Notes & asides.(Letter to the Editor)

* Dear Mr. Buckley: Alas! It has been a rough year for Kentuckians, not least because of the Hollywoodian attempt to trivialize any entity in the interest of "survival entertainment." In the cartoon on page 59 of the December 13 issue of NR, Lemuel, noted as a Kentucky Bourbon (whether of the royalty of France, Spain, Naples, or maybe a hybrid descendant of some sort from a long gone royal fugitive from the Indian wars--who knows?), is obviously caricatured as a barefoot hayseed with buck teeth and a noticeable vacant look. On the basis of the possibility that readers may actually consider a Kentuckian, ipso facto, to be a moron, allow me to lodge a gentle protest. While most of the world's bourbon is concocted in Kentucky, most of its citizens are a cut above imbecility.

Regards,

Jim Clark

Lexington, Ky.

* Dear Mr. Buckley: I have been a subscriber to your magazine for many years. A letter in Notes & Asides in the December 13 issue took me back to a terrible day in my life, November 24, 1943, Thanksgiving Day.

I joined the U.S. Marine Corps on May 6, 1942, at age 17. After initial training at Parris Island and New River (now Camp Lejeune), North Carolina, my outfit was sent to the South Pacific. We eventually joined the Third Marine Division, which was being formed in New Zealand.

During this pause in the war, the Marines were island hopping, the ultimate goal being Japan. In July 1943, the Third Division moved into a forward position on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, preparatory to assaulting Bougainville, in the northern Solomons.