Vets to candidates: Get past Vietnam
By J. Patrick Coolican
seattletimes.nwsource.com.
As John Kerry comes to the Puget Sound region to rally support for his presidential campaign, Vietnam veterans say they have a message for the Democrat and for President Bush: Leave Vietnam alone, and talk about what you plan to do for the country.
"They ought to forget about talking about this and talk about the future," said James Cusumano of Bothell, who said he served outside Da Nang in 1964-65.
"What are you going to do differently?" he asked of Kerry.
Cusumano's comments and those of other local veterans underscored the problem Kerry faces as he counterpunches on his Vietnam service record: Every day he talks about his time on a Swift boat in Vietnam is a day he isn't talking about Bush's record or his own plans for the nation's future. Recent polls show Kerry's slim lead disappearing just as Bush is about to enjoy a run of free publicity at the Republican National Convention.
Kerry's service record has dominated the campaign narrative of late, as a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has accused him in a book and in TV ads of lying about his service record and not deserving his medals.
The charges have been contradicted by Navy records, the men on Kerry's and other boats and some of the accusers' past statements. And the Bush campaign's top lawyer resigned Wednesday after admitting he was counseling Swift Boat Veterans. The Bush campaign says there's been no coordination with the group.
Puget Sound-area veterans interviewed by telephone and at the VA Medical Center in Seattle mostly said they believed Kerry's side of the story while noting the rampant manufacture of faulty memories in war zones. They also expressed ambivalence about the relevance of Kerry's service to the requirements of the Oval Office.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will be in Everett today for a town-hall gathering and will be the headliner tonight at a fund-raiser at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. There is one public event during his swing through the state: tomorrow, 9:30 a.m. (gates open), parking lot A at the Tacoma Dome, 2727 East D St., Tacoma.
"You can go to any VFW hall and hear a different story about the same battle every day," said J. Scott of Fife, who said he was outside Da Nang in 1965-66.
"It's like a car accident — everybody has a different experience of it," Scott said. "One thing I can say with Kerry: He was there."
More important, Scott said, was moving on. "I choose not to deal with people living in the past."
William Abram of Seattle, who said he was in Vietnam in 1970-71, called the attacks a "cheap shot" and a ruse to distract voters from Bush's record.
Cusumano disagreed, saying Kerry was using Vietnam to distract voters from his record in the Senate. "I don't know what he's been doing in Congress," he said, specifically citing a lack of attention to health care.
Frank Goerig, who lives outside Gig Harbor, said he served three tours beginning in 1967. He said the Kerry-Vietnam controversy was frustrating. "You've gotta work so damn hard anymore to learn anything because both parties care more about image than fact." Nevertheless, he urged the candidates to talk about issues.
Joe Murray of Olympia said he was in Vietnam beginning in 1967 ("Two years, two months, 18 days; used to know the minutes and seconds").
He called the charges "asinine" but didn't let Kerry off the hook: "Let's get on talking about the economy, the schools. John Kerry's a war hero. Fine. Move on. Let's worry about the next 35 years, not what happened 35 years ago."
J. Patrick Coolican: 206-464-3315 or jcoolican@seattletimes.com
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