Examples include the U.S. Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, Harry Truman holding up a newspaper exclaiming a Thomas Dewey victory, Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald or Martin Luther King Jr. pronouncing his dream.

Now, as another permanent historical remembrance of questionable U.S. war policy, as a companion to images of the last helicopter departing from a location near the U.S. embassy in Vietnam, we have George W. Bush ducking thrown shoes in Iraq.

Ed Kominski, Weatherford

Saddam's sentence for shoe throw?

What do you think would have happened to the shoe-throwing reporter if he had thrown his shoes at Saddam Hussein?

That pea-brained reporter, along with most of the sensation-loving media, hasn't got the brains God gave a young ape (my apologies to apes). The media rarely has the desire or capability of putting news events in perspective.

Charley Canfield, Dallas

Was that a fast ball or a slider?

I hope President George W. Bush got the name and address of the Iraqi shoe thrower so he can give it to the Texas Rangers .

That Iraqi would be an improvement to the Rangers' pitching staff. His "fast shoe" and accuracy under pressure and duress looked better than most of our recent pitchers.

Dennis D. Farnik, Arlington

What if we threw footwear?

The man who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush in contempt should know that, if Americans took the same action, parts of the Middle East would be waist-deep in shoes.

Carroll Deal, Dallas

Secret Service dodged, too

I thought that the Secret Service agents protecting our president would take a bullet for him. Apparently, that does not apply to shoes.

E.E. Carol, Kaufman

Doing the old soft shoe

I watched the video of the Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at the president and thought: He threw a shoe and missed by a foot.

Gary Rich, Denton

Bush-bashing caused this incident

The liberal media and George W. Bush haters should be happy now. All the negative press and Bush-bashing is responsible for the "shoe throwing" incident in Iraq.

George W. Bush is my president and every other American's, too. I don't care who is president. He is our leader. This incident wasn't just for Mr. Bush; it was an insult to all Americans. They hate us. We are the infidels, their sworn enemies.

I hope we could all wake up to that fact because 9/11 was just for openers. I hope Mr. Bush's security policy that has kept us safe for seven years is continued and heightened.

Dan Harris Sr., Maypearl

Possible humble moment passed up

George W. Bush took a taxpayer-funded jaunt to Baghdad in a final attempt to burnish his legacy, only to be subjected to the ultimate insult by a member of the fourth estate.

A true statesman would have taken the moment as opportunity to expand dialogue with the Iraqi people, admitting to mistakes but pressing the positives of a world without Saddam Hussein. A humble moment could have done great things in promoting reconciliation and unity.

The reaction in the Iraqi populace to the incident and subsequent arrest of journalist Muntadhar AL-Zeidi has by all reports been as might be expected - anger and dismay from a large chunk of the population and an accusation of collusion with terrorists from the Iraqi government.

Mr. Bush's frat-boy response: It was a size 10. (I can only assume this was followed by: "Heh heh.")

Craig Marckwardt, Dallas