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<p>And I appreciate that. In fact, if you (or Kerry) went in front of Congress and told about what you saw, and the stories about your actions that you refernce above, I would support it 110%. No, instead Kerry went to Congress and told stories that he knew at the time were exxagerations and out-right lies, where his examples were meant to generalize all the actions of the Vietnam serviceman. He implied that the American fighitng man was the equiviliant of Ghangis Khan’s hordes (his words you referenced), with it’s sick connotations that we were there just to rape, pillage, and do what hordes generally tend to do. </p>
<p>You’re right, he has every right to testify to Congess, and if his words were “While in Vietnam, I raped, tortured and killed innocent civilians”, I would have admired him for his honesty (and probably would have been morally supporting him at his Court Martial if I was old enough). But his testimony to Congress was HEARSAY, INNUENDO, and GOSSIP about what he heard “others” had seen or participated in, intended to flame passion against the war. Testimony which would not have stood up in any court of law as actual evidence, and should have found him in trouble for perjury. </p>
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<p>Again, you miss the point, and insult me by saying my feelings that I don’t question his actions IN THEATER as “two-faced”. I want to state unequivocally that I honor and respect ALL the Vietnam vets for their service, they had a tough time and did an honorable job while there. No, the only one my posts show me to consider as a liar with no morality is Kerry. And you know what, I’m not going to lose ANY sleep over what I said about his inappropriate actions AFTER he returned. </p>
<p>I’m not about to get into the “The Swifties lied about his record, so we should ignore their feelings about Kerry’s lies to Congress” debate. Both sides have chosen what they want to believe, and it’s just a waste of typing time to try to convince either side other wise. Both sides have Giga-bytes of references posted throughout the web on both sides of the political spectrum, and we can get into a tedious game of “my web reference is better than your web reference”. Again, most of these sites have their own agenda to sell.</p>
<p>But I will go back to your question on credentials concerning the awarding of medals. Having authored, reviewed, processed, and approved for the forwarding of literally HUNDREDS (over 450 while I was in Iraq) of citations and award packages, I can safely say that I know what I’m talking about when I say that we are a military in danger of getting close to “little league mentality” when it comes to awarding medals, where everyone gets one “just for playing”. At least that is the trend I’m witnessing in the AF; maybe the other services treat the awarding of medals and citations with greater respect. There are countless examples of individual acts of heroism, sacrifice and duty that deserve all the accolades and recognition we can give them in this current war., and I will be the first to salute them at the ceremony. But from what I’ve witnessed, we degrade the legitimate recipients when they get the same medal as those who “just did their job, but over THERE”.<br>
Pima credentials? Well, she was there at my side (or on the receiving end of an e-mail or phone patch from a distant land) when I and my fellow collegues vented our frustrations about the system in place. She might not have “first hand knowledge” as she wasn’t in the action with us, but she has listened, and saw for herself as the system has become nearly a joke. THAT was what her post was about, not an attack on Kerry’s record, but a legitmate opinion about the situation, with some examples. Was her information on BSM versus Meritorious Medals incorrect. Yes, but a minor detail, and not the meat of the matter you have been harping on.</p>
<p>No attacks about Kerry’s war record by either of us. In fact, I think I emphasized it quite often in previous posts (and this one) that he earned them. Perhaps a joke about it that was “lost in translation”, but the truth none-the-less. It was his actions back home that lost my respect for him.</p>