Letter to the editor: As in Vietnam, soldiers still pay the price

As I compose this letter, I can’t help but think of all the U.S. veterans I have thanked for their service over the last 31 years. As a child and young man of the Vietnam era, and now a witness of the military actions of the last 30-plus years, I applaud the Biden administration’s action on getting out of the Afghan mess. Too many lives, too many lies and too much money.

God bless the soldiers who are at the mercy of politicians’ bad choices. They go where they are ordered, period, and unselfishly make the sacrifices.

Vietnam, 50,000-plus dead, $120 billion spent. Afghanistan, 3,500 coalition soldiers dead, almost $1 trillion spent. Countless mental health issues related to these actions. And now at least 13 more American soldiers dead.

These messes go far beyond the defense of this country. We can’t afford not to finally get out. Hopefully we will mind our own business in the future.

Leonard Mucci

Derry Township