Mailbox for Sept. 2

If we hadn't acted in World War II, we might be speaking Japanese now

In his recent column, Mr. R. P. Adamson courts the paranoia and self-loathing of the "Blame America First" crowd.

Mr. Adamson claims "a bit of World War II history is in order." I agree:

First, Japan was an evil empire, enslaving, torturing and killing civilians they encountered throughout the Pacific. American POWs were not treated any better.

Second, Hirohito, with a decimated military and a blockade starving around 200,000 of his people a month, could have saved his nation at any time by surrendering.

Third, every Japanese citizen was expected and trained to be a combatant in the imminent U.S. invasion of Japan: there was no such thing as a Japanese "civilian non-combatant."

If we would have shown restraint against the Japanese, either they would have won, or we would still be fighting World War II today. Hirohito, with almost nothing left to defend his country, proudly refused to cry "uncle."

It is estimated that millions of Japanese and a half million Americans were saved as the result of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

That's a lot of heroes who returned alive to a free nation so their grandkids could work in drywall businesses.

Is America guilty of some horrible things? Just like every other nation, yes. Horrible tactics, though, are sometimes justified against horrible regimes. It is the language they respond to, as history proved in August 1945.

We are the only country in history which has conquered so much of the globe without building an empire.

Our youth constantly go to foreign lands and risk everything to bring freedom to total strangers. The only land we have kept is the land on which we buried our dead, and the only military presence we have is that which those freed nations beg us to maintain.

Jason Rydgren, Kersey

Peggy Ford is a wealth of knowledge and a great ambassador for Greeley

Among his many fine employees, I want Roy Otto to know what a fine ambassador Peggy Ford is for the city of Greeley.

I have known her for many years, as I have worked on various projects regarding Greeley and Weld County, and she has proven herself to be one of the finest resources I have ever encountered.

She is helpful to a fault, invariably courteous, and always creative in her attempt to help patrons. I have shared my views with many people who have had the pleasure of doing research at the museum, and all speak of Ford in superlatives.

I am writing because I believe it's time for Ford to receive recognition for the devotion she has given to her job. Not many people in that position would walk the streets of Greeley with a map and a phone book to understand where things are and how places and institutions have evolved over the years.

Her understanding of this region is encyclopedic; anyone who has used materials under her control knows that she works diligently, weekends and nights, to locate information relating to her patrons' topics.

She goes about her searches with uncanny energy and a genuine interest in everyone's particular quest. I have spent many hours doing my own work in the museum, and I know how Ford will drop what she's doing to attend to drop-in patrons, some of whom need very basic guidance in their search for answers to questions.

While I am confident many people working for the city merit applause for their dedication, Peggy Ford is providing this community with a level of unselfish and committed service that deserves public recognition. Her patience, tact, intellectual curiosity and mastery of archival resources is extraordinary. I hope you will find a way to acknowledge how vital her efforts are in creating good will with the thousands of people who seek her guidance.

She is truly one of a kind, and she is a modest example for bureaucrats who worry more about their jobs than about the people they serve.

Daniel Tyler, Steamboat Springs