a follow-up to the previous posting

The local paper's total lack of coverage on our march and rally on March 22nd has lead to a seemingly endless mix of pro-peace vs not-so-peaceful letters to the editor.  It's actually quite telling about how the two sides in this community (and maybe, by extension, the whole country) view one another.

Anyway, the mother of the singing girls (the young stars of the rally) wrote the letter below in response to an earlier letter accusing the anti-war/pro-peace community of being a bunch of whiners that want attention.  I declare Tara's letter to be the definitive word in the whole matter because of all that she and her family have been through.

That's all for now, folks!  Valori 


TARA PUCKETT'S letter to the editor published in the Corvallis
Gazette Times on April 7, 2008:

We Owe Thanks to Anti-War Activists

I am unable to understand what benefit a person could believe is derived by anti-war activists from the selfless giving of their time in defense of our troops.

America's military men and women are being forced to serve repeatedly in an illegal occupation of Iraq.

One does not need to be a liberal to recognize that we were lied to by our own elected leaders and our media. Saddam Hussein had no connection to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, nor to al-Qaida. Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction.

The perpetrators of those lies have mostly acknowledged the truth, yet five years and 4,000 dead Americans later we maintain our presence in Iraq.

My husband is an Oregon National Guardsman. He has already served and been injured in one 15-month-long tour in Iraq, yet he faces the prospect of another.

I appreciate Dianne Safford ("Ignored Marchers Insulted by Column," As I See It, March 28) and her fellow activists.  Our military family has felt great support and generosity from the Corvallis anti-war community.  We value the time and sacrifice that has been made in their effort to keep my husband home and safe.

We would like to extend our thanks to Corvallis Alternatives to War, Veterans For Peace, Military Families Speak Out, and to all of the Dianne Saffords within this community.

Tara Puckett
Corvallis