Herb and all,
 
Neither the body count or the number in country had anything to do  with our 
commitment or lack thereof in Vietnam. When a soldier is being fired  upon and 
has to radio for permission to return fire, that's a lack of  commitment. 
Remember, we didn't have cell phones in those days and military  radio's, as good 
as they were, often couldn't contact anyone. I was with an  armored unit in I 
Corps (DMZ area) from 1970 to 1971 and saw a lot of strange  stuff, but 
having to ask for permission to return fire is the one thing that  really burned my 
butt. Sometimes we just didn't ask for permission and pleaded  no radio 
contact when questioned after the fact. It was easier and saved our  butts on many 
an occasion.
The one thing that concerns me when these discussions come up on the list  is 
that I doubt that many people on either side of the issue know what happens  
to the human body when it is hit with a fifty caliber round or a grenade. Or,  
when a RPG hits a tank and burns through the armament and blows up inside the 
 tank turning those bodies into chipped beef. War isn't pretty people. Part 
of my  duties while in Vietnam were to identify bodies at the morgue when they 
were  brought in from the field. I still have nightmares about my experiences, 
and  don't talk about them very often. The decision to go to war has to be 
taken very  seriously. People talking about body counts like your counting cord 
wood makes  me sick. Take a walk through a veterans hospital sometime and meet 
some of the  walking dead. Your thoughts on war will change, I guarantee it. 
War isn't good  for any living thing.
Time to step off the soap box and mix a drink. Coke has a new Diet Coke  made 
with Splenda. No more Nutrasweet poisoning. Yeah!
 
Rummy