LETTERS

Re “Army Capt. John L. Hallett III, 30, Concord,” Obituary, Oct. 25

Thank you for the very moving obituary of Capt. John L. Hallett III.

“As a high school senior, he put a stiff challenge at the top of his to-do list: Get into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Thanks to a congressional appointment, he scratched that one off his list.” You also wrote: “ ... a happy-go-lucky kid who did magic tricks and always had a smile.”

We need to be reminded constantly that behind every statistic is a human being.

It is comforting to know that our president is carefully evaluating whether to send more of our service people in harm’s way.

I recall a painting -- of an old man with his arms wrapped around young children -- with the inscription: “Do not grind the seed corn.”

Unfortunately, we are grinding our seed corn; I am sorry that Capt. Hallett was included.

Grace Adams

Palm Desert