1568 Waff Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23464
13 January 1981

Editor
The Virginian-Pilot
150 West Brambleton Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23501

Sir:

In my mind I carry an impression of the American Patriot: He stands in home­spun scanning the horizon. His left arm encircles his son and his right cradles a rifle. He is uncompromising in his principles, but he will reason with his adversary because he is unafraid to fight him.

This contrasts sharply with Coleman McCarthy’s impression: The unwashed dropout spilling blood and ashes on the walls of the institution pledged to protect our homeland from foreign threat, and the misguided priest naively blocking doors, unable to defend himself, unwilling to let others fight for him, and preferring slavery over the risk of death for freedom’s sake.

I am faced with a real dilemma. As a patriot I have pledged my life to ensure Mr. McCarthy’s right to speak his mind. On 27 December he argued for taking my gun away, and now he advocates removing the only remaining option (Sunday Com­ments Section, A Return to Witch burning). What are his plans? What is he pre­paring us for?

The patriot works to ensure the survival of what he loves, his family, his way of life. What does that make Coleman McCarthy?

Cordially yours,
R.G. Williscroft
467-9022 (home)
441-3625 (work)

Author: Robert G. Williscroft
Submariner, diver, scientist, author & adventurer. 22 mos underwater, a yr in the equatorial Pacific, 3 yrs in the Arctic, and a yr at the South Pole. BS Marine Physics & Meteorology, PhD in Engineering. Authors non-fiction, Cold War thrillers, and hard science fiction. Lives in Centennial, CO.