Mailbag: Writer took great risk crossing into North Korea

As a Korean War veteran, I was more than interested in David C. Henley’s recounting of his trip to the Korean demilitarized zone (“Reader Report: Crossing the Cold War frontier into North Korea,” Dec. 23).

As “the forgotten war,” the Korean conflict has never received its share of journalistic attention. Henley graphically describes the history of the conflict and also brings us up to date on the current status.

However, there is a caveat, specifically the political mind-set of the North Korean government. What would appear to be a harmless prank on the part of the Henleys, crossing into the North Korean side of the conference room, could have turned into a international incident.

Specifically they could have been snatched by the guards and held as political prisoners. Considering the ongoing brouhaha with Sony, we must remember that the North Korean regime has no sense of humor when it comes to these matters. We must keep this in mind any time we place ourselves in a position that can be exploited for political purposes.

Norman Cowden

Newport Beach

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Respect age — it means experience

Re. “Lawsuit by 3 Newport Firefighters Alleges Age Discrimination,” Dec. 24:

Experience counts. Thumbs up to our three experienced firefighters. Age means experience. The toughest first sergeant I knew in Vietnam was over 50.

Al Wonders

Newport Beach

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Mike Henn deserves mention

It’s hard for me to believe that Mike Henn, a former Newport Beach City Council member and mayor, received no mention in the DP 103.

Mike has been a tireless advocate for Lido Island and the Balboa Peninsula. I have worked with him on Balboa Village revitalization, and he has always brought reason and common sense to our meetings. The hours that he has put into making the city a better place certainly deserves some recognition — certainly a lot more than those bunnies do.

Jim Stratton

Newport Beach

Editor’s note: Outgoing Councilman Mike Henn was accidentally omitted from our end-of-the-year list known as DP 103.