In the May 26 Los Gatos Weekly-Times, William E. Sirvatka makes two outrageously inaccurate statements about World War II.

His first is the assertion "It is well established that Roosevelt knew of the impending attack at Pearl Harbor but allowed it to happen."

In point of fact, Imperial Japan flat-out caught the United States Navy with its pants down by employing a radically new approach to naval warfare (the combination of six aircraft carriers in one massive strike), which was planned for over a year in complete secrecy. The greatest reasons for success of the strike were: 1—The revolutionary tactics involved, 2—The tremendous amount of vetting the plan underwent due to debate within the Imperial Navy over said new tactics and, most importantly, 3—A well-documented racist attitude of superiority on the part of the U.S.

Indeed, so surprising was the strike from Japan that it was "difficult for these men in Washington to accept the fact that ... [the attack] did not originate with Hitler." (At Dawn We Slept, Gordon W. Prange, Penguin Books, 1981.)

It is important to note that these racist feelings of superiority which cultivated a false sense of security in 1941 bear a curious resemblance to the same lack of seriousness about terrorist capabilities which again cost the U.S. dearly on 9-11.

As for Mr. Sirvatka's other irresponsible statement about World War II, "We declared war on Germany, not the other way around": Again, this is utterly incorrect. "Hitler took this occasion [of Pearl Harbor] to abandon his policy of avoiding open warfare with the New World, and on 11 December declared war on the United States ... At 15:30 the same day, the Congress declared war on Germany and Italy." (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 1, Samuel Eliot Morrison, page 114.)

It would be well for Mr. Sirvatka to actually research the voluminous historical records of World War II.

William Lorton

Los Angeles

League indicates
the Top Five Risks to Voters

The League of Women Voters of the United States and leaders of the civil rights community announced the Top Five Risks to Eligible Voters in 2004.

The first risk: voter registration problems. Too often the voter registration applications are not promptly or properly forwarded to election officials from driver's license agencies and other agencies that provide voter registration opportunities. We need to assure that eligible citizens get registered.

Number two: In too many instances individuals who are still eligible to vote are erroneously and improperly taken off the voter rolls. Eligible voters are urged to remain ever-vigilant and aware of their status and rights.

Number three: There are problems with the new ID requirement of the Help America Vote Act. This provision was meant to prevent fraud, or so the theory goes, not confuse or discourage voters from participating.

Number four: We are just 160 days away from the next presidential election and voters still do not know what the rules are for self-identification.

Number five: We have an underlying crisis in the way our country conducts elections. With antiquated equipment, when an election is close, it's anyone's guess who wins. Poll workers must be trained on the quirks of the machines in their districts.

League of Women Voters

Southwest Santa Clara Valley

Opinion column
was offensive to
Los Gatos girls

As one of those former Los Gatos girls of the class of 1961, I am offended by Dale Bryant's inference in the June 2 opinion column that Los Gatos girls were less than modest as compared to "Saratoga girls."

In 1961, Los Gatos High School was the school of choice for Saratoga residents who decided to complete their high school education in Los Gatos instead of transferring to the newly opened Saratoga High School. Most of the young women at that time intermingled, learned from each other, expanded their perspective of various lifestyles and were accepted by each others' families. Consequently, most of them in 2004 have enjoyed lifelong friendships with former students from each of the three geographical areas: Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga. Were there economic differences amongst the neighborhoods? Yes. Was that difference parlayed into a lower standard of proper behavior, as implied by Dale? No.

As president of the Girls League at Los Gatos Union High School, Dale had a responsibility to represent all female students. If she had spent less time insulating herself in 1961, perhaps she would have developed a less provincial viewpoint in 2004.

Marge (Fisher) Howell

Class of '61

Los Gatos Union High School

Editor's Note: Dale Bryant says her comments were an attempt at humor. She made many lifelong friends at Los Gatos High School, including the free-spirited Los Gatan Sue, who adored spaghetti straps. And Saratoga High School was not an option for students in the class of '61.

Tired of long
lines at local
post office

I don't know about you, but I am really tired of the long lines at the Los Gatos branch of the San Jose Post Office. Yes, the San Jose Post Office. We are nothing more than a suburban drop for the Meridian Avenue main location. We have not had direct mailing from here for years as all mail is processed through the Meridian Avenue location.

Waiting in line takes 20 minutes if you're lucky. Getting a letter sent from Los Gatos to another Los Gatos address takes two days. If you don't believe me, try sending a letter to yourself—yet it takes only one day to get a letter to or from San Francisco.

What's the matter with our local post office? I guess it is because we really no longer have a post office, as it truly is nothing more than a branch without full service. You cannot even get a passport in town any longer and have to drive to the Dell Avenue location to do this. If you're in business and need to post mail after work, you must get it to the mailbox before the last 5 p.m. dispatch or drive to Meridian Avenue in order to have timely mail.

Even if you're not in business and want to pay PG&E or phone bills, you will be late if you don't drop it off before 5 p.m., as it will be postmarked one or two days later—from San Jose, of course.

So why do we even have a post office in the central core of town, which is so congested already, if it does not serve our needs? People say that without a post office we have no town—well, we really haven't had a post office for years, so why not move it to the Sprouse Reitz empty building, or even to University Avenue in the R&D district?

Anything would be better than waiting in line to park, waiting in line to get to the counter, and then waiting another two days for your neighbor to receive a birthday card.

Larry Arzie

Los Gatos

Adopt a Cop
story brought
back memories

Reading the article about the program that Los Gatos police department has, the "Adopt a Cop" program, brought back memories of my youth in San Jose. I retired from Santa Clara County Fire Department, though I did once serve as deputy for Santa Clara County.

When I was in high school, a deputy would come by our street and sit there in his car and talk to us. I remember him as Jake. I can still see him in my mind as he leaned out the window of the patrol car and talked to us kids. The street where I lived was not one of the best streets in San Jose.

The years went by and, after being gone for five years in the military, I returned to San Jose. I had the opportunity to work in the same sheriff's department as Jake while he was still a deputy. To this day I still recall my amazement of actually being a deputy like Jake. I was a rookie and never spoke to him. I wish now that I had not been shy and had gone up to him and reminded him of years past when he visited the street where I lived.

Maybe if a program like the "Adopt a Cop" had been in existence when I was a kid, one of my neighbors would not have gone astray. The kid that I went to high school with went on a different path than I. I credit my parents in my proper upbringing—how else could I have not gone on the same path as "Tiny," my neighbor who later in life I would see from opposite sides of the law. Without revealing what he did and what happened to him, I will say that at this moment I feel sadness for him and the life that he led.

I hope that this program will save many children from growing up as criminals. We were all innocent children once.

Moe Soto

Manchester, Wash.

A June 9 article in the Town News section incorrectly identified sculptor David Middlebrook's wife. Middlebrook recently married Los Gatos resident Lita Ruble.