6 R's

This country has lost the 6 R’s. First to wash away have been Reading, Writing and ‘Rithmetic as rigorous pursuits in our public schools. Not far behind, sluiced down history’s drain by pacifist protestors after Viet Nam, have been the Ruthless, Relentless and Remorseless tactics of war. When it really counts, when the preservation of mind over matter comes into play, the 6 R’s play paramount roles. In the Italian campaign of World War II, 1943-1944, no holds were barred against killing the enemy - the Nazi, the German, the kraut, Ted, Hun, Boche, bastard or son-of-a-bitch. His name may have been differently expressed by Allied soldiers, but the three R’s of combat, ruthless, relentless and remorseless, held the center together for the sake of the alternative three R’s, reading, writing and arithmetic whose free pursuit was at stake back home. At an offensive near Cisterna, "a life was snuffed out every 4 minutes," a terrible price to pay to guarantee freedom. When a choice shines clear, when stakes stand highest, when defeat means death - of both the mind and a culture - remember the 6 R’s.