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This came to me today in an email:

Subject: Mr. Wonderful

The language is a bit rough for some, but so was the duty---

A Vietnam Vet Against Kerry

Our posts on John Kerry have elicited many grateful and supportive
responses from Vietnam War vets. We have no standing of any kind
to do anything but honor Kerry for his distinguished war service.
I think we differ with Kerry nowadays on the justice of the war,
the honor of the American cause, the respect due the men who served
and the nature of their service. To our knowledge, Kerry has never
apologized for his utterly disgusting defamation of all echelons of
the American military in the war.

This evening we received an interesting message on the subject of
Kerry and the war. The writer has provided identifying information
that allows us to authenticate his own service, although he has
asked us to withhold his name and other identifying information.
Our reader writes:

I've been reading your blog regularly for some months now, and
appreciate it for a number of reasons. I grew up in St. Paul, on
Selby Avenue (early to mid-50's), then West St. Paul. Graduated
from Sibley High School in '63, and went on to the University of
Minnesota ('63-'66). In May '66, I quit the U and enlisted in the
infantry because I wanted to go to Vietnam.

I joined the 9th Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, KS, which had been
newly activated, and which was to train as a unit, then deploy to
Vietnam. I became a rifle squad leader in the 4th battalion, 47th
Infantry, and we deployed to Vietnam in Jan '67. My battalion was
a part of the Mobile Riverine force in the Mekong Delta. We were
the first American units in the Delta, and 1967 was a year of hard
fighting down there. I was very lucky. I finished my 1-year tour
with the 9th Division, then extended my tour and went to the
Tactical Operations Center (TOC) at II Field force HQ, which was a
bit north of Saigon, at Long Binh.

I extended my tour two more times, spending 16 months there in the
TOC, as an Operations NCO. My 3-year enlistment was over in May '69,
and I came home to St. Paul. I had spent 28 months in Vietnam. I had
earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star w/"V" Device w/2
Oak Leaf Clusters, two Air Medals, a Purple Heart (for a very slight
wound), an Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross For
Gallantry (awarded quite liberally by the gov't of SVN). The Mobile
Riverine Force had earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its 1967
campaigns.

I relate all of the above to establish my credentials as a critic of
John F. Kerry (hereinafter referred to as "that Prick"). I know a
little about how the award system worked in Vietnam. If you did
something worthy of an award, it first had to be brought to the
attention of your commander, who would then check with witnesses,
and so on, and decide (in accordance with the governing Army
regulation, AR 672-something) what the action merited.

If everything was confirmed and approved, an officer (normally the
original witness) would write the citation describing the action.
All of this was then forwarded to whatever command level was
required by the AR to approve that particular award. A Silver Star
requires something quite extraordinary in the infantry. I cannot be
sure, but I don't recall ANY Silver Stars awarded in '67 to any
soldier in the MRF, and that's a full year of fighting by 3 entire
infantry battalions.

Now comes before us that Prick.

That Prick spent a 6-month tour on a small warship off the coast of
Vietnam, which service undoubtedly required him occasionally to miss
a full night's sleep in his air-conditioned cabin. This "tour"
doesn't even count. He spent some time Stateside, no doubt basking
in his "veteran" status among pallid ensigns, then took a deep
breath and returned to Vietnam. This time, he wangled his way onto
a Swift Boat, which from a grunt's point of view is pretty cushy
duty. It is entirely possible that that Prick actually fired a
weapon sometime between Dec '67, and Mar '68, since he has made
references to dead civilians of both sexes and all ages during this
period. During this same period, that Prick received 3 fragment
wounds from RPG's which missed him and his boat. All 3 of these were
band-aid wounds (same as mine).

In Mar '68, a lone VC fired an RPG at that Prick's boat, resulting
in another miss. One of the crewmen answered this with about 50
rounds from a twin-mount 50 cal MG, wounding the VC, who jumped out
of sight. That Prick beached the boat (dumb dumb dumb) where the VC
had been, jumped ashore, found the wounded VC, killed him, and
returned to the boat with the offending RPG launcher. For this
"action," an infantry PFC wouldn't have gotten so much as a pat on
the back, but that Prick ended up with a Silver Star! How could this
have come about? Well, remember...the commander has to recommend the
award. That Prick WAS the commander in this little incident. Do you
think...? Is it possible...? That Prick was in command of 4 or 5
enlisted sailors, and chances are, none of them was much good at
writing up an award recommendation, soooo...

With his Silver Star pinned on his spotless Navy whites, that Prick
immediately requested reassignment under the official (or maybe
unofficial) "three Purple Hearts" rule, which allowed anyone so
grievously damaged to return to the US early. So ended a grueling
stay of almost 4 months of combat heroism.

I have always been proud of my Vietnam service. I spent a total of
14 years as an infantry NCO, served in Germany, and a number of post
here in the US. The young men I was lucky enough to lead and serve
with in 1967 (almost all of them draftees) were GOLD. We who
survived remain close to each other to this day.

Now, everywhere I turn, I see and hear journalists who constantly
refer to that Prick's "chestful of medals," and "heroism in
Vietnam." I am insulted, disgusted, deeply offended by all of this.
I speak for no one but myself, but I expect that there are plenty of
other Vietnam veterans who feel as I do. And I won't even get
started on his shameless behavior with the Vietnam Veterans Against
the War, when he claimed to speak for us, and announced to the world
that we were all cold-blooded war criminals.

From my point of view, John F. Kerry is a charlatan and a whore.
The mere thought that he MIGHT end up in the White House is
appalling, and truly frightening