ONE BATTLE - ONE WAR

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, a movie directed by multi-talented Clint Eastwood, will open soon at a theater near you. Eastwood, a very patriotic American, made this movie to pay tribute to the U.S. Marines and Navy corpsmen who fought, died and were wounded in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. No chapter in our history ever made us any prouder. Our victory came at a great cost in lives and wounded. I personally lost two friends on Iwo Jima, both volunteers, one having been the quarterback of my high school football team.

Since the fight for Iwo Jima occurred in 1945, Flags of Our Grandfathers might have been a more appropriate title. Because we are now at war in Iraq, I want to compare one battle (Iwo Jima) with one war (Iraq). The battle for Iwo Jima, a small Pacific island defended by some 22,000 Japanese soldiers, lasted 35 days, starting on February 19,1945 and ending on March 25, 1945. Our war against Iraq started on March 19, 2003 and continues unabated, having lasted 43 months thus far.

During those 35 days in the battle for Iwo Jima, 6, 821 Americans were killed and 19,217 were wounded. (Only 1,083 Japanese soldiers survived the fierce fighting. Eastwood is also releasing a companion feature, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, which pays tribute to that island's Japanese defenders.) As of October 9, 2006, during the 43 months in Iraq, we have suffered 2,239 combat deaths and 20,468 have been wounded. So, in one month, more than three times as many Americans were killed in combat on Iwo Jima than have been killed during 43 months in Iraq.

The majority of Americans are opposed to the war in Iraq for one reason and one reason only - the death toll among our troops. The loss of any soldier's life is a tragedy to his family, friends, and to our nation. And unfortunately, many of the wounded will be physically handicapped for the rest of their lives.

There are some notable differences between the battle for Iwo Jima and the war in Iraq. Japan attacked us in World War II, while we attacked Iraq. There were many volunteers, myself included, but most of our troops in WWII were draftees. Today, our troops are all volunteers.

It does not make any difference why our troops have volunteered to serve in the military. The wailing and whining over the loss of lives in Iraq totally disregards the fact that soldiers are trained to fight wars and may be called on to kill and be killed. If they only signed up to obtain educational benefits and suddenly found themselves engaged in an unpopular war, that's just tough shit! They sure as hell did not join the Peace Corps when they enlisted.

It is my opinion that our inability to cope with combat casualties is the result of changing life styles between WWII and the war in Iraq. At the start of WWII, we had just come out of a depression. Life was hard. Since WWII, many of us have prospered. Modern conveniences and comfort have made life much easier for all of us. Air conditioning, home appliances, computers and other electronics, medications, riding mowers and electric golf carts, and other advances in technology, science and medicine have led us to lose our toughness. We have become a nation of softies and whiners with an expectation of instant gratification.

I hope that FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS will cause us to reflect on the great loss of American lives in one battle, Iwo Jima, as compared to the relatively small loss of lives in Iraq. While we may have been misled into invading Iraq, and despite the tragic loss in lives, we must keep fighting until our objectives are achieved. Withdrawal short of victory will be seen as a defeat, and that will embolden our enemies throughout the world.

When our young men and women volunteered for military service, they volunteered to go to war, even though we were at peace at the time. When more than three times as many of our troops were killed on Iwo Jima in just one month than have been killed in the 43 months of Iraq, it sickens me that most Americans are unable to stomach the casualties of war and want us to get out of Iraq now.