What a late Korean War veteran has to say to Ukraine
My name is Horace Stokes. I passed away nearly ten years ago but feel compelled, nonetheless, to take a moment and send you a note.
I realize this is a bit unusual; however, I believe extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I would like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to know I was a military veteran; serving with the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.
As any veteran of combat would confess, I saw things I wish I had never seen and experienced things I wish I had never experienced, but I felt as though our “mission” was just. An aggressive communist country, supported by the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union, had invaded a weaker one, with the goal of occupying it; a scenario that must seem painfully familiar to Mr. Zelensky.
As much as I hate war I felt as though “we,” the United States and our allies, did the right thing; standing and fighting with the people of South Korea against tyranny. And now, just 75 years later, during the span of a week, my country’s leaders seem to have embraced totalitarianism. On Feb. 24, the U.S. voted against a resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine; we voted against one of the founding principles of the United Nations, that one nation must not invade another; the most shameful vote the U.S. has ever cast.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/forum-what-a-late-korean-war-veteran-has-to-say-to-ukraine/
The above was written by Scott Stokes of Marysville on behalf of his father, Horace Stokes.