Page 28 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • October 10, 2012 counterfeit $100 bill. Hold me up to a strong light and see Abraham Lincoln close to my heart. I strongly support solar panels on modern buildings and on utility poles, but this is about the worst place for a solar field that I can imagine. The Navy should give this Ford Island Field project the axe and move the solar panel field to someplace where the panels will not impact on the 200,000 people who visit the Pacific Aviation Museum every year. The men who flew those airplanes really were heroes. One thinks of Lieutenant Commander John Waldron, “the old Sioux.” He was half Lakota and was raised primarily by his mother’s Lakota relatives. Waldron, an Annapolis graduate and experienced aviator, led his squadron, Torpedo 8, from the U.S.S. Hornet and found the Japanese fleet approaching Midway in June 1942. Waldron led his squadron in for the first attack. Every outmoded Douglas Devastator torpedo plane in Torpedo 8 was shot down. Waldron and all his men but one, Ensign George Gay, were killed. Torpedo 6, the next squadron in, was also virtually destroyed. Ensign Gay hid under a life raft in the middle of the Japanese fleet and watched as the American bombers, drawn by Waldron’s radio message, swooped down and destroyed all four Japanese aircraft carriers and saved Hawaii from invasion. Gay never became a fan of Japan, but he venerated Waldron and lauded his dead buddies as heroes betrayed. When Gay heard that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died, he burst out laughing with joy. A lot of people who served agreed with him. Turning Ford Island Field into Lego-Land with parts made in China would not have appealed to the Americans who felt betrayed by the Pearl Harbor attack. Pearl Harbor is not the only historic site at risk. The new federal budget calls for a reduction of 8.3 percent - $183 million -- to be taken out of the operation of the National Parks. This is perhaps as dumb as it gets. Not only do the National Parks encourage Americans to love and appreciate America, but they also encourage foreign tourists to come here and spend their money here. As the country’s manufacturing base dwindles, we are going to need those tourist dollars. Here is a suggestion: Everybody who has any spare money should join at least one historic preservation group to the extent of wielding the pen over the checkbook while waving the flag. Civil War battlefields are very much at risk. The National Parks system was founded in the aftermath of concern for the proper burial of the soldiers who died in the Civil War. Most soldiers before then had been buried where they fell. Officers were sometimes sent to West Point or the family cemetery. But the casualties of 1861-65 were so enormous that a national effort was needed to give those who could be found a proper burial. The work goes on today as the places where they fought and died are protected by the Civil War Trust, which purchases section of battlefields that might otherwise be developed and which sometimes contain unmarked graves. The Civil War Trust also publishes “Hallowed Ground,” which keeps members up to date on what the successes and the needs of the group are. The Custer Battlefield Historical & Museum Association also promotes and protects that most famous of American battlefields, the Little Bighorn. Not at all hostile to Indians -- the Indians sometimes come out for get-togethers and reenacted battles -- the group includes a number of serious scholars and keeps members abreast of anything related to Custer. This battlefield also needs protection. The Pacific Aviation Museum, now engaged in preventing Ford Island Field from turning into a giant solar panel, is another worthwhile group and maintains an impressive collection of World War II aircraft and memorabilia. We need to preserve the sites, including Antietam and Gettysburg, so new generations are inspired to try to find out what really happened and not buy into misleading hack newspaper stories and political sound bites. Every American should work to save at least one park. Perhaps together we can save America. Remember Pear Harbor? Cherish that memory. The U.S. Navy is considering a proposal to turn Ford Island Field into a 4,000-foot field of 60,000 solar panels so the Navy can provide 50 percent of its own electricity by 2020. I will never forget my first interview with Pearl Harbor veterans. I was one of the few young reporters who was a U.S. veteran. I tucked my Japanese wife’s photograph deep into my pocket and parked my Toyota three blocks away behind a thick hedge as I approached the Pearl Harbor Reunion picnic in Mahwah. I expected to hear the worst, but what I heard was literally life-changing. The men at the picnic, who were in their late fifties or early sixties, were mostly survivors of the same U.S. Army anti-aircraft battery based in Hawaii. Most of them had been drafted from the five boroughs of New York and had moved to Bergen County after the war. They were largely second-generation Americans -- mostly Irish or German, with a couple of Italians and a Greek. They loved America and thought America was the greatest country on Earth. They also told me that Pearl Harbor was a setup and that they and their buddies who died were victims of an American plot. Remember: These were flag-waving U.S. combat veterans, not pacifists or political extremists. “Everybody knew there was gonna be a war,” one guy told me. “What else were we there for -- the climate?” “They wanted it to happen,” another man said. “In out battery, they had the ammunition boxes locked. When the (Japanese) started to fly over, one of the officers had to run to his quarters for his .45 and shot the lock off the ammo box so we could load the guns.” “They set us up,” the leader said. He did not refer to the Japanese. A few days later, I read an article in a different paper, and all the same guys could talk about was how surprised they were. I was surprised this morning when I read that the Navy has decided to turn Ford Island Field into a giant solar energy system. On the heartening side, those who remember the veterans refused to roll over and play dead. “We totally agree with being green, but we don’t think they should do it where Americans spilled their red blood,” said Ken DeHoff, director of the Pacific Aviation Museum, which is located near the same field. “There’s plenty of room for them to create their project off to the west, which is just scrub oak and abandoned land.” Another spokesperson compared the predictable appearance of Ford Island Field, abandoned by the Navy in 1999, to an enormous bunch of Legos. Nobody in the preservationist community thought this was a good idea, and some of them -- all of them patriotic, many of them long-term veterans of whom we can be proud -- found it infuriating and disrespectful. But the solar panels for the project, estimated at $50 million, are made in an Asian country that is definitely not Japan or South Korea, and considering the leanings of the U.S. State Department, the chances of deflecting this insult to Americans is going to take some major opposition. If I were any greener, I would be mistaken for a large Saving America one park at a time Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: Eileen Avia has earned my endorsement for election to the Wyckoff Township Committee because she will work to increase transparency and enhance the non-partisan balance we need on our township committee. Not afraid to ask the tough questions, Eileen will act as an additional check on a one-group monopoly, and further enhance the value of having a township committee with a range of views, resulting in new solutions to tough problems. Eileen Avia has been active in more than a dozen local volunteer organizations, including the Wyckoff Ambulance Corps, Scouting, Wyckoff Recreation, Partners in Pride, the Economy Shop, and the Wyckoff Green Team, often in leadership positions, as well as Saint Elizabeth’s Church. As an experienced and successful teacher, Eileen has earned the respect and admiration of many parents whose children she has taught. Eileen will actively seek out residents’ ideas and opinions while forming her own, and bring a common sense fiscal conservatism to our local government. Eileen will also work to ensure our boards and commissions, and especially our land use boards have individuals with a diversity of views. On Tuesday, Nov. 6, please join me in casting your ballot to elect Eileen Avia to the Wyckoff Township Committee. Brian D. Scanlan, Township Committeeman Wyckoff Dear Editor: It is my honor to write a letter of support to re-elect Kevin Rooney and elect Haakon Jepsen for township committee on Nov. 6. This Rooney-Jepsen team is compassionate about doing what is best for the citizens of Wyckoff. I personally know Kevin and his family and know their moral values and devotion to the town of Wyckoff. Throughout the past three years of Kevin being on the township committee, I have seen drastic improvements in the town we all love. Kevin has kept the town of Wyckoff a place where mothers like me want to raise their children. I have full trust in him that he will do the same if re-elected. Kevin is dedicated to keeping the small town charm of Wyckoff and keeping property taxes low, which is the reason I moved to this beautiful town. His commitment to the town is truly notable. Last year, during his term as mayor, there were major storms that hit Endorsement for Avia Wyckoff. Kevin and his wife Hayley were out helping the citizens any way they could. He is a true leader who does not stop until the job is complete. Both candidates are very hard working people who will keep running Wyckoff the right way. When casting your vote on Nov. 6, please cast your vote for the Rooney-Jepsen team. Karen LaCorte Wyckoff Dear Editor: I am endorsing Eileen Avia for a seat on the Wyckoff Township Committee. I have no doubt that she will be an asset to the committee and town. I most admire Eileen for her selfless volunteer work. I have worked with her as a member of Partners in Pride, a volunteer township beautification group. I acquired a respect and admiration for her fairness, intelligence, and dedication to a good cause in beautifying the township. I am sure that she will bring these qualities plus help bring transparency to our local government, should she be elected. Eileen has been a resident of Wyckoff for 32 years and I feel that she has a true respect for what the residents of Wyckoff expect from their township committee. I believe Eileen is qualified for a seat on the township committee. I will be supporting her on Nov. 6. Anthony Verga Wyckoff Dear Editor: It will be my pleasure on Nov. 6 to cast my vote to reelect Kevin Rooney and elect Haakon Jepsen for township committee. The Rooney-Jepsen team cares about the issues that matter most to our community. Over the past three years as a member of the Wyckoff Township Committee, Kevin’s devotion and care for all Wyckoff residents has shone brightly. As our mayor in 2011, he made the hard decisions on what was best for the entire community. This year, as the Finance Committee chairman, he was recognized by his peers on the township committee for his forward, out-of-the-box thinking. The 2012 municipal budget of less than one percent was (continued on next page) Approves of Avia Supports Rooney & Jepsen Voting for Rooney & Jepsen