Regarding “Still in Saigon—in My Mind” (Chronicles, December 1985) anyone who is standing up to cheer Rambo deserves to be taken for another ride; perhaps to Central America. Stallone is a multimillionaire who avoided the draft and thinks of American Foreign Policy in comic-book terms; similar to the President, who also avoided any real military action. Rambo is garbage, an insult to the pain and suffering of real soldiers who really bled and really died. Only little boys stand up to cheer this mess of a movie.

If we want anyone to fight anywhere for America, then we must have the decency to tell them the truth. Poor people and patriots fight for America; the rest of us will go to college or, if old enough, send our children to college.

We were right to be in Vietnam but afraid to say so and to follow through with the destruction necessary for a victory. We all know the rest of the story: Jane Fonda won and moved on to leg warmers and a flat stomach. “Rambo” was in Europe teaching rich girls how to exercise—that was his contribution to the war effort. Boys went to Vietnam and became part of the body count. Today’s tough-talking conservatives and movie heroes all avoided actual combat experience. If you want to cheer, be my guest. Next time, I plan to stand behind a tree with a sword and yell CHARGE!

        —Tom Sullivan
Rochester, New York