Military wear faces of courage

When you see soldiers, sailors, airmen, airwomen or Marines, shake their hands and take a deep look at their faces.

These are the faces of courage, honor and pride. Aged beyond their years, fraught with anxiety and colored with a hidden fear, they laugh in the face of adversity and smile in the presence of danger. Always pushing forward, never looking back, they only look to return home to family and friends.

These faces are the faces of husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, the faces of friends. Notice the wisdom and maturity, notice the tears that are always present, but never seen. Take a good look at these faces. One of them may never come home again.

Sam Streets

At times like this, we need men like Waddle

As the United States prepares to go on the offense against terrorists with fleets of naval warships, it angers me that highly qualified people like Scott Waddle will not be there.

The Navy and the uninformed public outcry over the Ehime Maru incident, turned into a fiasco with the Navy letting Waddle go.

Where is the Navy going to get people like him? It will not. As for the do-gooders out there, it was an unfortunate accident. The United States has, at the last count, spent $60 million attempting to raise a ship that defies raising. Has anyone figured out that maybe the ship does not want to rise up from where it is? Do you think that a greater power has intervened?

Good luck, commander, as you venture into the civilian world, where I know your qualifications will be much more appreciated.

Suzanne Dykeman

Clinic's refusal to fly flag is hypocritical

Either you're with us or you're not. Either you want state funds or not. To run a public facility such as the Waianae Coast Mental Health Facility, supported by state funding -- Hawaii still is part of the United States -- and refuse to fly the U.S. flag is outrageous.

Our public schools are proudly flying and displaying the American flag at the same time as they are providing mental health services to their students. Refuse the funding if you refuse to fly the flag. You cannot serve two masters.

The time to stand up for what is right and just is now. Do you also refuse to "treat" -- and I use that term lightly -- patients who come in wearing a flag pin? I shudder to think what kind of treatment they might get in the guise of mental health services.

Take a lesson from the 10-year-old Pearl City student Rochan Pinho, who is making and selling patriotic buttons and sending the proceeds to New York. He's what the spirit of aloha is all about.

Barbara Fuller

Make sure to show Old Glory correctly

I can't say how proud I am to see so many American flags flying from businesses, homes, places of worship and cars. But out of it all, we the people must do our flag right. As I drive about I see a lot of flags that are being displayed wrong.

The most common mistake that I see when the flag is displayed vertically is the field of blue on the upper right corner. When the flag is displayed either horizontally or vertically on a wall or building, the field of blue should be in the upper left corner. There is a great web site (http://www.usflag.org) that explains everything about our flag that you could imagine. If you see friends or businesses displaying the flag wrong, inform them with love on the proper way to display it and may God bless America.

Brett Edgley

[QUOTABLES] "From the westernmost shore of America to the East Coast we want you to know of our love." The Rev. Dan Chun Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, the words he added to a proclamation of sympathy and aloha to be sent to officials in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, the sites of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The proclamation was signed by eight Oahu religious leaders and Mayor Jeremy Harris. "If we only know that she is like that, we'd never take that lady." Bart Alcaraz Husband of care home operator Agapita Alcaraz, who was stabbed to death Sunday by a resident in her care. The Alcaraz's didn't know that the resident had been acquitted by reason of insanity of a murder charge 17 years ago, after setting fire to boarding house in which one person died.

Peace, love and liberty should prevail

As the United States and the international coalition continues covert and overt actions to eliminate criminal acts of terrorism in the world, let us always think peace, love and forgiveness.

May love, peace and liberty prevail throughout America and beyond.

Ka'upena Wong

Dengue fever means no tourists

I am appalled at the ignorance of officials on Maui and state government that they would just be "concerned" about the spread of dengue fever on Maui. When tourists find out that Maui has dengue fever the island's tourism will go to zero, all due to these people just being "concerned" instead of starting a crash program with crop dusters filled with DDT, if need be.

Urging residents to take precautions is not enough. Officials don't realize what is going to happen to them when they have no tourist business. But then that's the way this state has been run for years.

Don McDiarmid Jr.

Therapeutic aides needed for children

Reading that thousands of people are filing for unemployment compensation brought to mind the fact that many children are waiting for therapeutic aides. The pay is better than minimum wage.

Prospective aides would receive training. Their responsibilities would vary a lot depending upon the particular treatment program set up for the client child. They would be part of a team, assisting a professional therapist. They would be implementing the programs designed by others and performing important observation functions. There is opportunity for professional growth.

The autistic child would be one example of a child with whom they could be paired. However, there are many other children with other difficulties who require a therapeutic aide -- in school, outside of school and in the home.

I have been told that therapeutic aides are needed so much that the airfare to the Big Island for regular work there during the week and home to Oahu on weekends is part of the deal for certain cases.

The Department of Health can be contacted for more information.

Nandarani Evans

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