European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes letters photo of soviet . Soldiers kissing defended i did not Sec the photo of a . Female Soldier kissing a russian Cadet. However. I feel i must speak to those who choose to write you to condemn this action and your publishing of the  All of the free world and portions of the communist world Are presently engaged in an Effort to defuse the hostilities among us. No matter the Rea sons for this Young lady s actions toward our so called enemy she is licensed bythe world s actions also by our own government s actions. Check out the visit to Russia by our Navy and the Al lowing of soviet fighters to visit our air Force base in Alaska. Your License stars and stripes comes in the fact that you arc obliged to report the news As it is. If you had not you would have opened yourself to an accusation of censorship. Furthermore most if not All of those writing you i feel have had Little to no experience in War. If they had they Wouldhave reflected Back on those experiences and seen that we must look for other Means to solve our problems. That Young person May have Given the kiss that was Felt around the world to paraphrase. To further paraphrase and quote the movie ration if not himself when you put your hand into the goo that once was your Friend s face then you la know what War is All  that s War peo ple and if that s what you want then drive on. But i for one like to Sec an enjoy seeing those efforts being put for Ward to keep me out of another shooting match. That other shooting match was act 68 and another tour in Beautiful downtown Nam. And if asked again i would gladly go but not for the Lack of kiss. Sol. Maj. Charles e. Creek , West Germany. We in the military Are Here to protect and defend the Constitution of the United Stales. 1 would presume that you were Al too Busy defending us from such abhor rent behaviour to have studied the Bill frights. Part of this document guarantees us Freedom of the press. The stars and Stripe provides us with real news not filtered and tucked in to fit regulation nor processed to please the military View of the world. That is . Mark j. Buntele Raf Ben Waters England to say that i was somewhat shocked at the recent response from readers .,.would be a bit of an understatement. I can t believe that so Many readers saw simple act of two people congratulating each other on completing the  into a matter of a . Soldier kissing the  i think your readers need to examine what they View As right and wrong. Personally 1 can think of More important matters. Pvt. 2 Steven j. Nag Neu Ulm West Germany. Granted i thought the taste of the photo was a bit substandard but what shocked me were several phrases used by readers which would imply that the stars and stripes should follow official army regulation and doctrine. I was also shocked at the thoughts of those who consider a human being who happens to be a soviet Soldier to be a monster devoid of feeling and incapable of kind expression toward another. 1 have news they bleed laugh cry love and hate As much As we do. If we allow printed matter to appear inthe newspaper Only after scrutinizing army regulations and doctrine then the stars and stripes will have become no better than Krasnaya zvezda the soviet military newspaper. I thought we were Here to defend against communism and its various ills censorship being one of . Christopher d. Albee Wurzburg West German Yin t it significant to have the letters berating the female Soldier who smoothed a russian Cadet which Shook some of them in their spit Shine boots in the same paper where on the front Page you report the rousing Wel come our sailors received in Sevastopol. You want to bet that More than one sail or was kissed on that night. Ken j. Burger Frankfurt West Germany. I have found that most soldiers hear what they want to hear and Sec what they want to Sec with no regard for people s feel Ings. Your letters probably Hurt the Soldier More than the picture did. I m sure her unit and her friends at least know the truth and that sail that matters name withheld Fulda West Germany. The claims of damaged female integrity Adverse troop morale and even a suggestion of questionable loyalty to our combat troops cannot be substantiated. Women who have Confidence in their abilities have nothing to fear from a simple photograph. The value of the female sol Dier has been proved throughout our Mili tary heritage from the Days of the Ameri can revolution to the Vietnam War. Our female soldiers will continue to be an invaluable asset to our armed forces. People with the ability to Sec the Complete picture realize that the individual soviet citizen is not the enemy but rather the soviet government. Although it is True that we will face the soviets during conflict they arc Only fighting forthe ideals that their government believes True. We As american soldiers will fight for the same reasons. In conclusion i think it s time that. All soldiers in our armed forces try to seethe Complete picture not just the part that does not correspond with our Mili diary training and doctrine. We As sol Diers and individuals arc supposed to use that training and doctrine along with our own experiences to Complete our mis Sion. That is what makes our military the Best in the world. Sgt. Leonard a. Walker shape Belgium 1 have known this individual and have worked with her on occasions for More than a year. She is a Fine individual a motivated Soldier and highly capable in her Job. She docs not need nor deserve one sided slams from individuals who have no idea who Sheds what she docs or what that picture May represent to her personally. I am sure the views would have been much different if the picture had shown a male american Soldier kissing i female soviet Cadet. As yet i be heard no criticism of the male sailors in a soviet port who received hugs and kisses while in uniform from soviet women. So Why docs she have to stand trial to the masses concerning who she is and what she has done. Sgt. 1st class Edward l. Rullan Berli thank you for your levelheaded and sane response to these letter  is a sad truth of human nature that some people need an enemy As an object they can focus their hatred upon in order to build up their own self esteem. How sad that rather than Welcome the dramatic process of democratization taking place in the soviet Union Many in the . Military react with disappointment and resentment. World peace human rights Freedom and democracy these things apparently hold less in Terest for them than fantasies of combat with a monstrous inhuman enemy. Steven c. Zuidem Frankfurt West Germany i too saw the photo and agree the frontage May not be appropriate. I do not however agree with the prejudice against the two with emphasis on the soviet sol Dier. One of the letters was extremely negative and unnecessary. All the letters stressed the two sol Diers appearance and Gall what of the poor altitudes displayed by All those who wrote their Over reactions showed less class than the photo  and location withheld every letter published was negative units Content. This shows me sadly that our leaders Are incapable of change. It seems a lot of officers and senior cos have forgotten the reason we Archere. We arc Here As a defensive Force not an offensive Force. This Means that we Are not building up our resources so that we can take Over the world or some thing but so that we and our allies can live in peace with our Eastern  it or not the threat goes Down More and More every Day. We As a whole arc forgetting that the soviet people arc not and never have been our enemy. It is the communist government that we Don t Sec Eye to Eye with not the people themselves. At a time when ./sovict relations arc warming these people Are doing nothing but harm to our Hope of a peace Ful Community of nations. Spec. John Morales spec. Mary o Rourke Berlin. If More people would worry about the present instead of the past or the future then the future would be a better place to live. If it was so bad seeing those two in a picture like this then Why read the article. The article and picture were published by the stars and stripes to let you know what is going on in the rest of the world. Sgt. Robert l. Meeker i Mannheim West Germany. Beauty is obviously in the Eye of the beholder. I feel the photo effectively captured the feeling Between nato troops and new found friends of having accomplished the Day s Mission. Some of your readers letters make me grateful that this same militaristic aggressiveness is not shared by the leaders inthe top posts of our government. If people cannot Sec the. Possible Benefit of portraying him As a smiling Friendly human then we As Ameri cans still have a Long Way logo before we overcome our fear and ignorance of the soviet people. If so Many were appalled by this act of friendliness during the recent nil Mcgon March i can t wait to hear what they have to say about the gesture of Diplo Macy that recently occurred As two four Navy s ships docked at the Home port of the soviet Black sea Fleet. I feel it is time we shake those old attitudes and beliefs of the cold War Era and Stop viewing glasnost As a Trojan horse Tike my fellow soldiers. I am willing to take up arms to defend the american Way. I am however going to keep an open mind and give peace a Chance As Well. Staff sgt. Donald j. Draut Wurzburg West Germany i appreciated the editor s note after the barrage of negative comments concerning the kissing  the editor summed up my feelings about the photo and it was a Welcome Relief after Reading some of the other remarks. The attitudes expressed in one letter arc indicative of the attitudes that promote the cold War and accentuate the negative instead of contributing to the Hope that there May one Day be peace. The soldiers from the unit where i am stationed very much enjoyed the spirit of the nil Mcgon March and the interaction with All of the different units including the soviet team. Although we must All remain aware of i he threat of the enemy War Monger Type attitudes Only detract and overshadow Progress an Hope for world peace. Spec. Eric p. Watts Friedburg West Germany. Were i her commander i would recommend that she be awarded the legion of Merit medal for overwhelming the enemy with her warmth Charm Grace and Beauty promoting world peace contributing to efforts betwee two nations who desperately Long to be understood by each other for proving what Jesus Christ claimed was truth that sincerity and affection conquer Sall and for portraying the Usa As a peace Loving rather than a hate filled War Mongneng nation As her superiors clearly would like her  accusation that Public display of affection and emotion destroys military discipline reflects Gross ignorance of what motivates a True Soldier love of country family friends people. For you rambo types honorable military traditions Are not As you think they arc. Study your Wii i counterpart who sparked Freedom All Over the world by being a decent Friendly Guy Orgal who freely gave gum and Candy to the kids on the streets of bombed out towns and by doing so raised America s image to the greatest Heights in its history. Heavy weaponry does t Cut it any More. It did t work in Vietnam or Afghanistan. Having nukes did t help either. The objective is peace Trust Faith reason caring and sharing. The hardest first step is saying let s befriends not enemies. Let s try to under stand each  the second step is Totake the Finger off the trigger extend your hands out in Trust and Snake hands . Heidelberg West Germany cannot believe what the officers wrote even though i do not agree wit the female Soldier s display of affection while in uniform. If a person goes out and kisses a person of a different race or religion inthe states and someone makes these kinds of comments they re called a bigot or a racist. I thought that the photo was a great Way of showing How the people of the two countries arc the same. Pvt. 2 Jon Howard Frankfurt West Germany. And decried your response is nothing less tha Cavalier. Your statement that the editor thought that the picture ".,. Would have Broad human interest Appeal was surely made with Tongue in Check. Your com ment that it is our Job to report the world the Way it is not As people wish it to be was truly Beautiful but not Rele vant to the Issue at hand. The responses that you published surely indicate that there arc Many of us who do not agree that the Way of the world includes the kiss that one of our soldiers was participating in with one of our ideological ene Mies. Give us a break you will have our readership without this Type of sensationalism. And try to be the Way we wish you 10 be human by admitting that you arc wrong once in a while. Doug Williams Heidelberg West Germany 1 would like to add my voice of out rage to the others concerning that photo. In addition your response was totally unacceptable. Had you photographed a male Soldier relieving himself at the Side of the Road would you have printed it because it i your Job to report the world the Way it is not As people wish it to be 1 thin knot. And 1 think both situations arc com parable As to Lack of taste. Staff sgt. Johnnie l. Mock Baum older West German the comments made by the editor at the end of the kissing photo letter were completely off the Mark. I would. Like to know How or. Editor qualifies to Tell us How the world is. It must be Nice to be so aloof As to explain the hard fact soothe world to us uniformed gis. You should poll your Reading Audi ence. I View the world through military eyes and i m sure i m not alone. You Are guilty of selective a creep. Tion and sensationalism. I Don i see censorship Only belter judgment sgt. Kirk t. Harrison. Darmstadt West Germany