
or in part on the willingness of some to
risk their lives for the community good
against the implacable force of fire.
Volunteers still have their social as­pects
but this is small as compared to
the training, the drilling and the work
that comprise the largest part of their
activity.
THE REV. CANON WILLIAM C. GODFREY
(Second Deputy Chief,
Garden City Fire Dept.)
_Garden City, N.Y.
MARIJUANA AND MENTAL ILLS
SIR: I support The American Legion's
efforts to fight the use of dangerous
drugs by our youth, and I sincerely hope
4 THE AMERICAN LEGICN MAGAZINE • JUNE 1971
your program is successful in reaching
all youths. I trust your work is not be­ing
undone by uninformed or uncaring
adults.
As more and more studies are being
carried out on the effects of drugs, par­ticularly
marijuana, it is becoming clear
that the earlier acceptance of that drug
as not harmful is an extremely shaky
position to take. In any case, the area
in which marijuana's harmfulness or
harmlessness can be determined is so
unclear that for anyone to pronounce it
as harmless at this time could mislead
and endanger many young persons.
The April 19, 1971, issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association
carries an article that disputes the argu­ment
that the weed is a relatively mild
intoxicant that causes serious psycho­logical
disturbances in rare cases only.
In it, the studies conducted on 38 "nor­mal"
youths who smoked marijuana re­vealed
that serious psychological prob­lems
followed in each case and were
directly attributable to the use of mari­juana.
All of the cases cited were saddening,
but one in particular was shocking. A
young man in his freshman year at col­lege
began smoking marijuana. He be­came
apathetic, disoriented and de­pressed
and failed all his courses. At
the height of his mental turmoil he
turned to a college counsellor for help,
admitting his use of marijuana. He was
told by the counsellor that the drug was
harmless.
I leave it to you to draw your own
conclusions. I can only pray that this
counsellor, innocent as he may feel he
is, is by himself in his belief.
E. W. CURTIS
New Ym·k , N.Y .
AUTHOR SEEKS INFO ON 64TH
GENERAL HOSPITAL
SIR: For research for a history of the
64th General Hospital, I would appreci­ate
information from former personnel
and patients about their experiences
with the unit during WW2.
DR. CHARLES WATKINS
LSU School of Medicine
1542 Tulane Ave.
New 01·leans, La. 70112
THANKS
SIR: I am very grateful that there are
a few publications still worthy of dis­tribution
in our great country. It is re~
freshing to know that with The Amer­ican
Legion Magazine we will always
find articles, cartoons and notes of in­terest
that are not undermining our na­tion
or the minds of our citizens. I feel
comfortable when the magazine is in
the hands of our young children at
home, and I am at ease as this magazine
is read in my office. I am happy to ex­tend
my gratitude to you .for refusing
to be counted among those who are en­gaged
with pollution of the mind.
RICHARD M. YOUNG, D.D.S.
Salmon, Idaho
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