Am I the only who's tired of hearing about these two guys' Vietnam service? Except maybe for John F. Kennedy, I don't recall any WWII vets exploiting their war experiences so much for political purposes as Kerry and McCain have done with their time in Vietnam:
SEN. John McCain — who declined John Kerry's offer to be his running mate and was also rumored as a possible replacement for Vice President Dick Cheney — says he was never tempted to be the number two man in the White House. At a small fund-raiser for McCain the other night at the St. Regis, McCain cracked, "As a POW in Vietnam, I was kept in the dark and fed scraps. Why would I want to do that again?" The comment drew guffaws from guests Al D'Amato and his son, Chris, Rick Lazio, Tricia Nixon's husband Ed Cox, socialite Gail Hilson and potential Senate hopeful Adam Brecht. (Page Six)
A family friend was a prisoner for several years in a German POW camp, Mr. M's uncle was badly wounded fighting both Nazis and Communists in Yugoslavia with the Chetnik army, and my father's U.S. Navy service in WWII was more distinguished than Kerry's, but it's funny how men like that didn't try to glorify themselves through their war experiences. They just did their duty, came home and had productive lives.
My stomach turns at the thought of McQueeg as Secty of Defense. I hope Rumsfeld stays.
My cousin's husband fought as a soldier in Vietnam, honorably. He was literally in the trenches, he fought in hand-to-hand combat with the Viet Cong in the swamps. He came home, started a family, and served in the US Army for 25 years. He retired and his mental health fell apart. He couldn't deal with the emotions and horror of what he experienced. He's been in and out of mental hospitals, the VA has sent him to counselor after counselor, and he just can't seem to overcome the horrific past.
I saw him for the first time in many years at my grandmother's funeral. He looks like an old man (he's 55). He can't be in crowds, and he has horrible nightmares. My cousin can't leave him by himself, they moved close to their children so that they could help out with his care. As I talked to him the cemetery I noticed he had a small flag pin on his lapel. And then as he and my cousin walked together back to their car, he stopped and saluted each flag. That made me cry, here is a man who lost his youth fighting in war, has lost his mental health, and he's still proud to have served his country.