A soldier mourned; guns and the Lege

A soldier mourned

Tuesday is the first anniversary of the death of my friend, James N. Patterson Jr. We met in Korea, in the Army, during the war.

Jim’s contributions there included construction of the concrete arch bridge over the Pukhan River. One of the two original spans had been demolished, and 8th Army needed it replaced so tanks could use the road parallel to the front.

Jim installed a portable, pre-fabricated Bailey Bridge, but our group commander wanted to match the remaining arch. He did that with limited equipment, material, manpower and time. The bridge is now a museum.

Jim was responsible for reconstruction of the Yongsan area for use as 8th Army HQ, rebuilding the battered, shell-torn buildings in record time. Today it is almost a city itself within Seoul.

Our battalion awarded Jim the Commendation Medal, only the second one it ever awarded. During our return to the U.S., while billeted in Inchon, we learned that other commands had awarded officers the Silver Star just for not screwing up.

Our families, Jim’s home city of Fort Worth, the state of Texas, the U.S. and the Korean people can only mourn the death of this fine human being.

— Sid Friedman, New York

Guns and the Lege

While rereading To Kill a Mockingbird in preparation for the release of Harper Lee’s next book, I came across a passage in which the children of Atticus Finch asked him to carry a gun to protect himself from Bob Ewell, who had threatened to kill Atticus for defending a black man accused of raping Ewell’s daughter.

Atticus replied that “havin’ a gun around’s an invitation to somebody to shoot you.” His worried children, Scout and Jem, persisted, to which he said, “Nonsense.”

Have any of the legislators suggesting that walking around with a gun is a “God-given” right ever read To Kill a Mockingbird?

I firmly believe in every citizen’s right to bear arms under the Second Amendment, but I adamantly oppose open carry, campus carry and unlicensed carry. The fine law enforcement officials of Texas don’t need any more “help” from the residents of Texas.

If walking around town without a weapon is good enough for Atticus Finch, it’s good enough for me.

— William W. Thorburn,

Benbrook

I’ve always supported my local stores. I’ve never felt unsafe going to restaurants, movie theaters, malls or retail stores.

Open carry will change that. My family’s safety is paramount. If we see guns at these places, we will politely leave and not return.

I hope businesses continue to thrive, but we can eat at home, drive through, order things online, buy movies on satellite.

I doubt legislators would listen to merchants since they’ve ignored university chancellors, security companies and police. Who do they really represent?

— Bob Ure, Arlington

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "A soldier mourned; guns and the Lege."