I know this writer. Worked with him many moons ago.
uw
WHAT ONE MAN FROM LIMA OHIO THINKS ABOUT JOHN KERRY
BY MAJOR MARK A. SMITH, USA-RETIRED
I was born at Saint Rita’s Hospital in Lima Ohio. My dad was from Findlay and my mom from Lima.. I spent a good part of my youth at my Grandmother’s on St. John’s Avenue in Lima and Aunt Peg’s, out on Bellefountaine Road. We are from working stock and Ohio Steel is in our blood. We also had farmers, photographers, carpenters and one Grandfather who owned a good portion of land around Indian Lake. We are from the heart of America and wherever we moved, we always came back to Ohio.
“Buckeyes” are a no-nonsense people and that is why I am writing this letter. As a retired Soldier, I know one of the men running for President. That man is Senator John Kerry. I have met with him personally on the issue of America’s Missing In Action (MIAs) in Southeast Asia. This was a very big step for me as a professional Soldier and returned Prisoner of War. John Kerry had protested the war and accused his fellow veterans of atrocities and war crimes. The enemy, in the cruel Jungle prison in which I was a POW, used this against me ,but, I decided to keep an open mind when his staffer asked me to meet with the Senator in Bangkok Thailand. Little did I know the staffer would go on to work at an organization to promote U.S. investment in communist Vietnam and Colliers and the Heinz group of companies would lead the charge, leaving John and his wife to benefit personally.
.
What I learned from my short meeting with Senator Kerry is very simple; I would never endorse this man, my fellow veteran for any office, especially that of President. He showed a weakness of spirit and seemed to only be using the issue of POWs and MIAs to enhance his own political standing. He stated to me , if MIAs were found, he would support no military action to get them back. I was stunned by his words. John felt he could talk the Vietnamese into admitting a war crime. His absurd reasoning has never changed to this day. He seems to have no idea when to fight and when to talk.
I never thought the man who disgraced us all and lied about things he claimed had happened, would try to run on the basis of his short four month Vietnam tour in actual combat. He claimed an illegal incursion into Cambodia, which his fellow veterans say never happened and made it the cornerstone of his anti-war activities. More than two hundred of his fellow Swift Boat Veterans, question his veracity on every part of his war record, including awards and decorations. In our military culture this never happens, but it has now. We never question awards, unless we are certain they are bogus. Yet,Johns entire chain of command from the war has done just that.
I strongly recommend that you, as my fellow “Buckeyes”, think long and hard about ever voting for John Kerry. Why? In a word: “Betrayal”. His words and deeds were used against us in the POW camps of Vietnam. As we starved in chains, in the jungle, John was held up to us as the type of man they wanted us to be. The Viet Cong considered me an enemy and a young John Kerry, marching in Washington DC, against the war, a friend. If honor and integrity mean nothing to you and some government give away program is more important than the facts, John is your man , but , I fear for you and my home state.
We are once again at war. Our men and women in uniform do not need a Commander In Chief who befriends and supports the sworn enemies of our troops in the field. If elected, John Kerry would be the first former military man to serve as President, who had betrayed his fellow Soldiers in time of war. Many Americans do not understand the human cost of John using the war as his stepping stone to political office. My fellow Special Forces Soldiers and an Air Force officer were murdered by the enemy John and his so- called Vietnam Veterans Against The War supported. He has no problem with some right wing conspiracy. His problem is with us, the men who served with honor.
I would ask the people of Ohio to consider who John Kerry really was and is today, before putting the lives of our brave military sons and daughters in his hands.
HE BETRAYED ME AND HE WILL BETRAY THEM.
Major Mark A. Smith - DSC
United States Army, Retired
Former Prisoner Of War
Born Lima Ohio, 26 April 1946
Member; SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION, VFW, AMERICAN LEGION , DAV, SOCIETY OF THE FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION ASSOCIATION, SOCIETY OF VIETNAMESE RANGERS, NATIONAL ORDER OF BATTLEFIELD COMMISSIONS, NAMPOWS, LEGION OF VALOR |
