Steadfast Freedom Fighter. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)

I am writing as the first-born child and eldest daughter of Brigadier General J. Andrew Gatsis. Thank you for the inspiring article John F. McManus wrote about my father ("Steadfast Fighter for Freedom," May 6th issue). It is both moving and informative. I say this, not only because it satisfies my personal pride in my father's achievements, but more importantly, because it illustrates for readers the essence of what moves honorable men to defend their country and to put their lives on the line to preserve the dignity of every man's life.

When considering the Vietnam War, most people think of grueling physical combat in a foreign land. Here is a story that illustrates the type of mental combat my father fought in his own country during that era.

In 1963, Lieutenant Colonel Gatsis was among 274 outstanding students selected to attend a one-year seminar course on national security at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama. This was during the early part of the Vietnam War.

At the War College, he recognized that the curriculum promoted a change of philosophy intended to transform the traditional thinking of American military officers so they would willingly forsake "fighting to win" for peaceful intellectual solutions. In reality, such "conflict resolutions" were nothing but compromising processes that would weaken our defense and move our country into international socialism under the governance of the United Nations.

Each day, guest speakers from all of the agencies of government as well as some top literary and intellectual figures spoke to the class. Very few conservatives were invited to speak, except a few token generals to camouflage the fact that indoctrination was really the agenda. The roster was mainly comprised of such liberal personalities as Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Averell Harriman, Norman Cousins, George Ball, Dean Rusk, and Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Longtime readers of THE NEW AMERICAN and other John Birch Society literature will recognize that many of these men are or were also members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) or related groups that have been attempting to merge the United States into a one world government since 1921.

After the speakers finished, the students were strongly encouraged by the college to ask questions using phones that were mounted on the back of each chair. Averell Harriman, who at the time was a roving ambassador for the Kennedy ...