"The morale will stay high just as long as these troops know the people back home support us."

Fellers, this is just exactly what WE learned 30+ years ago. When the rank and file of ordinary Americans stopped supporting us and our brothers, "our" morale just drained away; and the passionate patriots of 1965 and 1966 were replaced with the racist-officer-fraggin'-druggers of 1971 and 1972 so familiar to Oliver Stone and John Kerry, et al; you know the ones: the ones we've all been portrayed as by the "popular media" (those guys and gals who've spent 35 years justifying THEIR cowardice by assassinating OUR character). We must never forget; and we must never be quiet. Wyoming only has one Congressman (er, person); but she knows me. So do both of our Senators. None of them has ever met me, but they have had correspondence with me, both electronic and conventional. Such is the only way to keep those folks (and ultimately, they do answer to us) in line.

The sad thing to me is that our overseas troops' principal source of knowing the level of the Nation's support comes from that very same sorry excuse of a fourth estate.

I'll get off my soapbox now, and go do something constructive.

Pickett