Ted,
Re: "The swiftie ads if not libelous are unadulterated lies."
I'm sure all these Vietnam POW's are also lying !! -->
Honor Reclaimed
"If the powerful documentary featuring highly decorated Vietnam POWs recounting
how Lt.(jg) John Kerry's antiwar activity affected them was seen by the huge
audience it deserves, Massachusetts's junior senator wouldn't get elected to a
sanitation commission. In Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, 13 POWs,
whose cries of pain, defiance, and despair went unheard during their hellish
captivity, share their stories about the betrayal they felt when a fellow officer
claimed American forces were guilty of widespread war crimes. Over 30 years ago, antiwar
veterans (both faux and real) basked in the media spotlight; now proud veterans
who endured their slanders, along with years of cruelty and abuse, are having
their say. These indisputable heroes include two Medal of Honor winners,
one of whom explains, "This is an effort that was long in coming, but would
not have come about if not for the Democratic candidate 'reporting for duty.'"
The 45-minute film opens with scenes of the dank cells at the Hanoi Hilton
where the oppressive silence would only be broken by "cries of pain." One POW
recalls the intense pain of the torture they suffered, explaining that "the rope was
the worst." Following one such session, designed to win a confession of war
crimes, another explains that for days afterward he was unable to move his
body from his shoulders down. Ken Cordier, held for over six years, explains
that they would be brutally manacled until they "screamed loud and long enough"
to be released in exchange for information and confessions. Any injury was
specifically targeted in order to break the captives more quickly. Tapes of
Jane Fonda accusing them of being war criminals were played in their cells.
Mary Jane McManus had eloped in Hawaii and was married for three days when her
husband Kevin returned to Vietnam to complete his tour. She didn't see him
again for almost six years. While she kept her lonely vigil, she witnessed the charges
being leveled by John Kerry and others. She couldn't fathom that anyone would
believe American troops were capable of routinely committing atrocities, because
"they were our husbands, and sons and brothers."
James Warner, held for over five years, recalls being made to stand motionless
inside a small chalked circle on the floor. He lasted for 97 hours, during which
he had a view of the camp's front gate. He saw the author Mary McCarthy and
Tom Hayden enter the camp. His mother attended the Winter Soldier hearings
and issued a statement criticizing the war, which his captors shared with him
along with statements by John Kerry. He explains that Kerry met with his mother
and sister and thinks it was a "contemptible act" to take advantage of a
"grieving old lady and manipulate her grief to promote your own political agenda."
He adds, "He burned up his Band of Brothers membership card when he did that."
When John Kerry was the prized spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans Against the
War (VVAW), there were 700 American POWs in Vietnam. Many of those involved in
this documentary, funded by $200,000 in donations from Pennsylvania veterans,
believe that antiwar activists encouraged their captors to hold out because the
"war would be lost in the streets of America." They point out that the immediate
withdrawal of troops demanded by the VVAW would have abandoned them to whatever
fate their captors chose when they were no longer bargaining chips in a
negotiated end to the war.
Paul Galanti, who flew 97 combat missions before being shot down on June 17, 1966,
spent over six and a half years as a POW. Referring to the Winter Soldier hearings
that have been thoroughly debunked, Galanti says that John Kerry "should have
known those guys he was with were frauds." The film includes a short clip from
the Winter Soldier hearings that drew chuckles from the audience. An alleged veteran
is having his memory refreshed about an alleged atrocity he was having trouble
recalling. Galanti reminds the audience that "the cruelties of My Lai were
exposed by the soldiers there."
Leo Thorsness, who was awarded the Medal of Honor, talks about the strict rules
of engagement governing pilots flying over North Vietnam, ruefully noting that
as a result the enemy had "plenty of chances to shoot us down."
Colonel George "Bud" Day, who also won the Medal of Honor and is considered one
of the most decorated veterans of the last century, recalls being outraged to
learn that veterans were warned not to wear their uniforms when they returned
home. The film depicts protesters waving signs reading, "No Parades for Murderers"
and "See Nixon's War Criminals" in front of veterans. "Right to this day we
still have not recovered our good name," Day angrily declares. He charges that
John Kerry wants them to forget the role he played in blackening the name of
all Vietnam veterans. "I can never forget," he says.
The documentary is available on the Stolen Honor website. Its producer, Carlton Sherwood,
a Pulitzer Prize wining journalist and Marine Vietnam veteran, points out
that "there is no fog of war here" given the public testimony of John Kerry.
He explains that the motivation is "deeply personal" rather than political.
An Army Vietnam veteran recently told me, "When John Kerry loses, it will be
the parade we never had." They've earned it."
stolenhonor.com
Make It So,
Yousef |
