Posted on 02/21/2004 10:50:26 PM PST by redrock
Okay.....so where do you draw the line???
I mean....just how do you decide????
This person did this....that person did that. ALL did as they were asked by their Nation...and yet....some in this Nation are trying to paint some as "Good"...and some as "Bad" based on where they spent their time in the service of their Country.
So...where do you draw the line???
The Democratic's are trying to paint one person (John Kerry) with the the words "Good"..based upon his time spent on active duty in Vietnam.
They are also trying to paint another (George Bush) with the words "Bad"....based upon his time spent as a member of the National Guard...stateside.
The Democrats are trying, both directly and indirectly, to say that one type of service is Honourable....and the other not.
George Bush spent his time in service as a member of the National Guard. It was at a time when many, not wanting to go to Vietnam, went into the Guard...or the Reserve....or got College deferments..or if they went into the service...tried to make sure they were assigned to Germany or stateside.
Did George Bush enlist in the National Guard to avoid going to Vietnam??? Maybe. But even if he did....so what. It's what people did in those days. It's what people do now.
More importantly...he served his time...and did his job. The job his Nation asked of him.
John Kerry enlisted in the Navy....and he DID go to Vietnam. He served roughly 4 months. Got 3 'bandaid' Purple Hearts...which somehow is supposed to make him a better person than George Bush who has none. Does the number of Purple Hearts decide which person is more 'valuable'?? or able to make command decisions??? or lead this Nation??? (as an afterthought....I have 2 Purple Hearts....neither are of the 'bandaid' type...does that mean I'm not worth as much as John Kerry?? I guess according to the Democrats....I'm not).
The Democratic Party would have you believe (and the parading around of John Kerry's "Band-of-Brothers" also tries to establish it as a fact) that serving in the National Guard somehow makes you less of a person....or makes you less able to lead a Nation....somehow makes you less of an American than anyone who has spent time in combat.
The Democratic Party would have you believe that ANYONE who has not spent time in combat does NOT qualify to be a part of that grouping .......our "Band-of-Brothers".
The Democratic Party would have you believe....that George Bush does not qualify.
The Democratic Party would have you believe....that the soldier of the following story does not qualify.
----------------------
"Cornbread"
I was in my third month in Vietnam. A combat medic. I was eighteen....and in way over my head.
I had just come back from a patrol.
From the moment we landed in the LZ...we had taken casualties. Both dead and wounded.
For the next 4 days we fought almost non-stop with North Vietnamese Regulars. Tough soldiers who gave as good as they got.
Arriving back at the base....I was covered in sweat....more than smelly...covered in mud...and the blood of those I had worked on....covered in the bits and pieces of my friends. I went to check on those wounded we air-lifted out.
After checking on them ....I went to the mess...to get some coffee and food in me.
The cook there ( another young soldier....name of Hiram from somewhere in the Mid-west) tried to get me to talk...and maybe lighten up a little. I kinda complained about the food....and started on some wierd rant about not having any cornbread...(I love cornbread....have since I can remember)
It's just one of those things that happens I guess. I was severly depressed...I missed my family (ok...I missed my mom most of all)....and sitting there covered in the mud and blood I guess I was losing it. In my entire life it was the lowest point....the one time I actually was close to hurting myself.
...and there I was ranting on and on about cornbread.
I stormed out of the mess...and kinda just walked around for around an hour before going back to my quarters...(hooch). I was still angry...and depressed when I went inside. It was like everything at once was happening in my head...and my heart.
...and there on my bunk (actually almost exactly in the middle...funny how you remember certain things) was a plate.
...and on the plate was a pile of cornbread.
Fresh and hot.
Hiram had somehow found the cornbread....baked it...and put in my quarters.(He later told me that I looked like I 'needed it'.....)
At that moment.....(it was like I was just re-connected with home...with reality....with all the love my family had raised me with.) all the anger left....and I just sat there with some silly grin on my face.
Funny thing....but I firmly believe that stupid plate of cornbread saved my life.
So...the Democrats can tell everyone that unless you've been in combat....you're not a hero.....that you cannot be a part of "The Band-of-Brothers".
..and I will loudly tell them that they are dead wrong.
Because on that day a life was saved.
Saved by a person who never got close to combat.....who never went thru a morter attack....or a fire-fight with NVA. A person who was a cook....
NO...the Democrats are wrong....
Hiram, a cook, is part of my "Band-of-Brothers".....and always will be.
George Bush,a member of the National Guard, is also.
...as is every single person, male or female, who had put on the uniform. That's all it takes to be a member of a special club.
The Band-Of-Brothers.
A.S.A. here.
Agreed! I guess we should email it to all the columnists at Townhall.com, etc. and see who they can turn on to it. People like Peggy Noonan ought to be able to shop it around.
It is supremely perfect in saying everything. And it is said so beautifully like a regular man!
redrock
And as for the junior senator from Massachusetts...well I have two (that's 1..2)words for him.
He now makes much of his decorations from the war in Vietnam, to appeal to centrists and conservatives, without reminding those audiences that he for long was a leader of Vietnam veterans against the war. Indeed, assiduous searchers, looking for his vulnerabilities, will find much of interest in that period of his life. For example, the fabled and distinguished chief of naval operations (CNO), Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, told me -- 30 years ago when he was still CNO -- that during his own command of US naval forces in Vietnam, just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass, by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.
"We had virtually to straight-jacket him to keep him under control," the admiral said. "Bud" Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions -- but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage.
But, by all means, send along the recipe. I would appreciate it.
redrock
Except in the Democrats world.
redrock
God Bless the United States of America.
redrock
John Kerry is not qualified to bus tables at Denny's....
redrock
Thanks...I needed that!!!
redrock
The Band-Of-Brothers.
Thank you. I always apologize when I say that I never went into battle. When the kids at school find out I was in the Army--and DURING the end of the Viet Nam War--they always ask about "what I did." I'm always embarrassed that I was an avionics mechanic and didn't do anything even CLOSE to danger.
It's very gracious of you to extend that which you have "HARD-won" to those of us who "only [stood] and wait[ed}."
Thank you, again.
When you put on the Uniform....you join the 'club'.
There is no other way about it.
So...Brother...no need to feel anything but PROUD...that you served your Nation.
redrock
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.