With reference to Sen. John Matthews’ commentary on#; Aug. 11, “Hillary Clinton is due a ’thank you,”’ I want to say that I am certainly thankful that the politically myopic Sen. Matthews is not my legislative representative. His claim in that article is based on the fact that Mrs. Clinton supported a bill that extended family health leave benefits to the families of military members wounded in action.

His statement, “She joined with those of us who carry the burden of worrying about a family member deployed overseas, and she stuck with us,” seems to imply that Sen. Matthews thinks that Sen. Clinton cares a whit about the welfare of any military person – wounded or not!ˇ

Does not the good senator from Orangeburg remember that during the first few months of the first Clinton administration that the then-first lady met a uniformed Army general on a mission to the White House and told him that “uniforms are not appreciated here.” It has been well documented that the draft-dodging Bill Clinton and his ACLU-loving wife only grudgingly tolerate the men and women of our armed forces. To display their real attitude openly would be politically unpopular for them in the larger landscape of public opinion.

For the record, I served nearly 43 years in uniform, with a spouse who is a veteran, and until recently had three sons and a son-in-law on active duty with the military (One son retired with 20 years of service). Another son, a Marine, served in Iraq on three occasions, with one trip to GITMO. We are a “military family” with similar “concerns about our family members deployed overseas.”

– Max J. Kaster

Pastor

Calhoun Baptist Church

n Why no Amber Alert

for missing boys?

My heart goes out to the Disher and Whetstone families in their recent loss and the tragic death of Master Kiedrick Disher. It is a lost for the entire community and my prayers are extended to the family.

I was just a bit confused when reading the article and the sequence of events that led to the discovery of the accident. If the boys left home on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., why was there only a statement issued on Wednesday? Is Orangeburg not privileged to be included in the Amber Alert program? Was there some reason why this was not thought of as the type of emergency that warranted the use of this program? Had it been used, someone may have discovered the boys in time to save a precious angel’s life.

I have seen the Amber Alert being used when others have been missing for only a few hours. Was this not the case when these young men went missing? Is there a double standard on which persons are more deserving of emergency response when it comes to the people who are missing? I am only asking what is the procedure and what is the age or time that is required to put this service into use?

Were these young men not worthy of the expense or time in using this program? I was heartbroken and angry when I read the headlines and the follow-up story in Friday’s T&D. I was embarrassed by the reporting of the time line and the discovery of the crash scene.

The paper even mentioned that the sight was on a frequently traveled highway and yet two young men lay there helpless and afraid. Had the Amber Alert been used more urgently, maybe some good Samaritan might have gotten out of a car just to check and see if anything was out of order on the path that these young men took to get to or from their planned destination.

We can’t change anything now that God’s plan has been ordered. Again, to the families of these young men, my heart-felt prayers are with you in this time of trouble and stress. Look to the Lord for strength and guidance. He is a comforter in times of trouble and he will be with you when you need him the most..

– John E. Graves, Orangeburg

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