LETTER: Thankful

We need to remember to be thankful for those who have supported us. The U.S. didn’t fight in Korea, Vietnam or Afghanistan alone. NATO members as well as non-NATO member countries supported us and/or had boots on the ground. Soldiers from those countries gave their lives as well as were wounded and many continue to live with the results. 

My father, who was career military, began his service during World War II and was in service through Korea and Vietnam. He often talked about how isolation put us in a perilous position prior to World War II. There are several books regarding this issue as well. Eighteen nations fought under the U.N. in Korea, 37 countries fought alongside us in Iraq from 2003 through 2009, and from 2009 through 2021 36 countries supported the U.S. in Afghanistan under a NATO alliance. 

There’s an abundance of more detailed information about these conflicts available online and in various reading materials found in libraries or for purchase. It’s my belief that we need to do our own research before castigating others about what we feel is their lack of support. We, as a people, tend to believe we do everything on our own, but others do help us in armed conflicts as well as by assisting us in disaster relief during domestic disasters, e.g. fires, floods, et cetera. When we compare ourselves to other countries, we need to remember that we are a large country with a large population. It’s important to look at per-capita comparisons. For example, currently our population is about 342 million while the U.K.’s population is about 68 million and the U.K. is about the size of Oregon. Whether or not we continue to support our allies, we should be thankful for the support they have given us. 

Tina Bradley 

Moses Lake