FRN Columnists Corner - "Sen. John Kerry—Desecrating the Wall" By Robert Yoho

As a result of my writing, it has been my great pleasure to meet and to interview a number of combat veterans. Most of them never publicized their actions during the war. Although they may have had medals pinned upon their chest, they certainly didn’t wear them on their sleeves. These men cringed at my use of the word "hero." They generally consigned that name to others—the ones who didn’t come home. But without exception, not a single one of them ever denigrated their brothers-in-arms or demeaned the cause for which they fought.

Such is not the case of the "hero" John F. Kerry. The senator from Massachusetts—who once tossed away his medals in protest—now displays them for everyone to see. The presidential candidate—who once accused his fellow soldiers of rape, torture, and murder —proudly runs campaign ads about his noble service in Vietnam.

You cannot laud yourself for wartime heroism in a dishonorable cause. The veterans of Vietnam are either butchers or heroes! They cannot be both! Kerry’s accusations impugned the service of every veteran who fought there. And in so doing, he repeatedly relieved himself on that black marble wall in Washington!

Good people can clearly disagree with the necessity or the motivations to go to war. But good people do not participate in something they find morally repugnant—nor do they praise their individual efforts in the commission of what they describe as genocide. To laud your individual service while indicting your fellow soldiers would be similar to a Nazi bragging about his principled military service at Auschwitz. If the action was indeed criminal and barbaric, then you are not a hero. You are a war criminal! At the very least, you were complicit in those unspeakable acts. There can be no two ways about it!

If Kerry truly opposed America’s efforts to stop the spread of Communism, then he should not brag about the part he played in that mission. If he thinks the actions of our troops were criminal, then he too should be forced to answer for his part in those crimes.

This is a man who, upon his discharge, became a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Not only was the VVAW anti-war, they were also actively pro-Communism. While good men like John McCain, Jeremiah Denton, and James Stockdale were suffering torture in a North Vietnamese prison, the war hero turned senator was giving aid and comfort to their Communist captors.

I am increasingly amazed that any veteran, particularly those who served in Vietnam, could support Kerry’s campaign. The senator must be made to answer for these glaring inconsistencies. Despite his earlier anti-war rhetoric, he is now proudly citing his Vietnam service as proof of his ability to lead. Kerry is desperately seeking to have it both ways with his military career—behavior that is quite similar to his ever-changing positions on his voting record.

I challenge you to name a single governmental program or a crucial social issue that doesn’t have Kerry’s support—and his opposition. When the topic turns to homosexuality, Kerry goes both ways. The senator claims that he opposes gay marriage, yet he supports civil unions. He voted to uphold the UN resolutions against Saddam; now he tells us he opposed the war in Iraq. Like the president, Kerry believed Saddam had weapons of mass destruction; today he says Bush lied to us about those WMDs.

A president who cannot decide where he stands on any issue is certainly not the man to lead our country. Kerry’s waffling and indecision would put every American citizen at risk! No matter what you think about President Bush, you have to admit that if he tells you that America is coming for you, then you better look for a hole—and fast! Bush knows what he believes and he acts decisively on those convictions. Moreover, it is that kind of unflinching leadership that strikes fear in our enemies and inspires trust in our friends. Some may not like us; but they all respect us.

Those who attack the United States know that they will be targeted by our Commander-in-Chief. Under those same circumstances, a President Kerry would probably talk tough and then turn the situation over to the brave resolution writers at the U.N.

Kerry is seeking to discredit Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard, while, at the same time, elevating his status as a wounded Vietnam veteran. Perhaps he does have more medals than the president. So what? The senator has cravenly betrayed the men and the mission for which those medals were awarded. And unlike John F. Kerry, George W. Bush never broke faith with those veterans who served in that war or in the ones to follow.

Some may call Sen. Kerry a war hero for his service in Vietnam. Not me! I’ve met heroes. Kerry is little more than a deserter who left a yellow puddle at the foot of the Wall!

2 posted on 03/15/2004 9:57:11 PM PST by Mike Darancette (General - Alien Army of the Right (AAOTR))

Speaking of "desecrating the wall", from the current isssue of Insight Magazine:...Two years later he ran for the U.S. Senate - dusting off his veteran's credentials by standing in front of the black Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to shoot a TV campaign ad - defying regulations that the memorial not be used for political purposes. The ad "was filmed illegally against the wishes of the National Park Service," according to the Boston Globe. Kerry authorized its broadcast anyway...

Say no more. He is acting true to his nature. To do whatever he damn well pleases and to hell with the rest of us. Anyone who could possibly think that he could do a better job of retaliation against terrorists than W. is totally removed from reality.

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