Challenge

"...but try the spirits whether they are of God..." (1 Jno. 4:1)

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Volume 8                                                               Spring 2008                                                           Number Two
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Editorial…

In a response, written by Farrell Till, to my reply to his article on abortion, Mr. Till wrote the following:

“Whenever I encounter vociferous advocates of the war in Iraq, I issue to them challenges that none of them has yet accepted. Because of his age and health problems that he has mentioned in other exchanges with me, McDonald is not qualified for military service. He does, however, have a son in his early twenties, so if he will persuade his son to volunteer for combat duty in Iraq, I will personally drive the 300 miles from my home in Central Illinois to where McDonald lives in Missouri and accompany his son to the nearest recruiting office. If McDonald will persuade his son to volunteer, or at least try to, I will know that he honestly believes in the necessity of this war, but if he refuses this challenge, I will then know that he is just another chickenhawk like Bush, Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, John Ashcroft, Tom Delay, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, etc., etc., etc. who all evaded combat duty when they were military age but are now outspoken defenders of the war in Iraq. As long as they or their own don't have to take the risk of dying, they are all for U. S. involvement in preemptive foreign wars.”

There are a couple of things to which I feel I need to respond, and because I am using my space in this issue of Challenge to reprint an article written by Robert Baral on the Horror of Abortion, I decided to use the editorial spot to respond to Mr. Till's statement.  I will respond to Mr. Till's article on abortion in the Summer 2008 issue of Challenge.  Thomas will also respond to Todd Greene's article in the Summer 2008 issue as well.

1. Mr. Till says “(b)ecause of his age and health problems that he has mentioned in other exchanges with me, McDonald is not qualified for military service.” No, I am not qualified for military service, now. However, when I was qualified for military service, I went. I wasn’t drafted, I volunteered. On April 14, 1974, after saying goodbye to my family and friends (none of who wanted me to enlist) I joined the U.S. Navy. By 1975 I was in Viet-Nam on board the USS Hancock CVA-19 as a boiler technician in number three boiler room. We spent our time in Viet-Nam in the Tonkin Gulf and as the smallest aircraft carrier in the fleet we were the closest to the shoreline. We had no fighter protection because we had off loaded all of our A-4 Skyhawks and F-8 Crusaders and replaced them with helicopters. We were a perfect sitting duck for any communist guided missile. The Hancock was well hated by the North Viet-Namize because we could get into the Tonkin Gulf, launch our aircraft and be gone before they could react. So, was my life in danger? Yes, it was. Everyone who knows anything about the Navy knows that Carriers are always prime targets. The enemy would rather sink a carrier than 5 destroyers. You sink a destroyer you lose about 150 people. You sink a WWII carrier (which is what the Hancock was) and you lose about 3000 people, and if you sink one of our supercarriers you lose about 4,500 people.

So for Mr. Till to even imply that I wouldn’t go off to war is the height of ignorance because he knows nothing about my military background. I served on active duty for four years (my release date was April 14, 1978) and on inactive duty for two more (1980 -- honorable discharge). Where did Mr. Till serve? Also, despite my health and age, if the Government was to recall me, I would go without hesitation. Can Till say the same?

2. I have talked to my son (Thomas) many times about going into the service. He has asked me if he decides to do so if he has my support, and I have assured him that he does. Regardless of the branch of service (Army, Marines, Navy, Airforce) I have encouraged him to go if he decides that he wants to go. I will not force him to go, but I will be proud of him if he does. However, before Mr. Till decides to make a 300 mile trip to drive Thomas anywhere, I must know what branch of the service Mr. Till served in. What war did he serve in? Thomas has his own car, and he knows where the recruiting stations are in St. Robert, MO and in Rolla, MO. He has to but decide what it is that he wants to do. He has received information from all four branches of the service and has looked into each one of them. I am not asking anyone to do anything that I have not already done or am willing for my only child to do (even knowing that if he dies in action, my bloodline dies with him).  He is also registered at the selective service board.  We took him and registered him on his 18th birthday.

I am not a chicken hawk. I served during the Viet-Nam war and have been declared, by the Veteran’s Administration, a disabled veteran of the Viet-Nam era. I have been authorized by Congress to have the Viet-Nam service medal as well as 9 other ribbons and medals because of my service. For 11 years I put my life on the line, daily, as a police officer and got paid very little for it. The most I ever made as a police officer was $7.25 per hour. I served as a County Deputy for five of those 11 years in one of the roughest counties in Missouri. The other six were spent as a municipal patrolman who worked the graveyard shift. I don’t ever remember having to call for back up to go into a domestic at 2:00 in the morning; backup was usually 30 minutes away. I went in and did my job. I have received commendations from both the Sheriff of Crawford County for my service there and the Mayor of Crocker, MO for my service there.

I have given a large portion of my life to the preservation of peace and security to this country, both in the military and as a police officer. What has Mr. Till done to secure freedom that gives him the right to call me “a chicken hawk.” He doesn’t need to worry about me and my family. My oldest brother was in the army in Korea, as was my oldest brother-in-law. I was in Viet-Nam. My wife’s father was in WWII (Army). Her brother was in the Marine Corp during Viet-Nam. Both of his sons serve in the Army. Both have served in Afghanistan, one in North Korea, and the other in Iraq (the one in Iraq is an Army Ranger), the other one is regular army. So if Thomas decides to go, and if he should need someone to drive him, I’ll drive him myself. I don’t need Mr. Till to drive down here to take him to a recruiting station.

He has no right to question my patriotism because I have proven my patriotism time and again. If my son decides to go in, he has my blessing. I wonder where Mr. Till served that gives him the right to call me a "chicken hawk"?