"I won't dispute what he has claimed but I have my doubts. "
But is it worth it? He was called, officially(draft notice, low number)or not. He decided to go. Even after he decided to go, he had options. Like Smirk, he could have opted for choices that would have never placed himself in the line of fire. As the son of an admiral, he could have had a billet that put him in the sights of cameras and not the enemy. He chose not to take that option. Like Gore, he made the more dangerous choice. Unlike Gore, or Kerry for that matter, it didn't work out for him. And, like all three, there is no way to prove what exactly happened or what their motivations were. All three were in positions where they could have coasted, like Smirk or Cheney. They chose not to. Good or bad, right or wrong, they put their personal nuts on the line. They had choices, unlike most of the Vietnam Vets I have known. They could have opted out and had a more or less comfortable tour. They chose not to.
I honor those who went through the wringer of that war. I might not agree with some of th attack dogs and mercenaries that came out of it, but I morn their passing when they shuffle off. I have personally known Green Beret and Huey door gunners. All of them, alive or not, still fight the demons that ride them. They served during a time when the country didn't support them. If they drifted afterwards, that was their due. Korea and Vietnam didn't fit the mold we constructed after WWII.
Bottom line, McCain could have stayed stateside, snorted coke and chased women like Smirk. He chose not to. For that, he has my respect. |
