This raised my eyebrows also. But attacking him on his Vietnam actions will boomerang, IMO. The more people talk about it, the better for him.
LB,
I suppose the election will eventually settle this. I believe most folks realize it takes much more than a few combat awards to qualify to be POTUS.
Many different veteran's groups are coming out of the woodwork to actively oppose Kerry. Clark's endorsement did not help him a bit. It probably exacerbated the negative Veterans' response as most do not like Clark too.
I am interested in seeing if FL gets a response on his direct inquiry to Kerry about some of the issues like only serving 33% of a normal combat tour.
I believe this:
Kerry paints himself as a hero. The lack of officer substantiation of his actions indicate he was probably the only officer around his actions, so he likely wrote and submitted his own award citations.
Kerry paints himself as a great warrior. The truth is Kerry personally initiated action to abandon his troops and be relieved from his battlefield command during combat. He fled from the battlefield after a brief engagement and 8 months before the rest of his men could leave. Those are hardly heroic actions for a battlefield commander. I have commanded American soldiers in combat and would consider such actions cowardly. I would love to see Kerry's Officer Efficiency or Fitness Reports. Perhaps they will be revealed. I cannot believe his commanders saw any of this as heroic. Hopefully they reflected that in writing.
Kerry paints himself as a veterans advocate. The truth is Kerry accused his fellow war veterans of wickedly horrible war crimes that he had no personal knowledge of. These are charges that he never backed up.
I spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with 15 retired Green Berets. 14 are Vietnam Vets. All retired as officers or Sergeants Major. All have extensive battlefield experience, most in more than one conflict. These men served around conventional US Forces all over the world, always at the front. None could verify any of Kerry's unsubstantiated charges. None have ever witnessed anything even close to the horrors Kerry charged American soldiers with.
The internet picture is not important...though I am glad you pointed out it is fake. The picture of Kerry that is important is the one found in veterans' minds.
A man who writes his own awards as Kerry likely did, then uses those awards to flee from a combat command, though he is 100% fit for duty, may be a hero to fonda and hippies, but he will never be considered a war hero by American war veterans. US officers consider combat command an honor and a sacred duty. Any capable officer who departs on his own, leaving his men on a battlefield for personal reasons, immediately loses any and ALL respect.
Though I do respect Kerry's service, I believe, like some others, that his Vietnam rants are outrageously overdone, are totally out of line, and have been for 35 years. Kerry is a legend only in his own mind. His actions remind me of a vet with PTSD. Hopefully he will go to the VA for counseling soon, so he can get over his Vietnam syndrome.
unclewest |
