I would suggest, or even require, that those folks who allow and even encourage the use of these high explosives to “celebrate” the Fourth of July to run down to the local recruiter and volunteer for combat duty. It is in those jobs that they will be able to “celebrate” for years on end, perhaps suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, and lose their hearing, as well as sustaining tinnitus, and other wounds both physical and mental.
I spent 13 months in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, most of which was in near-daily combat situations. My unit was surrounded and defended Khe Sanh Combat Base for more than four months in 1967 and 1968. Over that time, literally millions of rounds, from 5.56 mm rifle rounds to 15,000 pound Daisy Cutters that obliterate anything in a 600-yard radius, were used to defend ourselves and inflict death to those who would do the same to us.
Celebrate the Fourth by honoring those who died putting their lives on the line for people who have no concept of combat and not by forcing the rest of us to endure the nightly assault on our normally quiet neighborhoods.
Paul Knight
Vancouver
