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As a veteran with 20 years’ service in the armed forces of the United States, I am truly dismayed that anyone could object to the statue honoring Danny Dietz (“Memorial set in stone,” April 7).
These narrow-minded, myopic individuals have no concept of where from their freedoms come. They are like the urban child who, when asked “Where does milk comes from?” replies “The store.” They do not make the connection to the dairy, the farmer or the cow.
Our freedoms exist only because individuals like Danny Dietz are willing to risk everything, including their own lives, to preserve them. I can think of no more appropriate place for such a statue than in plain view of children. This gives parents a bold opportunity to explain what freedom is and what sacrifices are required to keep it.
The statue will show Dietz holding a gun — big deal. The weapon is a tool that protectors of freedom must use because those who would take our freedoms use them. Parents must take this opportunity to explain that to their children what this tool is and that it is necessary to use such tools to protect our freedoms by people brave enough to do so. They can also explain that this tool can be misused by bad people, making it all the more necessary that good people know how to use them.

Roy Johnson, Denver

READER COMMENTS

The Children will be fine. What will not be fine is a society that feels that it must sanitize everything, movies, T.V. shows, magazine covers, statues, etc, to the appropriateness that is suitalbe to a five year old.

Nice comments

I wonder if they would object to the two aircraft carriers I was on with its dozens of war planes if they were depicted in a statue. r22037yahoo

I think this statue is important. It seems that we live in a society that tends to ignore it's true heros. I find that most people don't even know who Audie Murphy was, (our most highly decorated soldier of WWII and an actor), as we build statues of Rocky Balboa(Sylvester Stallone) in front of our capital buildings. I see nothing wrong with a statue that may inspire in someone, the same sense of patriotism and duty that Danny, Audie, myself , and countless others have felt.

I bet these people wouldn't object if someone put up a naked female soldier with a gun.

They would probably pass out pamphlets called Artistic Freedom! "Explaining the statue to little Johnnie/Susie."

Children see more violence on cartoon channels. Alot more, then one stone carved statue is going to depict.

Hmmm, two aircraft carriers, not a bad idea Grimes.

Another perfect example of how a few hypersensitive, vociferous, whine-babys
can overshadow everyone else.

Statue protesters, crawl back into your hole.

Two aircraft carriers. I think they should be life size. Big enough that you could land an airplane on them. I can remember watching the Big E, Midway, Hannock, Constellation, and the Slack Jack (JKF), when they would pass under the Golden Gate Bridge. I even remember when the Enterprise scraped the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the pilots buzzing the Oakland Bay Bridge with their Phantom F4J's.

Now where can we put the Aircraft Carrier statues. Do you think people would protest?

Put them on the capital lawn and cover them with gold leaf also. That would be sooo purdy!

There is greater joy than coming home after a 9-month tour of the Pacific and riveting one's eyes on that Golden Gate Bridge; however, that return from a Pacific tour joy ranks amongst the greater ones. Karen: You touch a nerve. Imagine a life-sized aircraft carrier in Denver: What a sight to behold. People would come from every nation and the opponents of the statue in question would picket the presence of the accomplishment. r22037yahoo

Cool site. Thanks!!!

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