'Hanoi John' Gets Unwelcome Reception From Veterans

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 7/29/04 | Robert B. Bluey

[kattracks]

Boston (CNSNews.com) - Hours after Sen. John Kerry sailed into this city with his Vietnam swift boat crewmates Wednesday, about a hundred other veterans gathered near the Democratic National Convention site to protest the anti-war positions of Kerry's past.

"He's a phony and he's a traitor," said Vietnam veteran Rich Burke, 66, of Boston. "He returned from Vietnam and testified in Congress that the military were baby killers and war criminals. He abandoned and left all of his comrades to put up with that sort of statement. He's no good."

The veterans gathered near Kerry's Boston office at 1 Bowdoin St. around 6 p.m. and marched toward the FleetCenter, where the convention is taking place. Vietnam veterans were joined by Korean veterans and Vietnamese-Americans, many of them from Boston and its suburbs.

The protest was designed to counter Kerry's use of Vietnam, including his war medals, as a campaign issue. Even before Kerry's arrival in Boston with 13 veterans Wednesday, the Democrat had routinely enlisted some of his former comrades to boost his presidential campaign.

"They're in the minority," said Korean War veteran Richard Creccr, 70, of Brighton, Mass. "These are the veterans right here. We're the ones who count. We'll be the ones voting. Let's hope he doesn't make it, but in this country, you never know."

But one prominent veteran, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a one-time Democrat presidential candidate, dismissed the veterans' effort.

"What [Kerry] did was straightforward and courageous," Clark told CNSNews.com. "He received the appropriate recommendations and awards for it. That's the way it should be."

Kerry's repeated mention of Vietnam in his presidential bid has irked some veterans because of the anti-war positions he took once he returned from his four-month tour of duty. Kerry became an influential leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, aligning himself with activist Jane Fonda. One sign on Wednesday compared "Hanoi Jane" to "Hanoi John."

The future U.S. senator also testified before Congress about alleged atrocities that American soldiers had committed in Vietnam. Those memories still linger for some veterans.

"Because of people like Kerry and Fonda, Vietnam vets had to hide under a rock for 15 years," said Reg Cornelia, 60, East Hampton, N.Y. "He came back and he lied about the atrocities, and worse still, he brought guys to testify before Congress who he knew had never served in Vietnam."

Kerry turned on U.S. soldiers as a matter of "political expediency," Cornelia said. He wondered why the news media hadn't pushed Kerry on that subject.

"Mark my words," Burke added. "See how much national news coverage this protest gets. These guys are all veterans, they know his record, and they're all against him. Yet the mainstream media will probably ignore this rally so it becomes a non-event."

Some veterans said they've tracked Kerry's career. Vietnam veteran James Booth, 58, of South China, Maine, said coming out to oppose the Democrat on the eve of his prime-time speech was the right thing to do.

"We know he's a phony," Booth said. "You don't get two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star in 21 days. You don't do it, no way. I was at Walter Reed [Army Medical Center] for 18 months. I got one Purple Heart. I lost an eye, part of my jaw and got hit in the arm. This guy's got three scratches and he's making a big deal out of it. It doesn't seem right."

E-mail a news tip to Robert B. Bluey.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.

[hattend]

Free Speech Zone? What happened if they said "Kerry is a f'n liar" outside the "zone"?

[Grampa Dave]

Poseur Troll Alert.

On aisle 62.

The long run on paragraph strikes a memory bell with me. This is probably not his first Trolling on Free Republic.

It is amazing how fast the Lunatic Left's Brownshirt Digital Response Trolls respond to threads like this.

[The Wizard]

bttt

[BushisTheMan]

My letter to the editor:

'Hanoi John' Gets Unwelcome Reception From Veterans

Thank you for writing and covering the story about the Swift Boat Vets and other Vietnam veterans. I am not a veteran - I am someone who kept my mouth closed during the Vietnam era days and let people like John Kerry and his ilk dishonor these warriors.

I am ashamed for my silence 30 years ago. I am speaking out now and I hope to do everything I can to see that John Kerry NEVER becomes commander in chief over our military.

This topic deserves more coverage and I thank you for writing about it.

[BushisTheMan]

I sent the wintersoldier.com and the switvets Web sites to Canada Free Press along with the NewsMax article and a photo of the Vietnam vets protest.

I suggested they speak to some of the vets and then maybe do a story.

We should pick one conservative and one non-conservative local newspaper and ALL do the same! Be sure to mention that these are non-political Web sites (only Vets speaking out)

[Dan from Michigan]

My dad was the first person in the family to put a Bush bumper sticker on his truck. Before that he had "Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry". First bumper stickers he's ever put on.

[BushisTheMan]

Breaking News from NewsMax.com

CBS Poll: Kerry Still Losing Vet Vote to Bush

Military veterans still aren't buying into Sen. John Kerry's campaign sales pitch that his service in Vietnam qualifies him to be Commander-in-Chief, the latest CBS News poll shows.

The survey - taken on the eve of the Democratic Convention and never mentioned in formal news reports - shows that veterans back President Bush over Kerry, 47 to 41 percent.

Kerry's fellow Vietnam veterans were not surveyed independently. But anecdotal evidence suggests that most veterans of that era still harbor deep resentments against Kerry because of anti-war protests where he trashed his comrades in arms as war criminals and cavorted with Vietnam Veteran Public Enemy No. 1, Jane Fonda.

The survey shows some improvement for the Massachusetts Democrat over a CBS poll taken in June, where Kerry trailed Bush with veterans by 15 points. Still, if the presidential challenger doesn't top Bush in the veterans catagory by the end of the Democratic Convention, it's sure to be a huge political embarrassment.

To that end, the Kerry-Edwards campaign has rounded up support from a handful of ex-military commanders such as former Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. William J. Crowe, who also vouched for Bill Clinton's national security credentials in 1992.

But outside of a few of Kerry's Swift Boat comrades, most who served with him in Vietnam seem to oppose his bid for the White House.

In May, 220 out of the 229 Swift Boat veterans contacted by the group "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" signed an open letter questioning Kerry's fitness to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

Among those registering their objections to Kerry: the entire chain of command he served under in Vietnam; including Lt. Commander Grant Hibbard, Lt. Commander George Elliott, Captain Charles Plumly, Captain Adrian Lonsdale USCG, and Rear Admiral Roy Hoffman.

[Chieftain]

There is one where I work that claims to be a Marine Corp Vet, claims to have been a DI in fact. He supports all known commiecRATs. I don't discuss politics with him. To do so wouldn't be good for his health, or my continued employment.

I am a 22 year USMC veteran and proud GOP supporter. I can honestly tell you that there are career Marines, and I am sure other branches as well, are cuddled in their warm cocoon of gubmint security.

Mind you, most of these guys are R.E.M.F.'s. They are the ones who bogart the accompanied tours and never deploy, when all the rest are out in the field 300 days a year. They like that nice warm soft gubmint teat. They are Democraps from jump street.

Fortunately, they only comprise a very small minority (maybe 15%) of the active duty forces.

[MEGoody]

"Kerry's repeated mention of Vietnam in his presidential bid has irked some veterans because of the anti-war positions he took once he returned from his four-month tour of duty."

That's exactly it. He wants to play the hero now, but he tried to make all the soldiers look cruel and evil back then. He doesn't deserve to be commander in chief.

[ride the whirlwind]

BUMP

I wish everyone could read what you wrote on this thread. Thanks for sharing your sadness, and outrage at sKerry. God bless!

[Lovergirl]

SheLion,
My husband was also Army.(Sgt.,also) He used to send me pictures when he was in VietNam (we weren't married at the time). He had sent me a couple of pictures of the spraying. I never thought much about them until after he died. Those pictures are what got me my widows benefits. My Veterans Affairs Officer made copies of them and told the VA that we had them. I had waited over a year for those benefits.

[BushisTheMan]

Here's one

(taken from NewsMax article)

To that end, the Kerry-Edwards campaign has rounded up support from a handful of ex-military commanders such as former Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. William J. Crowe, who also vouched for Bill Clinton's national security credentials in 1992.

[SheLion]

My husband was also Army.(Sgt.,also) He used to send me pictures when he was in VietNam (we weren't married at the time). He had sent me a couple of pictures of the spraying. I never thought much about them until after he died. Those pictures are what got me my widows benefits. My Veterans Affairs Officer made copies of them and told the VA that we had them. I had waited over a year for those benefits.

I didn't know hubby when he was in Nam. I met him a few months after he came home. I am GLAD I didn't know him at that time. I would have been a total wreck. I'm happy your got the widows benefits. I'm not sure what that is...........so I guess I am not getting them. :(

[SheLion]

I wish everyone could read what you wrote on this thread. Thanks for sharing your sadness, and outrage at sKerry. God bless!

Thanks so much. I kept it in as long as I could. But the more the media toots Kerry's horn about being in Nam the madder I get. 4 and a half months? I bet that man never had a dirty fingernail in his life.

He should have lived in the dirt for over a year like the rest of the Vets! Kerry is sickening!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Just got off the phone with talk show host Lars Larson out of Oregon.
I believe he is carried in some other areas nationally.

I told Lars I was there Oct'68-Apr'69 on the USS CORRY DD 817 as a GMG 3
(Gunners Mate 3rd Class)
And that we operated in North and South Vietnam
and in the Mekong Delta supplying supplied PCF's and PBR's

What I asked him was if Kerry could make films while he was in Viet Nam for 4 months
where were his films with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War
for 2 + years when he came home.
Where was footage of them marching with the Viet Cong flag.
Where were his films of Jane Fonda.

Lars Larson then started talking about the Swift Boat Vets AGAINST Kerry.
I then told him Bob Elder was on Laura Ingram today saying what a phony Kerry was.
Specifically how 2 of his Purple Hearts were phony.
And how his "rescue of a Army Captain" was fake.
Kerry took no fire, what so ever.

We all know by now TV and Cable newsrooms WILL NOT TELL THE TRUTH.
I urge everyone to hit the radio talk shows and the internet.

[wingnutx]

Ping!

[NonValueAdded]

WooHoo!

[Howlin]

I am someone who kept my mouth closed during the Vietnam era days and let people like John Kerry and his ilk dishonor these warriors.

You took the words right out of my mouth; I think that is why I am so furious about John Kerry. I was so upset when the realization came to me that I didn't post for days.

[NonValueAdded]

I'm sorry to hear that your hubby is gone. Kerry isn't fit to even shine his boots, let alone walk in them.