With regard to the This is Wiltshire article "Peace Protestors Take To The Street," no, Americans don't expect to get their way all the time. But they do expect that people they helped in two World Wars to extend them some courtesy in difficult times.

These protesters seem to forget all too quickly and easily, the massive American help given to Britain and France in World War One and especially World War Two. The floor of the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean is littered with American merchant ships sunk by German U-boats while on their way to England filled with medicines, food, clothing, ammunition, arms and other necessities badly needed by England to continue the struggle against Hitler's Germany.

What if America had sent nothing? What if two million Americans had simply said "to hell with it" and just stayed home? Then what? How long would England have survived the pounding of the German air force and the unceasing U-boat war against it? Especially if Hitler had not foolishly attacked Russia?

Thankfully, we never had to find out the answer to that question.

I'm not saying Britain did not put up a good fight. They did. Considering Britain stood alone after the rest of Europe was conquered, the fight Britain put up under Winston Churchill, was nothing less than magnificent.

But with no American help whatever and with Russia not in the war, how long could Britain have withstood such a hammering? The citizens of Coventry might have a thing or two to say on that particular subject.

Since the end of World War Two Americans have felt repeatedly stabbed in the back by Russia and China, both of which received massive American help against the Germans on one side and the Japanese on the other. Both nations have sent massive supplies of weapons to North Korea and North Vietnam that killed and wounded close to three quarters of a million American boys. Some gratitude!

William Urban

PO Box 1730

Presque Isle, Maine 04769

USA