Several years ago I visited London. Behind my hotel was a lovely park with a large war memorial dedicated to British soldiers who lost their lives in the Gulf War, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that began in 2001. This surprised me. I had forgotten that in 2001, the United States asked NATO to help us find and destroy Al-Qaeda. It was the first and only time that NATO members have been asked to defend a member country. Soldiers from Britain and other NATO countries had been fighting and dying for years. I hadn't given it a thought until I saw that memorial.

Imagine how parents in those countries who lost a child feel when Donald Trump accuses them of not doing their fair share. Imagine how those NATO countries feel when Trump says Russia can "do whatever the hell they want with them." How will they respond the next time we ask for help?

Rachel Pierson

Pawcatuck