From a reader in response to today’s column:

Mr. Jonah Goldberg
I have just read your editorial, Whistling Defeat,
with considerable interest in view of the analogy of
Iraq and Vietnam. In May, 1969, I joined my Marine
Corps battalion as a young infantry officer, while it
was engaged in a fierce combat operation. The 101st
Airborne were in a ferocious battle with North
Vietnamese Army units dug in on a hill that came to be
known as Hamburger Hill. My Marine unit, 9th Marines,
was working in support of the Army in the general
area, but not on the hill itself. I can still
remember reading in our military newspaper, Stars and
Stripes, in the field in Vietnam, that Senator Edward
Kennedy was lambasting the American effort at
Hamburger Hill for the casualties and in a general
indictment of our war effort. I remember also how
demoralizing it was to read what our elected
representatives were saying while we were engaged with
our enemy. I am sure that our forces in Iraq today
can sense the same frustration and betrayal as others
of us sensed 35 years ago.
Thanks for an informative message.