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November 23, 2009

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Letter: In defense of National Guard duty

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006 | 7:32 a.m.

I was offended by the Oct. 1 letter from Gary Mathis, "Leaders weren't so brave as young men," not because he called the president a coward, but because he insinuated that the Air National Guard was a place to go hide from your duty. Some joined because they were starting a career or a family or just did not believe in a useless war.

I was a Guard member from 1966 until 1972 in New Jersey and I saw plenty of action on the home front. My unit was called to duty for the race riots in Trenton and Newark in the late '60s. We were spit on, urinated on, pelted with rocks and even shot at. We were issued M-16s but not ammunition - thank God the rioters did not know this.

Today there are Guardsmen and Reservists over in Iraq giving their lives for our country.

Frank V. Bello, Las Vegas

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