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The troops are stationed in 112 countries, from Iceland to the Philippines. But this year, at least, the most visible departures and homecomings have had a U.S. locus, the stretch of North Carolina that includes the Marines' Camp Lejeune and the Army's Fort Bragg. This month, 2,000 troops returned from Grenada, and 1,800 Marines, some aboard the Iwo Jima, came back from Lebanon. They stepped into a familiar dream. Bands played. Infants were tweaked. Couples swung M-16s out of the way and hugged. The troops were home. They had served, and served well.
Eloquent Pilgrim with a Message of Peace
In a year that saw ever rising fears of nuclear war, a white-robed figure journeyed the globe to proclaim a yearning for peace and justice. John Paul II, history's most traveled Pope, set out on spectacular, taxing pilgrimages to two of the world's most his regions: violence-torn Central America and his dispirited homeland, Poland. As always, John Paul's charismatic personality attracted millions of the faithful, and his words and actions rarely failed to bring political reactions. He roared "Silencio!" to unruly Sandinistas who disrupted a Mass he was celebrating in Nicaragua; he made a surprise visit to the grave of El Salvador's martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero; and he bluntly told the government of dirt-poor Haiti, "Something must change here." In Poland he met with General Wojciech Jaruzelski and called for the unshackling of Solidarity, the banned labor union. He also met privately with his native country's most celebrated nonperson, Nobel Peace Prizewinner Lech Walesa.
Throughout the year, John Paul continued to command television screens and front pages in a conscious effort to gain maximum publicity for his message of peace in the world. Everywhere he went, the Pope preached on the mounting dangers of the buildup of atomic weapons; he sent written appeals to Soviet Leader Yuri Andropov and President Ronald Reagan to keep the arms-limitation talks alive. The Pope also achieved a long-sought goal: an agreement, which will soon be announced, to exchange diplomatic representatives with Washington.
The Pope's antinuclear stance was pivotal to his message of the absolute value of human life. This principle led him to denounce abortion, to question research in armaments and human genetic engineering, and to intervene, unsuccessfully, in the executions of condemned men in Guatemala and Florida.
Increasingly, John Paul's pontificate appeared to be summed up by this phrase from a speech he gave to Indians in Guatemala: "No more divorce between faith and life." He continued to be outspoken in his opposition to Marxist-influenced liberation theology, contending that political preaching must reject violence and be rooted in Christian teaching. The Pope demanded human rights and justice from governments of the left, Poland and Nicaragua, as well as the right, Guatemala and the Philippines.