European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 19, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 Ann Landers dear readers if you arc looking Tor a laugh please skip today s column. It s a rerun of a letter inspired by that classic dead at 17." nuclear War what if every Inch of my body is burned. If it weren t for the screams of so Many others i d think i was alone in my agony. But i find no sympathy. I see hundreds of others whose bodies arc As badly burned As mine. I m an Anonymous num Ber in a category of statistics that no one will Ever count. We arc All nuclear War casualties. The Day i died was an Ordinary school Day. Mom dropped me off and kissed me on the Check. I thought i saw a Trace of worry on her face As the car radio said something about the govern ment s plan to deploy missiles closer to the enemy s Borders. The president said it would ensure peace. We were sitting in class when a Siren went offal the fire station. It was nothing unusual. It seemed to go off every Day but this time it did t Stop. Then the fire Drill Bell rang and a teacher rushed into our room screaming get out she was holding a radio that Kepi blaring this is not a test. This u not a  outside was pandemonium. Cars were racing around at 100 Mph. Fathers were trying to get Home and mothers were Rushing to schools. They were crash ing into each other All Over town. The last thing i remember was an ear splitting sound followed by a blinding Flash. It was As if some one had clicked a billion flashbulbs. Everyone was struck Blind. Then came a tremendous explosion and a wave of heat so intense that it fell As if i had jumped into a Pool of gasoline and someone had struck a match. Although death came within seconds it seemed like 10,000 years in hell. There is no one left to mourn me or Bury me or remember my name. I won t even be a statistic because no one is left to count the number of dead. Our Beautiful world 10,000 years of civilization with All its music Art and literature has been burned to cinders in world War Iii. Everything is in ashes. Please god Don t let it be True. Don t let this evil thing happen this planet is All we have. When they launch the missiles could t you reach Down and catch them and throw them into the Sun if you let me grow up i la do everything in my Power to disarm the nuclear governments of the world and Leach people How to live in peace. Help us to make our enemies our friends. With the billions of dollars we arc spending on weapons of destruction we could do More medical research cure cancer and Send our scientists to other planets. We could concentrate on solving such problems As pollution mental illness drug abuse world hunger Over population. The Best minds in the universe could work on constructive things instead of focusing on ways to kill the greatest number of people in the shortest period of time. Please god Stop us from hating those whose beliefs arc different from our own. Let us live As Brothers without Borders without passports and without armies. Give us a world without nuclear and chemical weapons of destruction. We All need your guidance and your love. Please god i am Only 17. Lot Angeles times syndicated columnist Lander welcomes your letters you can write to her m care on the stars and stripes Apo 09211, us forces ale Eie my by i a bTT1comments on officers wives articles please consider my observations on your recent so Ries of articles concerning officers wives. The Lead article s title to work or not to work is better writ ten paid employment or not surely you arc Sensi Tive to the fact that Many unpaid occupations arc accurately labelled work . Child care homemaking and volunteering within the Community or military unit support. My own experience runs from full time professional paid worker to full time Volunteer unpaid worker with varying degrees of part time professional and Volunteer work at other times. In the past i have been completely disinterested in military Community and spouse organizations while immersed in my career. Currently unemployed with preschool children i am highly involved in unpaid occupations. With different circumstances a Soldier s spouse is entitled to adjust her or his occupation. Your Story on owns left unc Carly answered the question of Why these clubs exist. Soldiers spouse groups be they for officer cos or enlisted person Nel s spouses hold several traits in common. Fore most the advancement of the Soldier based on a spouse s participation is by policy illegal and unethical. Nonetheless three worthwhile functions remain for these groups Charity. These organizations support individuals in need. The Community organizations raise welfare funds benefiting the entire Community. The military unit spouse support groups provide compassionate assistance to members during adversity. Variable circumstances such As employment opportunities proximity to family and friends residency on versus off Post and the Soldier s amount of time with the family affect the spouse s need for support from a group. Vulnerable times Are occasional for All of us yet common place and include arrival overseas birth death in the family marital strife medical and Legal emergencies and illness. A will Linit military unit spouse support group can handle assistance at these times on a person Al and Friendly level. Provide our overseas military communities this function is  radio and to this newspaper and Community publications cannot effectively or practically handle personal and local news that spouse support groups distribute. Fun. These groups provide a foundation for Mak ing friends and enjoying the local surroundings. Despite these valuable functions a military spouse has the right to decline from Active membership i these groups. Participation in spouse support groups is at Best for these reasons alone. Trying to impress the higher ranking couples within these groups leads to theban image they can have. Striving to make Points with the Boss or the Boss spouse is insidious because the focus is put on the individuals who need the groups the least. Inattention to the Pood neighbor functions reduces the groups to worthless cliques that leave struggling soldiers families isolated. When an officer becomes a commander he or she is thrust into a limelight along with the spouse. At this time the commander s spouse should be courteously asked by the commander and existing Hierarchy whether Slie or he cares to perform any of the traditional responsibilities. If none both the commander and spouse still need to realize that they arc setting a example. Regardless of the spouse s participation they As a couple need to show respect and appreciation for those who arc actively involved in unit and Community organizations. At the heart of the matter of soldiers spouses occupations and  is Mutual respect. Within our overseas military communities we create unnecessary problems if we believe that our own work is More important than someone else s work whether paid or unpaid. The Quality of All of our lives depends on our successful cooperation and deference toward each other. Diane Anzolut Curry Wurzburg West Germany when a woman officer s wife or not refers to other women her Peers As girls in sadly reminds us All that we be got a Long Way to go. Name and location withheld communication. Spouse support groups provide network for information dissemination. Within of allies should pay More says Reader before Reading your More letters in 88" column i had planned my own letter to the editor addressing what i think is of importance and inter est not Only to political leaders but to those of us stationed overseas. In that column you tallied let ters of substantive and not so substantive matters of interest. One topic not mentioned was Burden sharing by our nato allies. We must not delude ourselves by thinking that general Secretary Gorbachev s policy of perestroika and the focusing on the internal Domestic prob lems that exist within the soviet Union . Alco holism in the work place has dissuaded him and totalitarianism. A soviet is still a soviet by any other name. Perhaps this new openness is what is so Appeal ing to those West germans seeking a reunification of East and West. However Gratifying the cause this is premature. The East German soviet proxy i m sure is All ears. Perhaps the signing of the inf treaty Between former president Reagan and general Secretary Gorbachev dismantling an entire class of nuclear weapons is reason enough to give a sigh of Relief and embrace the thought of real peace. However progressive the step the seemingly accommodating soviets still retain first strike capability in their land based missiles. Perhaps the United states becoming a Kinder gentler nation under president Bush would seem to invite detente. Not so. This should be viewed As America s Domestic slogan and should not be con fused with foreign policy in regard to future rhetoric with the soviet Union. It is Only through the kind of hard headed de Tente and deterrence symbolic of the Reagan Era that will keep the russians at the bargaining table. It is through nato s strength that the bargaining table exists. America cannot and should not carry a disproportionate share of the Load in funding it. America is certainly not alone in wanting to fur ther the cause of Freedom. Ii is partly because of nato s military buildup that the United states has incurred an exorbitant National debt a debt that threatens the economic strength that is the foundation on which the bargaining table stands. It s been proven that mutually beneficial bargain ing can Only be accomplished through a Strong Alli Ance namely nato. While America gets its House in order those nations desirous of Freedom must take upon them selves the responsibility of ensuring for themselves that Freedom and that Means sharing the Burden. If not we can expect the kind of Token concessions that were made by the soviets in the Carter administration. That Ain t Progress Roy l. Sims manster Wieburg West Germany european edition col Jeffrey m. Cook. Usa commander editor in cruel it col Suzanne l. Phillips. U5af Deputy commander editor in Obel Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott production. 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