May 30, 2008

The Culture of Gun Violence

To the Editor:

As a medic with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam in 1970, I cared for the wounded and dying ("Nerf Guns Strike a Nerve on Campuses," The Chronicle, April 25). Here's what happened to one marine who was shot in the chest while we were on a patrol: After the bullet perforated the layers of skin, muscle, and bones, it traveled through his body — shearing, tearing, and crushing the tissues and organs in its path. It produced a cavity that filled with blood from