Posted on 01/27/2004 8:03:49 PM PST by restornu
EUGENE (AP) - When Florence resident Jim Rassmann offered to volunteer for the John Kerry presidential campaign he was thinking along the lines of answering phones and licking envelopes.
The retired sheriff's deputy is a political junkie, but hardly a zealot. And he's a registered Republican.
But Kerry's campaign strategists whisked him straight to Iowa for a tearful public reunion with the senator, who almost 35 years ago dragged him out of a river in Vietnam in a hail of enemy gunfire.
Rassmann moved to Florence from Los Angeles a decade ago. But the emotion welled up a few days ago when Rassmann, a former Green Beret lieutenant, saw a copy of "Tour of Duty," which details Kerry's experiences in the Navy piloting a swift boat in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.
"As chance would have it, I opened it at random to the page that talked about this particular incident," he recalled Monday in a telephone interview from Iowa with the Eugene Register-Guard.
"The memories were suddenly overwhelming. I got all choked up," he said.
Last Friday, he called Kerry's campaign headquarters.
Rassmann has followed Kerry's Senate career, especially his time on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the POW/MIA Committee that worked to re-establish ties with Vietnam.
"It put him head and shoulders above the rest of the candidates, and I include Wesley Clark in that," Rassmann said.
Rassmann was a windfall, said John Hurley, director of the Veterans for Kerry campaign.
"It was just thrilling to get this phone call out of the blue," Hurley said Monday from Iowa. "Normally I'm a calm guy, but I was dancing and shrieking."
Rassmann recommended Kerry for his Bronze Star.
"The reunion they had was very, very emotional," Hurley said. "Jim was broken up and John Kerry was teary-eyed."
Since the public reunion on Sunday, Rassmann and Kerry have had some private time for reminiscing.
They recalled the time Rassmann wouldn't let any soldiers near three earthenware jars whose lids were tied down.
He shot them up and the jars exploded, not because they were booby-trapped but because they were full of fermenting fish sauce, which drenched him.
"The stench was indescribable. I've had nightmares about that smell. ... We laughed like fools remembering," Rassmann said.
Rassmann said he will change party affiliations when he gets back to Oregon so that he can vote for Kerry in the May primary.
"People should examine the candidates closely, see what their political philosophy is and how that meshes with their own ideas," he said, adding he believes President Bush comes up short.
"I have absolutely no trouble with the reasons why we went to Afghanistan and I'm immensely proud of the job special ops troops did there. ... But I was not comfortable with Iraq. I wasn't adamantly against it, but I believed what the administration said about the reasons for going. I truly believed what they said, and it's obviously been total nonsense," he said.
He'll be back in Eugene and Florence this week for a presentation to a local orchid society - he's an avid grower - but on Friday he'll head for New Hampshire to help Kerry there.
http://supportthevets.com/youmansJAN04.htm
Hey Joe, whatcha doing with that Dem in your hand?
George W. Bush never had anything to do with any sports stadium in Houston. If you are going to post at least get the basic facts straight.
Pray for W and The Truth
i wonder where he stands on abortion?
When my dad was drafted and serving this country, Johnny Kerry was out tossing medals, getting his picture taken with Hanoi Jane, and then becoming a big star in the anti-American movement calling those that were supposed to be his brothers baby killers.
This jerk also refused to support the US aiding Afghanastan with arms against the Soviets, and also supported the Sandinistas. That doesn't even get into his views.
As far as I'm concerned, I'd vote for Hillary Klinton before I vote for John Kerry.
It's a no brainer. Bush's character is 10 times what Kerry's is.
Reality check: On March 17, 1969, Kerry's superior officer passed along a request from Kerry to be reassigned "as a personal aide in Boston, New York, or Wash., D.C. area." The basis for this request was a rule that allowed any Navy officer with three wounds to seek reassignment "regardless of the nature of the wounds." Kerry had indeed received three wounds, but all were minor (they had caused him to miss only two days of service), and the third was on March 13, 1969, just four days before his transfer request was forwarded. In sum, he got out as soon as he could. The Boston Globe noted that "none of [Kerry's] wounds was disabling" and that he got his transfer "six months before his combat tour was slated to end." According to the Globe, "Kerry declined … to sign a waiver authorizing the release of military documents that are covered under the Privacy Act and that might shed more light on the extent of the treatment Kerry needed as a result of the wounds."
Still, Kerry is the only 2004 presidential candidate who fought in Vietnam. And before leaving, he made sure his crew members were also reassigned to safer jobs.
"We were still under fire, and he was wounded at the time…," recalled Rassmann. And with his boat’s gunners providing suppressing fire, Kerry extended his wounded arm into the water and the two lieutenants locked arms.
****
I apologize for not understanding the Vietman event it was my generation and too much commotion to try to figure who was who!
Accept I did not like liberals!
It would be nice to have a thread from those who could educate many of us who read things and only have a surface understanding!
The reason I say this it appears among the dedicated soldiers, were also moles or traders who were Rhode/Fullbright schalars who mission was to be off to Russia or in the military to achieve rank and undermind the forces in the future with lukewarm policy etc.
In the meantime the ignorant who appreciate the military sacrifice can be snowed for not knowing not all in Uniform for this country were not defenders but traders!
By knowing terms helps one to discern fact from fiction and buzz words! IMHO
You mean Kerry served in Viet Nam??? I didn't know that!!!
http://www.bankofknowledge.net/2004/archives/000135.html#more
No overturning Roe v. Wade
No packing of the courts with judges hostile to choice
No denial of choice to poor women
No outlawing of a procedure necessary to save a woman's life or physical health
No more cutbacks on population control efforts around the world
John Kerry - NARAL Dinner, January 21, 2003
thanks for that informative post. Proves conclusively that Kerry sees no political advantage in saving the lives of defenseless infants.
Yea right .. out of the blue my butt
"No more cutbacks on population control efforts around the world "
Sounds like it's not just infants
This man is SICK!
I would expect this would be quite easy to investigate. They don't just pass out Bronze Stars for the fun of it. The military should have the initial recommendation (which would detail the exact action) and the follow-up investigation. Wouldn't these be available through FOIA?
No question. When it comes to character; there is not a Lib than can compete - honestly.
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