Not enough support

Deepa Bharath

Local war veterans say American soldiers braving enemy fire and

sandstorms in the Persian Gulf are probably not getting enough of

what they need most from their fellow citizens -- support.

Negative comments adversely affect troops and deflate morale, said

Alvin “Bud” Anderson, who was a fighter pilot in World War II and is

an active volunteer at the Costa Mesa Historical Society.

“The negativity affects soldiers quite a bit,” he said. “They are

human beings, too. If they get the feeling that their country is not

behind them, that’s going to affect how they perform. Look at what

happened in Vietnam. It’s a classic example.”

Being a soldier is hard enough without the criticism, Anderson

said.

“These are very difficult jobs to do,” he said. “They train very

hard to do this.”

They don’t need critics standing on the sidelines and heckling

them, Anderson said.

Gil Ferguson, a veteran of three wars, says it pains him to hear

former military personnel criticizing the war as analysts for the

media.

“We’ve lost more people in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago in

the last few days than we have in the Persian Gulf,” the Newport

Beach resident and former assemblyman said. “To move an army hundreds

of miles in the desert and to lose only a couple dozen soldiers is

miraculous.”

Ferguson spent three years fighting World War II as a machine

gunner in the South Pacific. He was also called to Korea twice and to

Vietnam three times, twice as a soldier and once as a war

correspondent.

Newport Beach resident and World War II veteran George Grupe said

what these former military officers say “really hurts the combat

troops.”

“Some of these former generals and admirals must just keep their

mouth shut,” he said. “We’re also getting secondhand advice from all

these media people who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Grupe said he is positive that the war will end with victory for

the United States and the removal of Saddam Hussein.

Ferguson said he believes the “war is being fought rather

brilliantly.”

“I think we’ll wind up this war quickly, maybe even in a week or

so,” he added.

Ferguson said the key to survival for the troops is “to be a good

soldier.”

“Do what you’re supposed to do at the time you’re supposed to do

it,” he said. “Don’t do anything unnecessary. I know people who got

killed because they went out to look for souvenirs or visit their

buddy in another platoon.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.