On April 21, 2004, Leonard Magruder, President of Vietnam Veterans for Academic Reform, the student auxiliary at the University of Kansas, sent out the first of five press releases on this issue:
Press Release: April 21, 2004
MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERING UP VIETNAM VET REJECTION OF KERRY AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
SPECIAL TO:
(INITIAL LIST)
Berliner Morgananpost – Germany Jerusalem Post - Israel
Republica – Italy Islamabad News - Pakistan
Izvestia – Russia Jazirah - Saudi Arabia
Moscow Times – Russia Hindustan - India
Diario del Mundo – Spain China Daily - China
London Times – England Nacional - Mexico
Globe and Mail – Canada Citizen - Canada
COMMENTARY: FIRST PRESS RELEASE
The national or mainstream media is gambling with national security when it hides the fact that most Vietnam veterans are opposed to the idea of Kerry as Commander-in-Chief. In one of our recent articles we reported on what anecdotal data we had seen on this subject to that date as follows:
You're kidding?! You're taking the word of a student ROTC leader over that of seasoned generals and diplomats? My God, woman, you can't do any better than this?
“In the wintersoldier.com poll, it is running 96% against Kerry. In The Wall Street Journal letters section, 66% against. In a San Diego newspaper an editor reports “100 to 1” against, a South Carolina media poll reports 66% against. Talk show host Hewitt reports of his callers, “the vast majority hold Kerry in contempt because of his actions,” and view his antiwar activities as “profoundly wrong and disqualifiying for the presidency.” Last Saturday, Mr. Magruder decided to send out an appeal to all the Vietnam veterans on the V.V.A.R. mailing list, some two hundred or so, to send him estimates of opinions in the groups of Vietnam veterans they know. Here are the results from that request, broken down into two groups: group results with data, group results with no data.
“(Data has been added to over the weeks. What is posted here are the up-to-the-date results)
“GROUPS WITH DATA
§ 6 Vietnam vets this weekend at HS reunion, all oppose Kerry. Dan Haney - 602nd Air Commando Sq. A1 pilot ‘67
§ Out of 45 Vietnam veterans... all say pooh on JFK...100%. powmiavets
§ Our heli-vets pol shows 160 against and 6 for Kerry. Ron Leonard, 25th Aviation Battalion
§ I know about 650 Vietnam vets and their attitude toward about Kerry is 100% negative. Dan Decker, TSgt. USAF (ret.)
§ I know thousands of vets. I would say the opinion is about 98% against Kerry. Tony Cartlidge-Vietnam Combat Marine, 1968
§ Of 27 Vietnam Veterans I know, including myself, not one is willing to vote for John Kerry. Charles Banto, USMC 1958-1974, 2 tours in Vietnam
§ Out of 25 guys, 85%-95% against Kerry. Mike- mleonardos
§ 240 vets, mostly Vietnam, 85% against Kerry. Tony Newcomb, Cpt.U.S.Army (ret.)
§ Of the more than 2500 veterans of all ranks who responded, 59 took umbrage with what I had to say (against Kerry). Mark A. Smith, former POW, Vietnam, Holder, Distinguished Service Cross
§ An ongoing poll, with names and comments at 11thcavnam.com is running 16 for Bush, 4 for Kerry (80% for Bush.)
§ 12 Vietnam vets, all of whom are against John Kerry. Vietnam vet, Tom Taylor
Let me see......I counted roughly 1146 Vietnam Vets plus "the thousands" some butthead 'claimed' he knew who oppose Kerry. And you think this is big news?!
There were hundreds of thousands of men and women who fought in Vietnam. The numbers above are hardly statistically significant in that context.
Frankly, I think you're over the top with your stretching it! |
