To an American Soldier at Walter Reed: Don’t Mind Code Pink, They’re Not America

By: Steve Yuhas

To the Many Brave American Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center,

As you look out your window or walk by them on the street there may be a few dozen people standing around wearing pink from an organization that calls itself Code Pink.  I know the participants look like they are holdovers from the Vietnam era and are unkempt and dirty, but they decided that protesting you instead of protesting American policy is the right thing to do.  You have to excuse them because they are Baby Boomers and represent the selfish wing of that generation.

It is amazing that they are the products of the greatest generation of Americans who fought for the freedom of an entire continent of people they didn’t know for reasons similar to the reason you went to Iraq.  You have to understand, though, that the left in our country is desperate – so desperate that they decided in March to start protesting against the men and women who preserve and protect their ability to wear pink and stand on a street corner.

Of course, a little history about them wouldn’t hurt – they did not start out that way – it sort of just went there when all of their other protests failed.

For example, they protested against removing Saddam Hussein from power because, presumably, they thought that rape rooms, mass graves and torture chambers were good and a chance at freedom brought by America, a nation that gave that same opportunity to billions of people throughout our small history as a nation, and a coalition of other willing participants was bad.

When that did not work and you and your brothers in arms moved with lightning speed into Baghdad and helped tear the last vestiges of tyranny from the halls of power in Iraq - they protested.  During the 2004 election campaign they went on to protest the re-election hopes of President Bush, obviously, he won.  In case you didn’t know, he says the greatest perk as President is not Air Force One or living in the White House, or even never having to stop for red lights, but commanding the group of volunteers that make up the greatest fighting force in the world.  YOU! 

When the people of Iraq began setting up their own government by holding elections under the threat of death Code Pink and people on the left protested again: one can only assume they wanted the vote to fail and for civil war to break out across Iraq (those were the predictions by the so-called experts, but that didn’t happen either).

And now, out your window and as you practice walking with your prosthetic leg (your real one was lost when an IED was run over by your armored HUMVEE that was left by former members of Saddam’s ranks who want him back in power, just like Code Pink, they’ve turned to protesting against you and your fellow servicemen directly.

If it makes you feel any better there are not very many of them – only a couple dozen anywhere they turn up.  They’re in Crawford, Texas as Cindy Sheehan, her son died in Iraq after he re-enlisted and was ultimately awarded the Bronze Star for bravery, but his mother has become a tool of the left to give al-Jazeera things to lead their news coverage with, but I don’t need to tell you that - the media can't get enough of her!  Anyway – the pinks (or should we call them Red's) are in Crawford, Texas sitting on a dusty driveway in place dubbed “Camp Casey” named for her son.  Specialist Casey’s father wants his mother to stop, but she’s too caught up in the spectacle now to end her protest and, of course, Code Pink is in front of your room. 

They are spread pretty thin and don’t have many volunteers if they can only manage a dozen or so anywhere they show up.

Just so you don’t become confused as you pass them or see them from your room or from physical therapy I want you to know that Code Pink and the people protesting against you don’t speak for the vast majority of the American people.  Polls that you see on television are weighted against the Iraq war and the way the President is handling it because that is how polls are done.  I once saw a poll that said that people actually believed that they were sucked up on board the mother ship of a UFO – I didn’t believe that one either.

America knows that you represent the best our nation has to offer.  You’re part of the next greatest generation and even though America promised that we would never revert to the way we treated Vietnam era veterans when they returned from war it has begun to happen outside Walter Reed.  Don’t worry, though, because across the street are some people holding American flags and waving them proudly – they know how courageous you are and how much we owe your generation. 

When I returned to the United States after Desert Storm my reception was great and in most of America your reception would be great as well.  People who work to earn a living don’t have time to protest in the middle of a work-day for anything, let alone against our own wounded troops so we tend not to come out until it is absolutely necessary. 

That time is coming and an entire caravan of people is on their way to Crawford, Texas to show the world what we think of our troops and how much we care about you, your sacrifice and your families.

Groups like Code Pink are a dying breed – they’re remnants of an era of American history that has long since disappeared, but sometimes they get an itch to protest and you’re an easy target.  You know about sacrifice and the selfish people in pink do not because you actually sacrificed more than was demanded of you for America and perfect strangers.  Code Pink and the rest of the protestors against you and your mission only know what it is to sacrifice for themself and Michael Moore. 

Don’t worry – the Department of Veterans Affairs will be there to help you when the time comes and despite what people say – you don’t have a thing to worry about they’re good people and benefits are good and will help you get back on your feet.  If you're severely injured they'll help you get everything you're entitled to and many organizations like Disabled American Veterans and a group that helped me, Paralyzed Veterans of America, are there to help you every step of the way.

Most of America respects your sacrifice and values your service.  We didn’t want Iraq to pass anything to terrorists that they could smuggle in and detonate in one of our cities and that missing leg of yours was worth the sacrifice – it may not seem that way today because of the dozen people in pink, but trust me it was.

The next time you put on your uniform look yourself in the mirror and that broad chest of medals and ribbons and think about the people you liberated and the lives of the friends you lost and then look at the sad dozen people outside your hospital room and listen to them and their little chants.  You’ve actually made the lives of perfect strangers better – Code Pink can do little more than yell through a bull horn and scribble signs with graffiti from another war at another time when many Americans thought it was okay to disrespect our veterans.

When you walk by those protestors on your way out of the hospital just look at them and you’ll see how pathetic they are.  Wear your uniform proudly and through the airport on your way home; I promise you that the reception you receive will be much better than what they’d get if they wore their silly pink shirts to any airport in America. 

Just always remember that you are a member of the next greatest generation, but you’ve proven one thing: greatness skips a generation.  The calling you accepted is a noble and honorable one, the consequences will last a lifetime, I speak from experience in that department, but you chose to serve your country and it takes a special kind of person to do that. 

America thanks you (minus the dozen or so wearing pink) and if you are half as proud of yourself as America is of you, you'll be just fine.

Steve Yuhas is a columnist and radio talk show host on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego.  He may be reached at steve@steveyuhas.com or www.steveyuhas.com