My recent column, Asking someone else's son to fight, about Iraq and Afghanistan and the all-volunteer military and the need for a draft, drew a lot of mail. Here are just two -- one from a Vietnam veteran, the other from a veteran of World War II:

You and I do not see eye to eye on almost any political issue but your May
17 column struck a deep emotional chord - both from a very personal
perspective and in a higher philosophical sense.
I am of the Viet Nam generation. I graduated from Emory University in 1967 and I enlisted in the Army out of a sense of duty when some of my generation were running to Canada or Sweden to avoid military service.   (I grew up in a part of the
country where people still spoke of a young man's "military obligation").  I
volunteered for infantry officer candidate school and I entertained no
illusions about where I would go or what I would be called upon to do when I
was there.  I came home after a year in that place and decided I had combat
experience and training that was invaluable to my country.  My belief to
this day is that the backbone of our nation's defense is a strong military
reserve.  I also believe that all of us must find some way to give back to
the country and our community so I joined the Army National Guard and stayed
in the reserve 18 more years.  When I retired from the National Guard I went
to school and became certified as an Emergency Medical Technician.  For the
last nine years I have volunteered my time with a local volunteer fire
company, answering medical 911 calls.  It give me an enormous sense of
satisfaction helping people in my community and I believe that I continue to
give something back to the community for all the wonderful things I and my
family enjoy while living in this country.
I have a son (an only child).  He is 24 years old.  He graduated from
college last May - one year ago this month.  He is an engineer - and he has
a great and secure job working at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
I have always told him of my belief that one must find some way to give back
to the country and the community and he has apparently taken me seriously.
He recently announced that he intends to enlist in the Army and go to flight
school.  His ambition is to fly the AH-64 - the "Apache" the "baddest dog in
the junkyard." Aside from sharing my belief about giving back I have not
encouraged or even discussed service in the military as something he should
consider.  This is something he figured out on his own.   He will give up
this secure well-paying job to go do this.  Neither he nor I entertain any
illusions about where he will go or what he will be called upon to do when
he is there.  I am both enormously proud of him and of course, as a parent,
terribly concerned about the safety of my only child.
That's the personal perspective --a deep personal belief that one must give
back.  And, no one can say that I am asking someone else's son to go fight
the fight.
On a more philosophical level, my military experience and my observation of
our country over the last 20 or so years convinces me that discontinuing
military conscription was terrible social policy.  There is no doubt that
our present all-volunteer military force is the best the world has ever
seen.  From that standpoint, establishing an all-volunteer military has
achieved the goal of producing a military establishment that can stand up to
anyone in the world.  The problem is that there is an enormous divide
between the military and the civilian society it is sworn to defend.  As you
point out, people are almost totally disconnected.  During the time when the
draft was operating, people had a stake in what was going on.  The number of
members of Congress who have served in the military has dwindled to a small
handful and the number gets smaller each year.  This does not bode well for
the future of our nation.  With military conscription we would at least have
a few more people who know to take their hats off at a ballgame when they
play the National Anthem.
                                                                  -- Jim Weaver  Bel Air, MD

After working my way through college, I graduated from Towson State Teachers College in 1942 and immediately enlisted in the Navy where I spent the next five years as a Naval Reserve Officer in World War II, two of which were spent in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier, The USS Enterprise.  Then after being
discharged, I taught in the elementary school at McDonogh for three years
after which I was recalled for three more years during the Korean Conflict. I am a retired, 80-year-old educator, having served as the head of the McDonogh Middle School for 32 years.
Sadly, I must admit that I frequently finding myself asking, "Just what in
the Hell was I fighting for?"
In my opinion, as a veteran, there is only one way to fight
a war and that is with an all-out will and determination to win by executing
a continuous surge which must have the full support of every American. Also
it is my firm belief that former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who
convinced President George W. Bush and the military to invade Iraq with a
scaled-back military, was responsible for our not gaining immediate control
of Iraq and therefore  prolonged the war considerably.  For this highly
unprofessional decision, I have always thought that Mr. Rumsfeld should have
been court martialed.
It is most disturbing to continually witness the political in-fighting
within our government and among our citizens, the majority of whom seem to
care less about the national issues, and instead of stepping forward with
their full support and appreciation of our military actions, they appear
more interested in pursuing their lives as usual.  This to me is a patriotic
sin, particularly in the eyes of our brave military forces whom I am sure at
times are highly confused and wondering, just why am I expected to be
willing to sacrifice my life for my selfish brothers and sisters back home
when they seem willing to use us as pawns in protecting their lives.  For
ultimate success in our Global Conflict there is absolutely no room for
conflicting in-fighting politics which appear to be penetrating the
intestinal fortitude required to guarantee success in our present warfare.
It is an absolute must that all American citizens should be properly
educated in the necessary elements required to be successful in this
contemporary conflict to assure our personal survival and our democratic way
of life.  We citizens must not be appeased and encouraged to live our lives
as usual, but should be required to feel the pinch in guaranteeing success
just as we executed in WWII.
There is no doubt in my mind that our military must come first, not only
in the front lines, but also in their needed efficient care through rotation
and rehabilitation.  Some form of military conscription plan should be instigated in the Army.
It is quite apparent that the global war against terrorism will continue in
full force and frustration for years to come . This along with the need to rotate our strained and fatigued troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the number of troops, we have in places like Germany, Japan and South Korea and now the threats from Iran and North Korea, means that the demand for additional American troops will be
inevitable.
Therefore, one must ask, will volunteer enlistments be sufficient to meet
these demands?
We can't afford to take the chance of waiting.
First, we must make enlistment more appealing by giving military
volunteers more choices about the areas in which they will receive training
for today's highly technological military before they are transferred to
front-line duty.
And second, we must appoint a congressional committee to investigate the
option for some form of conscription program and then bring the proposal to
the floor of both houses of Congress for an open debate.
We cannot afford to delay: we must be prepared."
                                                          -- Quinton D. Thompson Towson, MD