Roland Van Deusen, a member of North Country Veterans for Peace, recently had a letter to the editor published in The Atlantic magazine (July/August 2010 issue).
Thank you, Jon Zobenica (“Getting Their Guns Off,” May Atlantic), for stripping away more of the denial and romanticism about World War II and the “Greatest Generation.” Now you know why thousands of us veterans (I served in the Navy during the Vietnam era) have joined organizations like Veterans for Peace and similar groups. Honoring the warrior—as just another victim, reduced to committing violence for survival—but not the war, many of us treat our activities (providing safe water for Iraqis, giving away free phone cards to patients in VA hospitals, etc.) as necessary therapy for ourselves, making amends. As a civilian substance-abuse counselor for the Army, I saw recruiters meet their quotas by raiding jails, rehabs, and homeless shelters, and helping kids lie about their legal histories and falsify drug tests. It’s obvious that only the poverty draft of this current Great Recession can provide enough blood for our endless energy wars. Zobenica is right to dismiss the myth of the Just War. It’s all just war. Roland Van Deusen
Clayton, N.Y.
