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Letters

MAN’S BEST FRIEND?

In response to the Aug. 3 story “Marine charged with puppy’s death,” I have to say, as a devoted dog lover, I hope Lance Cpl. Jordan Darbyshire will spend time in prison if he killed that cockapoo. Since when are we such a barbaric force that we harm cute, defenseless puppies by squeezing, throwing and kicking them across the room? Court documents also say that Darbyshire allegedly admitted to having a drinking problem? Where were his noncommissioned officers on that one?

Sgt. Jade N. Long

Stafford, Va.

On July 20, I was walking my shelter-rescued Maltese at Hull Bay Beach on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, when a pit bull attacked my dog.

As I screamed, I saw a hand with a tattoo that read “USMC” wrestling the jaws of the pit bull from the back of my little dog. The Marine gave me his beach towel to wrap my dog in, called my vet and saw that I was OK and able to drive. I never found out his name, but I have his towel, and he has my gratitude.

My little dog has been under 24-hour care for weeks. She became septic. I have her at home for short periods of time but she has to return to the vet regularly for wound care.

She seems to have the heart of a Marine, though, because she is determined to live.

What can I say except thank you?

Annette Olsen

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

I just read your Aug. 3 article [“Doggone strict”] about the Marine Corps considering servicewide proposals that could prohibit pit bulls, Rottweilers and other breeds from Marine bases. When I was 16 months old, I suffered a dog bite that left me with more than 100 stitches in my face. Two reconstructive surgeries and three decades have helped to heal those wounds, but if you’re wondering what kind of dog would do that, it was an Irish setter, not a pit bull or a Rottweiller. Legislating “common sense” in the form of Corpswide bans is a blatant attack on the freedoms of those who swore to defend the Constitution. It is also the mark of a service that has little faith in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the commanders chosen to enforce it. Pit bulls make great pets — I’ve had three of them — but it’s all in how you handle them.

Cmdr. Dave Bartell

Olney, Md.

HONOR THE BRAVE

My son enlisted in the Corps five years ago. I was reading your Aug. 3 issue when the short story “Hero SEAL Breaks Silence” caught my eye. After reading the article, I was incensed that the SEAL did not receive the Medal of Honor.

What is it nowadays that so few service personnel receive the MoH and all posthumously? In my library sits a book about the MoH that includes its history, a list of its recipients and stories about how some of them earned their medals. In comparing the MoH citations from previous wars to Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross and Air Force Cross citations since 2001, I see many service members who should have received the MoH for their actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

As the late newspaper columnist Army Col. David Hackworth called them, are the “perfumed princes” of the Pentagon so anal retentive that they believe no one alive is worthy of the MoH? Or are they trying to make amends for past MoH recipients who they believe weren’t worthy of the awards?

This SEAL, and many others since 2001, should have stood proudly before the president and received the MoH. Has the Defense Department gone so completely over the edge that its leaders believe only the dead deserve this medal? I guess if Audie Murphy were fighting under today’s regulations, he wouldn’t be an MoH recipient either. How truly sad for our valiant warriors.

Former Air Force Sgt. Mark Tarte,

Livermore, Calif.