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Son Killed in Beirut: "Peace is not Easy to Sell"

By Lorraine Coulman

[The following letter responds to an invitation to attend VVAW's 20th anniversary celebration in New York; the writer's son was killed in Beirut, and she has helped contract a monument with the inscription "Let Peace Take Root" along with a dove and the names of the New York Marines killed in Lebanon.]

Congratulations to you and your group celebrating a 20th anniversary...Even though we are unable to attend, I'd like to say we'll be thinking of you on the 27th. Peace is not easy to sell! For some reason people have short memories, or, because it hasn't happened to someone close to them, they are not even aware of what's going on. It's just very sad to see a country that has been #1 for so long lose its strength and honor because of bad foreign policies and poor choices of aides by our President. This is what bothers us the most—did our son and his friends die in vain? As you say, Vietnam is being repeated again and again and again. Where will it be next—Korea? Anger is in every foreign country: how many more young people will we lose next time?

A memorial is great. It helps to remind people that peace has a price. But who can ever have something to replace the smiles, hugs, or even tears of our loved ones? In our minds we can hear their voices. At times an aftershave lotion may makes us stop for a moment and remember. Even a song or the way one of his brothers might smirk. Nothing will ever fill the gap in our hearts. Let's hope the American people sit up and listen. The next time it may be one of their sons who doesn't return. And, yes, where better to start than in the schools; the young people have a right to learn their history and the responsibility to get involved.

My husband is a member of the VVA and we try to do whatever we can to help. Our son would want us to do that.

We, the Beirut Families, have a paper called "The Beirut Connection." It was started by 2 mothers, one from PA and the other from NJ. All of the parents try to support them by sending news, offering each other help and advice, writing poems and stories and also by trying to attend as many memorials as possible in different states. We've been together almost 4 years and if it's God's will, we'll be together for 40 more just to tell the world we're proud of our "Peacekeepers" and to try to avoid another disaster. We have formed a good support group and at some point, soon, I hope we'll try to assist the Beirut survivors. The people who returned are not all well and as usual, our government doesn't give them much assistance. We have lots of work ahead.

Good luck in the future. We'll remember you in our prayers.

—Sincerely,
Lorraine Coulman