Last Sunday, the Denver Post reported on attitudes about the occupation in the smallish Colorado town of Trinidad. They included memories of American soldiers from one Linda Barron:

Though 53, Barron sees the nation's role in Iraq through the eyes of a child.

A daughter of North Vietnam, she remembers how the Communists tried to take her uncle's land. When he resisted, they ordered that a hole be dug. Her uncle was placed in the hole. Then, the Communists ordered that family and friends stone him to death.

She also remembers well the faces and actions of the Americans who arrived in her home country.

"Every time they received a letter or a small box from home, they are so happy to share it," she recalled. "You'd see them read the letter, put it in their pocket. An hour later, you'd see them reading it again."

She remembers the day a soldier received a plump red apple, then passed it around so all could have a bite. And the day the soldiers passed around the green Army helmet to collect money.

"I didn't know what it was for. I didn't know if they were gambling or going to the PX to buy candy and soda. One day, I followed. You know where they take it to? To the orphans, to the children," she said.

"I remember that they care," she said. "The American people are the greatest and kindest people on Earth, and I'm 53 years old and I still believe that.

"I hope that someday an Iraqi child can have a story to share like mine. Now, children in Vietnam have a chance to go to school, and now Iraq. You're there to open the door and give them a chance, and that's why they'll have a chance.

Sadly, thanks to the efforts of people like John Kerry, the Vietnamese had to go through a long perdiod of re-education before they could start their education.