Our soldiers should start a union

We now have seen political correctness in picking heroes. At the site of the twin towers, we had fireman and police, city workers and many people off the street perform extraordinary feats.

Except for the civilian folks, the others have insurance to cover injuries, lost wages, death insurance, and can go on paid disability for an extended time. They can also retire early with a very fair retirement package. Another words, these people have not suffered any monetary loss for their valiant efforts. What they are seeking is a reward on top of everything else. Perhaps it would be fair if all heroes were treated the same by our Congress. What about the valiant deeds being done every day in Iraq, or Afghanistan or all over the world?

Soldiers are coming back from these battles, missing limbs, with physiological problems; where are their rewards? Their reward is a first-class prosthesis, three squares a day and a few bucks every month. Our nation wants a first-class volunteer army and pays them second class wages — with no “rewards.” Every so often a president will use a few of these heroes for a dog-and-pony show to convey the “gratitude” of the people. So there must be two different kind of heroes; the union heroes and the grunts.

Perhaps the soldiers (grunts) need to organize into a union to make sure they get in on the “rewards” gravy train.

D.O. Lipensky

Wheaton