Editor, Times-Union: Things have changed tremendously in the military since I served in World War II 73 years ago. According to my sources of information, some are very good changes and some extremely bad. Today the military has the smart bombs, stealth bombers, the steel-plated Humvee, night goggles, bulletproof vests and many other state-of-the-art weapons and gear for protecting the soldiers, which were not available during World War II. And now for the extremely outrageous things that are happening in our modern military. I just received a letter from the organization Chaplain Alliance on behalf of Monifa Sterling, a devout Christian who is now an unemployed marine. She served honorably in service to her country, but she will never be able to get any veterans benefits. What was her crime? She posted her favorite Bible verse at her workplace at Camp Lejeune. “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” paraphrased from Isaiah 54:17. Monifa printed this motivational scripture out three times. She cut them into three small strips and posted them at her workspace, one for each part of the Holy Trinity. Her supervisor cussed her out and told her to take them down, that she did not like the tone of the verse. When Monifa came to work the next day she found that her supervisor had torn the scripture down and thrown the papers in the trash. Monifa turned the other cheek as her Christian faith tells her to do, reprinted the verse and put it up again. Soon thereafter she was court martialed. Monifa represented herself at the court martial, and when she lost she appealed to the Navy-Marine Court of Criminal Appeals. The court found that there was no exercise of religion in posting a Bible verse. Thankfully, lawyers at Liberty Institute have taken up Monifa’s case and appealed to the highest military court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Pray they will reverse the previous decision. Case #2 – A letter from Major Bill Donahue (USMC-retired) on behalf of Major Matt Golsteyn, an American hero who has been stripped of his Distinguished Service Cross, his Silver Star and his Green Beret title! Yes, Major Golsteyn, who singlehandedly ran the length of a football field under Taliban sniper fire to save the life of a U.S. Marine soldier in Afghanistan. He led 80 troops in a four-hour fight against Islamic insurgents. To make a long story short, Major Golsteyn served his country with honor, protected the soldiers under his command, and did exactly as he was trained to do in deadly combat zones. So why did he lose his Distinguished Service Cross, his Silver Star and his Green Beret title? Outrageous, you exclaim! He was indicted for a split second action in a combat zone for killing a “known” bomber who had recently murdered two U.S. Marines and injuring three other soldiers who were assigned to his team. To indict this brave Green Beret was insanity! Government bureaucrats gone amok! United American Patriots are fighting to get his medals and title back. If you would like to help, you may send a gift to United American Patriots, P.O. Box 96565, Washington, D.C., 20090. Please pray for all our soldiers, those on active duty and many wounded warriors needing medical care, employment and those with many other problems. May God bless America. Bill Chumbler Winona Lake
