A TIME TO REMEMBER SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM

To my fallen brothers and sisters:My eyes swell up with tears as I think of what you have given this country of ours. You have done us proud and I pray we can do the same in your honor.

To all others:This is a time to remember those who believed in this country and gave everything they could to keep it free.

jason salsman | Kailua

LET'S REMEMBER THOSE WHO SERVED

On Veterans Day, we remember and salute those who decided to serve their country in a special way — being a military member. We also salute all the family members who have and continue to support the military members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Reserve and National Guard. Among our midst we must include the 13 individuals who died at Fort Hood.

As we mourn their deaths, let be known that they are welcome by the many others who served and passed on before them. I know my dad, 1st Lt. Frank J. Golojuch, USA, will be one of the comrades to welcome his fallen military sisters and brothers.

They all were willing to answer the call of who to send, send me.

michael golojuch, retired air force Lt. col. | Kapolei

FURLOUGH FRIDAYS

OUR CHILDREN ARE THE ONES LOSING OUT

More than 10 percent of Hawaii's most vulnerable residents got the rugs pulled out from under their little feet by the decision to slash funds for K-12 education and cut 17 days from their school year. Too young to vote and too young fight back, our most precious resources are being sacrificed due to a lack of political will on their behalf.

I have yet to hear anyone who has studied how kids learn and the value of instructional hours to seriously argue that the education of our public school kids is not going to be hurt by the imposition of these furlough days. I cannot understand how so many in Hawaii can just take these school furlough days in stride.

In an effort to confront this disaster for our children, a group of concerned parents and community members formed Save Our Schools Hawaii. The negative comments toward our efforts demanding that our elective leaders lead us out of this crisis are utterly stupefying.The lack of collective responsibility toward meeting one of the most fundamental basic needs and rights of our children — education — is shameful. Our children deserve so much more from us.

clare hanusz | Honolulu

HEALTH CARE REFORM

WE MUST PUT PEOPLE BEFORE ANY PROFIT

Finally we are making headway in providing care for all Americans with the passing of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act on Nov. 7 by the House. For too long, too many people have suffered unnecessarily simply because they did not have the means to pay for health care. And now many who did have the means are joining the ranks of the uninsured.

Most other developed nations have free health care, and there is no excuse that our country cannot provide this basic right to all its citizens. Now we need to pass this reform in the Senate, and we must stand together to make this happen. We must put national gross well being before national gross profits. It is a tragedy in a country of such wealth that senior citizens must decide between food or medicine, that children have to visit the emergency room because it is the only way for them to see a doctor and that the No. 1 cause of bankruptcy is due to medical costs.

Finally, we have a chance to stop the unjust suffering of so many and stand up for a new time where people come before profits.

candice pacheco | Kailua

CONGRESSMAN'S VOTE WORKS FOR OUR NEEDS

This is to thank U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie for his courageous stand on Saturday night to support the first-ever comprehensive health care bill to pass a house of Congress. The vast majority of the American people want this, and it also has the endorsement of AARP and the AMA.

This is not only a step for justice for "the least of these" in our society, but also a means of gaining control over spiraling health care costs that enrich the executives of the health insurance industry while impoverishing thousands of lower- and middle-class Americans every day. Congressman Abercrombie, you have my ongoing support because you represented the people and needs of the citizens of Hawaii and, ultimately, of the United States.

Rev. david h. jackson | Honolulu

BERLIN WALL

HISTORY IN MAKING A MOMENT TO CHERISH

We were in the lobby of our guest house in Berlin when someone wheeled in a television set on a cart to the center of the room. People began to gather around it with shouts of glee. I looked at the screen, and it appeared as if cars and people were streaming through a toll booth. "What's going on?" I asked, not knowing the language. "They just opened the Wall!" people shouted. It was Nov. 9, 1989, and we had just become a part of history.

At the next moment, we were on our way to Checkpoint Charlie, the main artery connecting West and East Berlin. We stood on the side of the road and joined throngs of Berliners in the most jubilant celebration ever. Families and friends were welcoming loved ones they had not seen in decades. We laughed, and cried, and drank champagne in the streets. It was clearly a moment that we would treasure forever.

Twenty years later and I can still recapture that excitement and sense of purpose we all felt. There was such a strong sense that something wonderful and historic was occurring. May the walls continue to crumble. The walls that stand between us and our life's calling. The walls that stand between people of different beliefs. And the walls that stand between us and the other creatures with whom we share this precious planet.

mark reinfeld | Kapaa, Kauai