It was with tears in my eyes that I read the touching article in last week's Towson Times, "Heroes past and present honored at Dulaney Valley" (June 1, 2011).

My 90-year-old sailor's mind flashed back to my tour of duty (1943-45, U.S. Naval Reserve officer) aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise in the Pacific, where we were involved in 13 major engagements as we moved westward, recapturing the islands and naval bases.

During the course of battle, enemy planes naturally attacked the carriers first in order to hopefully gain an advantage.

While witnessing many, I was also aware of numerous other encounters where there were hundreds of casualties. Home contacts then had to be made with an explanation, "lost or buried at sea," which left these contacts with only a memory — but with no actual body, and with no place to pay their respects on land or in a cemetery on a formal or informal basis, a big difference, indeed, with which to live.

Quinton D. Thompson

Towson