War Began

THE YELLOW ribbons, those few that remain in view, are faded and tattered.The red, white and blue flag-emblazoned T-shirts are stuffed in the back of the closet, forgotten ornaments of another era.Does anyone remember the Persian Gulf War?A year ago today the war began, a war that would be played out live on television. Suddenly everyone was talking about Scuds and sorties and collateral damage. People succumbed to "CNN syndrome," remaining glued to their TVs, unwilling to miss a moment. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and Gen. Colin L. Powell became instant heroes, Saddam Hussein instant enemy, and the "mother of all battles" fodder for comedians coast to coast.

For some county veterans of the Vietnam War, pictures of bombs exploding in the Persian Gulf region and beaten-down prisoners of war pleading for peace have been like a rake, slowly dredging up memories of long-buried pain and confusion."

THE beginning of the end came at a moment of great triumph. The sound is what I remember best about the State of the Union message George Bush delivered to Congress on Jan. 29, 1991, just two weeks after the gulf war began -- the sound not of his voice but of the huzzahs, the cheers, the roars that interrupted him time after time.No matter that the speech was long on the self-congratulation of a country engaged in foreign conflict and very short on a domestic program. The room was stuffed to bursting with approval, like helium, threatening to levitate the man.Did he remember that night when he looked into the unforgiving eye of the camera Monday and pleaded with the American people to vote for him, a little plaintive, a little perplexed?

The yellow ribbons, those few that remain in view, are faded and tattered.The red, white and blue flag-emblazoned T-shirts are stuffed in the back of the closet, forgotten ornaments of another era.Does anyone remember the Persian Gulf War?A year ago today the war began, a war that would be played out live on television. Suddenly everyone was talking about Scuds and sorties and collateral damage. People succumbed to "CNN syndrome," remaining glued to their TVs, unwilling to miss a moment. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and Gen. Colin L. Powell became instant heroes, Saddam Hussein instant enemy, and the "mother of all battles" fodder for comedians coast to coast.

As images and news about the war in Iraq have loomed in recent weeks, Howard County religious leaders have been focusing on messages of peace. Members of many area churches and synagogues have been straddling the fine line between support for U.S. troops overseas and discussing whether the war is just. Whether their members have supported the war or opposed military action, many congregations simply prayed for a peaceful and just resolution. "Our congregation is very divided about this particular war," said Rabbi Sonya Starr of Columbia Jewish Congregation.

Man puts U.S. flag up in lightsStan Ekovich of Reisterstown was looking for a way to support the American troops overseas. Then a light bulb went on over his head.Make that a thousand light bulbs.On Jan. 18, two days after the Persian Gulf war started, Ekovich erected a large wooden frame on the front of his house. He then arranged a thousand red, white and blue Christmas lights within the frame in the design of the U.S. flag."This is just my way of trying to reach out to the guys overseas and letting them know we're standing behind them 100 percent," Ekovich says of his electric flag.

Bolster the role of moderates in Indonesia What a pleasure to see The Sun's thoughtful column on the complexities of the political situation in Aceh ("From crisis, opportunity," Opinion * Commentary, Jan. 12). There are forces within the Indonesian government that promote a peaceful settlement to the Aceh problem. But they are confronted by the hard-line military elements who would rather keep all foreign observers out of the province. It is particularly important that the U.S. government bolster the position of Indonesia's moderate voices by ensuring that aid delivery is not diverted and misused by the military but is delivered to its intended recipients.

Towson University freshman Mike Johnson saw the writing on the wall the moment the first bomb fell over Baghdad: So much for spring break. Johnson had been planning to descend on Daytona Beach, Fla., this weekend with eight friends for his induction into the annual smorgasbord of beer and bikinis. But the group agreed that with the invasion of Iraq under way, and a nation braced for terrorist attacks in retribution, the trip was too risky. Three days into war, Marylanders are finding their routines and plans affected by the far-off fighting in ways both big and small.

BEIJING - With the winter light fading over the walls of the Forbidden City, the shadows of the two old soldiers lengthened as they walked through the packed snow that covered the sprawling courtyards and tile roofs of what was once the home of Chinese emperors. One was Chen Shaokun, a former Chinese soldier who oversaw six prisoner of war camps during the Korean War. The other was Vince Krepps, who had come from Towson to try to learn what became of his twin brother, Richard, during the war a half-century ago. Connected by conflict, the former foes seemed an unlikely pair: Chen, a diminutive, 70-year-old in dark glasses, a leather jacket and wool cap, and Krepps, a stocky, 69-year-old packed into a raincoat with his neck wrapped in a brown and black plaid scarf.

THIS JOURNEY began innocently enough, a curious foray into my family's history. But I find it has led me into an unexpected place of greed and betrayal, slavery and cruelty. For generations my father's family has passed down a legend. It is a story of an early white settler in northern Alabama named John Gunter who married a Cherokee "princess." My father's mother was a Gunter from Alabama, and as I grew up I was intrigued by the romantic tale. I always proudly added "Cherokee" to the list of otherwise European nations whose blood we believed moved in our veins.