To the Editor:

I have come to the conclusion that the America I grew up with, no longer exists!

Everything that I was taught and learned growing up does not seem to apply today. My father was one who was forced to live in one room with the bathroom down the hall when he was just 16. Both his mother and father died during a plague when they were both still in their twenties. His Uncle Will took the three boys and one girl to live with him. My father lived with him until he was 16. I was taken to Uncle Will’s house when I was very young by my father. I remember him as a craggy looking man with a beard and finger nails that curled around his fingertips. He would make us donuts in a black frying pan as our treat for the visit, usually on a Sunday morning. My father told us that when he made a quarter his uncle would give him a nickel as his share.

My mother’s mother died at childbirth with her fourth delivery at a fairly young age. Her grandmother then was responsible for bringing the two boys and my mother up. As a result my mother had to quick school at 12 years old to go to work in a button factory, having less education than my father.

AS a result they were both strong individuals, both physically and emotionally. My father taught himself math, English, and writing all that was necessary in designing and making the tools to manufacture war equipment. Latter in his life he would prepare tax returns for 75 individuals or couples for many years for no compensation.

They always did, without question, whatever had to be done to support me, my two brothers and two sisters. During the war, my father was run down during his job as an air raid warden. As a result he spent a little over seven months in the hospital – longer than many wounded veterans. As a result my mother went to work just up from our house cleaning offices at Whitman Publishing Co. at night. I remember riding my bike up and knocking on a window to say hello and receive her instructions before bed time and for school the next day. My older brother and sister quite school to go to work to help out with the family finances. Father Porcine, pastor at our church Mt. Carmel, would visit us every week and offer my mother a small contribution.

No safety net in those days.

I could write about so much more of my life growing up, but I wanted to give some idea why I was made to believe in America and whatever you were dealt, by working hard, you could succeed. As a matter of fact it made you stronger in so many ways!

I must relate one more story. During the Depression my father rented a 16-acre working farm so that we could survive in pretty good fashion. We had our own plow horse, grew corn and tomatoes for market, and raised chicken to produce and sell eggs. I was young but was expected to work the farm like my older siblings. My father also held a nighttime job during this period. We lived very well off of our labor and had fun at the same time.

If I had any doubt that my family brought us up to honor the Constitution and love of country and what patriotism really means, I am reminded that my father took 13 of us in two cars from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Time Square on VJ night. It was a sight to behold! That experience was seared in my mind forever! A sea of humanity with one voice: thank God for our victory and thank God for all of our service men and women!

I am telling this very short story of my youth to let it be known why I am perplexed and angry at the same time, as to why all of America is not outraged by what happened in Benghazi in 2012. I should quickly add that as a Korean War vet, my understanding and knowledge of what it takes to be a responsible individual was magnified as a soldier. From day one of your training (mine was infantry) you learn that you never leave your buddy behind – even if it meant risking your own life! Without taking the space to relate the stories, let it be known that since that time I did just that, several times without thinking of any concern for my harm. Only my family knows some of the details of these stories.

Maybe I could overlook some of the details that have come to light, if it wasn’t for the lies from the very get-go. Here I refer to Susan Rice going on all five of the Sunday network shows to tell a total lie five times! We all should have known, by the immediate evidence, that it was much more than a rally. The embassy was attacked not long before that, as was the Red Cross center, and the English had already pulled out of this most dangerous location.

Add to that the fact that our ambassador had pleaded more than once for more security and was ignored.

Just recently we learned Secretary Clinton was emailing her daughter and the president of Egypt, that very night, that it was a terrorist attack!

There is so much more, such as the way the relatives of the four Americans that were killed were lied to and treated with disrespect and silence, including lies on the very day their bodies were landing on American soil, by Secretary Clinton and President Obama. But with all of the above horrendous history, one nagging and unanswered question is why the order was given to stand down! No more cover up and lies can determine that that order was not given. Just listen to the men who were there, all confirming what really happened that night for 13 hours of hell! They have no political agenda; they all have told the truth from the very first time that they spoke publicly!

It is worth repeating that you never leave any one of your fellow men or women behind, even at the expense of your own life.

This actually becomes part of you and stays with you for the rest of your life.

Richard Tomlins

Cranston