Tragically, others gave their lives too

Your article, "They gave their lives for our nation," touched me deeply.

I read every name and thanked the souls of the men and women who raised their hands when they joined the service to protect our beloved country. There were 144 honorable men and women named.

Every day throughout the year, we have another enemy taking the lives of babies, children, moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends and work colleagues. They die a violent, sudden, preventable death to the drunk driver.

Next year, could you list the nearly 600 names of those who die as a result of drunk driving crashes in Illinois in one year? Or the nearly 17,000 who die as a result of these crashes in one year in the nation.

Maybe it would be a wake up call for our country to realize the terror on our own roadways.

No victim of a drunk driver ever volunteered to raise their hand to die for a cause. Drunk driving is not an accident. It is a crash that is senseless, preventable and a crime.

Pat Larson

State Director

Victim Services

Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists

Schaumburg