First-hand experience carries special weight in national war debate

The war hit close to home again this weekend with word that another Nebraskan was killed in Afghanistan, Sgt. Patrick Hamburger, 30, a member of the Nebraska Army National Guard.

He had only been in Afghanistan a week, serving with the 2-135th General Support Aviation Battalion, when he was among 30 Americans and seven Afghan soldiers, an interpreter and search dog killed when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter was brought down by enemy fire.

Among the dead were 22 Navy SEALS, members of the same unit, though reportedly not the same ones who killed Osama bin Laden.

Hamburger, who was planning to propose to his girlfriend when he returned, climbed aboard the helicopter to go to the aid of a U.S. Army Rangers unit under fire from insurgents.

Another veteran died this weekend, but Sen. Mark Hatfield's experience was in another war -- as a 23-year-old Navy officer, he was among the first American servicemen to see the devastation created by the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.

Hatfield went on to serve as governor of Oregon for two terms and five terms in the U.S. Senate, from 1967 to 1997.

He drove many fellow Republicans to distraction, voting "no" at the 1965 National Governors Conference on a resolution supporting President Johnson's Vietnam policy, joining Sen. George McGovern in sponsoring an amendment to end the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, and working to freeze nuclear weapons in the 1980s.

He was also a critic of the death penalty, and opposed abortion personally, saying his beliefs were based on the sanctity of life. A devout Baptist, he often spoke out for the sick, homess and others in need of an advocate.

Hatfield's reputation was tarnished by a pair of ethics investigations in the 1980s and '90s, but he was remembered for his "moral compass, independence and willingness to reach across the aisle" as well as a "quintessential Oregonian and a true national statesmen," by state Republican and Democratic officials.

We all have a say in setting national policy, and we always encourage citizens to educate themselves on the issues and vote accordingly.

In the process, however, the opinions of those who have first-hand knowledge about war and its effects deserve our special attention.