'The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because He loves what is behind him.' -G. K. Chesterton

10 March 2012

A New Home For The Artwork

First, thank you all for chiming in. I really appreciate your thoughts and ideas. We're going to incorporate most of them in the decision on what happens to it.

In reading your responses it became clear to me  that destroying it was a non starter and flat out wrong. Preserving it and either going ahead and displaying it or finding it a new home was the popular advice and seems like a good idea. I still cannot bring myself to display it here so we needed a new home. Enter The Sarge.

Sarge is a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and past president of the local chapter. He called the treasurer and they agreed that it's something they'd love to have, either to auction it off to raise funds to help veterans or to display in their own building. You guys are right, it's too good a piece to simply destroy and Rietsch and Carl too honorable men and warriors to discard. I thought that turning the piece over to Vietnam Veterans was right and proper. Ed is absolutely correct, "Not all aces were heroic and not all heroes were aces. But history doesn't distinguish morality of the players." I'm happy to turn Cunningham's judgement over to the men and women he served with, however distantly.

So I turned the piece over to Sarge who will present it to the VVA with my thanks and no strings attached. They may judge the value of it as they deem fit and do with it as seems proper to them. I am both relieved and happy to have found honorable and fitting caretakers for what is an awesome work of art.

Thank you all again for weighing in on this. I know that it seems to be a minor thing but matters of honor and integrity are important and need to be given the weight they deserve. Thanks for getting my head straight on this.

Six

2 comments:

Keads said...

No, matters of honor and integrity are important. I am glad this turned out well.

Six said...

Thanks for weighing in my friend.