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Originally Posted by Luigi59 ANY candidate who leans on his military record in a run for public office deserves to have that military record scrutinized. |
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Originally Posted by bullet Especially a candidate who, upon his return from service, goes in front of Congress and lied to them about what he saw and the actions of his fellow service members in theater.
69, as a Vietnam vet yourself, I'd be surprised if you don't have similar feelings about what Kerry did afterwards. Can you at least understand that the Swifties held such disgust for him that they would question everything? Maybe wrong, I'll grant you, to question his achievements, but I hope you can understand their motives. |
No, I do not understand their motives. You are attempting to mix apples and oranges. This discussion is not about what individuals did after they left the service, but the validity of the awards they received.
I agree that Kerry’s post Vietnam duty actions should perhaps have precluded him running for President as a "war hero", but as a BTDT, he had every right to appear before congress as he did. And, guess what, his testimony was probably mostly all true. Riverine warfare in the Delta was a very nasty business. Trust me, I know. I was there riding the rivers shortly after Kerry was there. On a river 100 yds wide, up ahead the bushes are moving. Vietcong or mamasan doing the laundry? A couple of quick bursts with the .50 cal. and no one will ever know for sure. Sampan crossing the bow at 200 yds. Again, Vietcong or farmer and family going to market? A quick burst of the grenade launcher. Sampan sunk. We will never know. Line up the boat crew 40 yrs later. Half will claim two life-or-death contacts with the enemy. The other half will claim war crimes. The free fire zones were a joke. The peasants, with nowhere to go, moved out simply because we declared them such? Sure. However, we shot anything that moved. Riding a boat for a year in a narrow river or canal as a sitting duck where the initial contact is always retaliatory does things to one’s survival instincts. Most had a primary instinct of returning alive.
This is Kerry’s actual statement:.
How Do You Ask a Man to Be the Last Man to Die in Vietnam? Quote:
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Originally Posted by bullet Thank you, John Kerry, for adding to the American public's misconception of the Vietnam Vet: a brute, liar, and murderer with no morality, a deranged outcast just a spilt cup of coffee from "snapping" and eating the neighbors kids. |
Or to paraphrase:
Thank you bullet, pima, Luigi, for adding to the American public’s misconception of the Vietnam Vet: A liar with no morality who was in Vietnam simply to gain all the awards and medals possible, whether he earned them or not.
And I am still awaiting my previous question. What are your credentials to question the validity of these awards? And there are those on this "military" forum who feel that it is right to question the appropriateness of properly awarded medals, no matter what that person chooses to do later in life. Inappropriate, I think.