When Richard Zulch was 20 years old and a sergeant in the Army during the Vietnam War, he helped set up the stage for iconic comedian and Hollywood personality Bob Hope’s appearance at Camp Eagle outside of Hue during the Christmas season of 1969.
“It was a lot of fun, some good laughs,” Zulch told The Epoch Times. “Bob Hope, of course, was there, and so were Dean Martin’s Gold Diggers and (former NFL player and actor) Rosie Greer.”
Today, 53 years later, like so many people throughout the United States, the 73-year-old veteran, who serves as the quartermaster for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1148 in northwest Ohio’s college town of Bowling Green, sees the situation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a very serious matter that needs to be addressed beyond sanctions.
Zulch sees similarities between his three years (1969 to 1971) in the southern part of Vietnam and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was unprovoked, he said. Many view the situation as Putin’s early steps of marching on Democracy and going after Ukraine for its valuable minerals and southern ports.
“Look, we’re buying gas from Russia, even though we’ve told them we’re not going to support them and freeze their assets,” Zulch said. “That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. We need to throw as much support to Ukraine as we can. We hate war here. We like peace and tranquility, but Ukraine needs the world’s help in every way it can give it to them.”
As of March 3, at least 352 Ukrainian civilians—including 14 children—have been killed, according to Ukraine’s Health Ministry. Another 1,684 Ukrainian civilians were listed as injured, according to the health ministry.
There have reportedly been about 500 Russian deaths.
DeWine also ordered that all state agencies, boards, and commissions, state educational institutions, and pension funds, to the extent practicable, divest any investment in and terminate any contracts with a Russian institution or company.
DeWine also banned the purchase of Russian goods and services and directed the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to divest from Russian assets.
“As Russian aggression continues to intensify against the people of Ukraine, I want to assure Ohioans that our state has no contracts with Russian businesses now, and will not have any contracts for goods and services going forward. We will not support Russia with Ohio taxpayer dollars,” DeWine said in a statement.
“Ohioans stand with the people of Ukraine, and all of the freedom-loving people of the world, against this unprovoked and unconscionable invasion that has led to so much suffering and destruction.”
Zulch said, “Russian President Vladimir Putin is a glorified crook. He’s downgraded his own people while lining his own pockets. To me, he’s no better than that little [expletive] running North Korea. Right now, it’s not a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) situation, but if Putin moves on to other countries, it will be. Right now, we need to provide Ukraine the weapons and do everything possible to help them.”
Doug Miller, another longtime Bowling Green resident, echoed Zulch’s sentiments.
“Before, I knew nothing about Ukraine,” Miller told The Epoch Times. “I believe that if the United States would have said ‘no’ to Ukraine becoming a part of NATO, Russia might not have cared or invaded them. We support Ukraine being a part of NATO, and Russia doesn’t want that.
“I think we should support Ukraine in every way, but not engage our soldiers. Support, but not engage.”
Alexis McKinney, 23, of Bowling Green, had a unique perspective on the Russia–Ukraine situation.
Although he currently isn’t enrolled in classes, McKinney was attending Bowling Green State University and majoring in foreign policy and domestic health care policy.
He told The Epoch Times that sanctions are often ineffective and often lead to collateral damage to the economies and currency values in other countries.
“Vladimir Putin is using ‘The Madman Method,’” McKinney said. “He’s convincing [us] that he currently has his finger on the button and won’t hesitate to push it. In either case, someone has to back down. We should support Ukraine and look at ways other than sanctions against [Russia].”
He believes the strategy to target Russia’s assets needs to extend to those of its wealthy and influential.
“We need to not only target Russia, but its oligarchs,” McKinney said. “These are top, heavy people who have a lot of money and influence. If we can start putting sanctions on their foreign assets and property, where it affects them, it possibly could move them to start applying pressure to Putin and the government to stop what they’re doing.
“The people with the most money usually have the most influence in government.”
