To his credit, he actually wrote another letter to the editor apologizing for his ignorance and insulting tone. The Snopes link has it.
reposting:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/wakeup.asp
***LOVE IT! oooooh RAAAAAAHA! I’ll bet the turd who wrote the complaint is a nasty old liberal.....glad the Lt Col educated them.********
The best approach is to assume nothing — it’s a good idea to check out the facts before finding oneself embarassed, as the original writer did. The Snopes’ article is a heart-warming summary of the 2005 affair, and the response by the writer shows he participated in a “teachable moment.” I suppose after reading this recirculating urban legend account, you’ll want to apologize to him? Best regards — I’ve made the same kind of judgmental errors in the past — don’t be _too_ righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:16-18)