Fraternity-Testvériség, 1971 (49. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-10-01 / 10-12. szám
If this be our condition, then we are already dead and need only to be buried. Let us pray that we too might find the hope that filled the hearts and minds of those whom we remember and honor today. But above all they had Love. Love that had strength and power. Love that was experienced by living the words of Jesus: My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Because Jesus bore our burdens even unto the cross, so we, too, bear each other’s burdens by putting on His yoke, for His yoke is Love. And this yoke of love is easy and its burden is light. And now this love has become Diamond and Golden. A love that transcends self, time and eternity. A love that labors not for the things of the temporal world alone but for the friuts of the world which is to come. This is no “pie in the sky, bye and by” philosophy, but rather the sure and certain hope gained by doing the works of God in love. And so it is that faith, hope and love abide but the greatest of these is love. People of God, Beloved Brethren, let us put on the yoke of Jesus Christ — let us dream new dreams, see new visions for our Federation and our Bethlen Home in faith and trust: that this yoke of love is easy and its burden light, Amen V^‘ ^ '^3 ^ ^ V RECENTLY MARRIED László Steven Eszenyi, son of our Controller, was married to Miss Linda Marie Bailey in Portsmouth, Virginia on September 18, 1971. Best wishes and congratulations ! A SECOND LOOK Too much has already been written and said on our involvement in Vietnam. Unfortunately, most of the writers and speakers have never been there. Many of those who have, have stayed in a relatively sterile environment with little, if any, exposure to the people— or worse, arrived with pre-conceived opinions to serve their purposes and chose to report only those facts supporting their views. But this is freedom. Isn’t that what our involvement is about? I left Vietnam the first time in 1966 when the buildup of our forces was just beginning to hit stride, roughly 250,000 strong. I returned confident that we were doing the right thing. When I arrived in 1965, the Vietnamese Armed Forces were practically decimated. Their political structure was unstable. Terrorism was rampant and their economy was shattered. Bridges were blown, power plants destroyed. All major roads were unsecure. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong units controlled the countryside. The country was ripe for complete Communist take-over. We and our allies chose to seek out and destroy the communist forces in their strongholds—in essence we were doing the job of the South Vietnamese Armed Forces. In doing this, we left the South Vietnamese Forces with a security mission—protecting the cities and hamlets. It’s about all they could be counted on to do. In the late sixties, our forces continued to grow. Major battles became more frequent—we continued to fight their war. Through the efforts of our aid program, their economy began to stir. A large portion of the population, however, was indifferent, despite continued terrorism. Then came Tet of 1968. 18 Lt. Col. Walter E. Parker
