Students Must Remember Tradition Of Military Service

To the editors:

The column by Phoebe Kosman ’05, (“Poor Man’s Fight,” May 17) is much appreciated by those of us who are both Harvard graduates and military veterans of service in a combat zone. It is encouraging to know that at least some Harvard students are thinking about their privileged positions in life in a time of a war. When I arrived at Harvard in the fall of 1971, just after serving a year in Vietnam, my personal experience was that not only was there a lack of appreciation for my service, I was instead treated with a bit of scorn for having served. I sincerely hope those who do not have the privilege of serving their country in the military will see fit to honor those who make that choice, such as my son, William Taylor ’04, and his six classmates who will receive their commissions as officers through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) upon graduation from Harvard College next month.

If you step in to look at the plaques and the banner hanging in the chapel at Memorial Church, you might pause and consider that these (who have had to travel across town to MIT two or three times every week for their ROTC training) are far fewer than the 10,000 men of Harvard who stepped forward to serve in World War One. But you should also appreciate the fact that least some are carrying on Harvard’s tradition of military service that goes back to President John F. Kennedy ’40, President Theodore Roosevelt, Class 0f 1880 and his son, the World War One aviator Quentin Roosevelt ’41, and Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Class of 1860.

MICHAEL W. TAYLOR ’75

May 18, 2004