Posted on 07/31/2004 1:24:07 PM PDT by TEXOKIE
I have great concern that it was Kerry's testimony (and the fakes he brought with him) before the Congress in 1971 that is DIRECTLY responsible for the greetings that our troops who served in Viet Nam received when they returned home. These heros DID NOT deserve the spit and epithets of "baby killer!" when they came home from one nightmare only to be confronted with another.
John Kerry's testimony told Americans that our young men were worthless scum. He told Americans that our young men performed horrendous war crimes as a common, matter-of-course habit.
HE LIED.
This fact about that 1971 Kerry testimony and its DIRECT consequences and implications should be emphasized during the campaign. I dont believe many Americans actually realize that it is JOHN KERRY who in such great part did this to our troops.
This reviling of our servicemen has caused deep, lasting pain in thousands of veterans and their families. John Kerry should be held to account for this. People need to understand the DIRECT responsibility he bears for this.
We know that decent Americans have in their hearts a true and profound appreciation of our troops and veterans. In many ways they show their support for our troops today with an attitude of NEVER AGAIN!
By God's grace, may that be true.
Never Again.
John Kerry must NOT become president.
re your 25:
You are welcome. Thanks for your kind words.
"During Lt.(jg) Kerry's tour, he was under my command for two or three specific operations, before his rapid exit. Trust, loyalty and judgment are the key, operative words. His turncoat performance in 1971 in his grubby shirt and his medal-tossing escapade, coupled with his slanderous lines in the recent book portraying us that served, including all POWs and MIAs, as murderous war criminals, I believe, will have a lasting effect on all military veterans and their families. Kerry would be described as devious, self-absorbing, manipulative, disdain for authority, disruptive, but the most common phrase that you'd hear is 'requires constant supervision.'" -- Captain Charles Plumly, USN (retired)
"Thirty-five years ago, many of us fell silent when we came back to the stain of sewage that Mr. Kerry had thrown on us, and all of our colleagues who served over there. I don't intend to be silent today or ever again. Our young men and women who are serving deserve no less."
-- Andrew Horne
"In my specific, personal experience in both coastal and river patrols over a 12-month period, I never once saw or heard anything remotely resembling the atrocities described by Senator Kerry. If I had, it would have been my obligation to report them in writing to a higher authority, and I would certainly have done that. If Senator Kerry actually witnessed or participated in these atrocities or, as he described them, 'war crimes,' he was obligated to report them. That he did not until later when it suited his political purposes strikes me as opportunism of the worst kind. That he would malign my service and that of his fellow sailors with no regard for the truth makes him totally unqualified to serve as Commander-in-Chief."
-- Jeffrey Wainscott
"I signed that letter because I, too felt a deep sense of betrayal that someone who took the same oath of loyalty as I did as an officer in the United States Navy would abandon his group here (points to group photo) to join this group here (points to VVAW protest photo), and come home and attempt to rally the American public against the effort that this group was so valiantly pursuing. It is a fact that in the entire Vietnam War we did not lose one major battle. We lost the war at home ... and at home, John Kerry was the Field General." -- Robert Elder
"My daughters and my wife have read portions of the book 'Tour of Duty.' They wanted to know if I took part in the atrocities described. I do not believe the things that are described happened. Let me give you an example. In Brinkley's book, on pages 170 to 171, about something called the 'Bo De massacre' on November 24th of 1968... In Kerry's description of the engagement, first he claimed there were 17 servicemen that were wounded. Three of us were wounded. I was the first..." -- Joseph Ponder .
"While in Cam Rahn Bay, he trained on several 24-hour indoctrination missions, and one special skimmer operation with my most senior and trusted Lieutenant. The briefing from some members of that crew the morning after revealed that they had not received any enemy fire, and yet Lt.(jg) Kerry informed me of a wound -- he showed me a scratch on his arm and a piece of shrapnel in his hand that appeared to be from one of our own M-79s. It was later reported to me that Lt.(jg) Kerry had fired an M-79, and it had exploded off the adjacent shoreline. I do not recall being advised of any medical treatment, and probably said something like 'Forget it.' He later received a Purple Heart for that scratch, and I have no information as to how or whom. Lt.(jg) Kerry was allowed to return to the good old USA after 4 months and a few days in-country, and then he proceeded to betray his former shipmates, calling them criminals who were committing atrocities. Today we are here to tell you that just the opposite is true. Our rules of engagement were quite strict, and the officers and men of Swift often did not even return fire when they were under fire if there was a possibility that innocent people -- fishermen, in a lot of cases -- might be hurt or injured. The rules and the good intentions of the men increased the possibility that we might take friendly casualties." -- Commander Grant Hibbard, USN (retired)
"Lt. Kerry returned home from the war to make some outrageous statements and allegations... of numerous criminal acts in violation of the law of war were cited by Kerry, disparaging those who had fought with honor in that conflict. Had war crimes been committed by US forces in Vietnam? Yes, but such acts were few and far between. Yet Lt. Kerry gave numerous speeches and testimony before Congress inappropriately leading his audiences to believe that what was only an anomaly in the conduct of America's fighting men was an epidemic. Furthermore, he suggested that they were being encouraged to violate the law of war by those within the chain of command. Very specific orders, on file at the Vietnam archives at Texas Tech University, were issued by my father [Admiral Elmo Zumwalt] and others in his chain of command instructing subordinates to act responsibly in preserving the life and property of Vietnamese civilians." -- Lt. Col. James Zumwalt, USMC ) , retired.
"We look at Vietnam... after all these years it is still languishing in isolated poverty and helplessness and tyranny. This is John Kerry's legacy. I deeply resent John Kerry's using his Swift boat experience, and his betrayal of those who fought there as a stepping-stone to his political ambitions." -- Barnard Wolff
"In a whole year that I spent patrolling, I didn't see anything like a war crime, an atrocity, anything like that. Time and again I saw American fighting men put themselves in graver danger trying to avoid... collateral damage. When John Kerry returned to the country, he was sworn in front of Congress. And then he told my family -- my parents, my sister, my brother, my neighbors -- he told everyone I knew and everyone I'd ever know that I and my comrades had committed unspeakable atrocities." -- David Wallace
"I served with these guys. I went on missions with them, and these men served honorably. Up and down the chain of command there was no acquiescence to atrocities. It was not condoned, it did not happen, and it was not reported to me verbally or in writing by any of these men including Lt.(jg) Kerry. In 1971, '72, for almost 18 months, he stood before the television audiences and claimed that the 500,000 men and women in Vietnam, and in combat, were all villains -- there were no heroes. In 2004, one hero from the Vietnam War has appeared, running for President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief. It just galls one to think about it."
-- Captain George Elliott, USN (retired)
"During the Vietnam War I was Task Force Commander at An Thoi, and my tour of duty was 13 months, from the end of Tet to the beginning of the Vietnamization of the Navy units. Now when I went there right after Tet, I was restricted in my movements. I couldn't go much of anyplace because the Vietcong controlled most of the area. When I left, I could go anywhere I wanted, just about. Commerce was booming, the buses were running, trucks were going, the waterways were filled with sampans with goods going to market, but yet in Kerry's biography he says that our operations were a complete failure. He also mentions a formal conference with me, to try to get more air cover and so on. That conference never happened..."
-- Captain Adrian Lonsdale, USCG (retired)
"I was in An Thoi from June of '68 to June of '69, covering the whole period that John Kerry was there. I operated in every river, in every canal, and every off-shore patrol area in the 4th Corps area, from Cambodia all the way around to the Bo De River. I never saw, even heard of all of these so-called atrocities and things that we were supposed to have done. This is not true. We're not standing for it. We want to set the record straight." -- William Shumadine
"In 1971, when John Kerry spoke out to America, labeling all Vietnam veterans as thugs and murderers, I was shocked and almost brought to my knees, because even though I had served at the same time and same unit, I had never witnessed or participated in any of the events that the Senator had accused us of. I strongly believe that the statements made by the Senator were not only false and inaccurate, but extremely harmful to the United States' efforts in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. Tragically, some veterans, scorned by the antiwar movement and their allies, retreated to a life of despair and suicide. Two of my crewmates were among them. For that there is no forgiveness. " -- Richard O'Meara
"My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?" -- Steven Gardner
"I served in Vietnam as a boat officer from June of 1968 to July of 1969. My service was three months in Coastal Division 13 out of Cat Lo, and nine months with Coastal Division 11 based in An Thoi. John Kerry was in An Thoi the same time I was. I'm here today to express the anger I have harbored for over 33 years, about being accused with my fellow shipmates of war atrocities. All I can say is when I leave here today, I'm going down to the Wall to tell my two crew members it's not true, and that they and the other 49 Swiftees who are on the Wall were then and are still now the best." -- Robert Brant
"I never saw, heard of, or participated in any Swift boat crews killing cattle, poisoning crops, or raping and killing civilians as charged by John Kerry, both in his book and in public statements. Since we both operated at the same time, in the same general area, and on the same missions under the same commanders, it is hard to believe his claims of atrocities and poor planning of Sea Lord missions. I signed this letter because I feel that he used Swift boat sailors to proclaim his antiwar statements after the war, and now he uses the same Swift boat sailors to support his claims of being a war hero. He cannot have it both ways, and we are here to ask for full disclosure of the proof of his claims." -- James Steffes .
please, forward this to everybody on your list. Voters in the United States of America need to see this article to get a genuine understanding of Kerry.
Roger that ~ John F'n Kerry is a lying traitor ~ Bump!
So I suppose we are all in agreement then,
when we go before the Throne of Grace, that the Lord God of Heaven and earth, with tens of thousands of His angels will work, and then......sometimes.......... that work comes through our very own hands.
This I do believe.
Then, on the other side........
I get frustrated at the lack of knowledge on what's appropriate news! This Kerry/Vietnam thing shouldn't be keep quiet!
We can all see there is a black-out on anything negative about Kerry's past shenanigans.
The man is an out-right or should I say out-left TRAITOR!
I know this, you know this, we all know this.
Okay, now what?
Yes, I can write to the editor and email the Congress and Senators and I snail mail them also. I have free long distance so I make a lot of calls. Which I do all of that. I don't actually know if there has been any changes made. Except for Whoopi. That happened fast!
I'm not bemoaning that nothing has changed. Which that's something to moan about. ;-(
What I was asking about is...............
what do I/we do next!!!!!!!?
How do we get this information into the right hands? That's the first thing.
The next thing is causing the people that hear, to act on the information they have heard.
I just visited Thursday morning, one of the hospitals here to see a friend. In the room with her was a very sweet older lady. My friend had whispered to me she was a dim.
On TV at the time, was of course, the dimcon. My friend and I discussed the politics of the thing.
As I began to leave the lady stopped me. She handed me a newspaper clipping and said, read it.
I started to read, and it was a very very bad joke about W.
I looked at her and said, that's pretty bad to talk about a Christian like that.
She began to tell me, "George Bush said we worship the same God that the Muslims worship". "He's no Christian".
I looked at her and said, "Oh no he didn't".
"No, No, No, he didn't say that". No amount of explaining helped her to see any different.
She said, "well Brother so & so said he did. So I don't want him/W as president".
This is the kind of thinking some of these people have. And oh my goodness...................they vote!
And when they vote, they pull that dim lever.
It drives me nuts. And I live here in a virtual Republican safe place.
But here............isn't what concerns me.
It's out there, and over there, and up there, and down there in Florida.
Whatever we can do. Let's do it!!!
God Bless George W. Bush and our Military and
God Bless America!!!
He does not disparage the men - just the leadership...
Excellent anti-Kerry video laying out the VietNam case against him...
Great to forward and spread to the public.
http://www.stopjohn.com/movies/hanoi-john.htm
Kerry Fitness Reports in Vietnam Show Him Unfit for Command
(Explodes Central Kerry Campaign Lie)
Kerry’s FITREPs are awash in dings, and some of the reports border on the adverse, particularly his combat FITREPs. The FITREPs convey significant performance problems and suggest problems in conduct, so much so that it is surprising that the campaign chose to release them. This may suggest that the FITREPs held from public view are even more adverse.
In what would customarily be an opportunity for a glowing “swan song” FITREP, the Commanding Officer of USS Gridley (DLG-21) tacitly blasts Kerry on his departure for Swift Boat duty by ranking him significantly below the norm in desirability for virtually every Navy assignment possible -– command, staff, whatever. He is a ship handler who is dinged in ship handling. He is in line for command, but his CO doesn’t want him near the bridge. He is slammed in all performance areas –- most notably and significantly in initiative and reliability. The “nice” narrative emphasizes performance in collateral duties, but in the grades and marks, the CO is telling the selection board and detailer loud and clear that this officer is lazy, unreliable and not suited for command. 3 SEP 68 (W.E. HARPER).
JFK makes me want to puck.
SEMPER FI ALL
.
NEVER FORGET
JOHN KERRY came back from Vietnam to call us American Soldiers fighting for Freedom there...
...Rapists and Terrorists
http://www.TheAlamoFILM.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1320
...whereas...
MEL GIBSON came back from filming our real Vietnam War Story "WE WERE SOLDIERS" inspired to finally make his ultimate Story of Love and Sacrifice titled...
.."The PASSION of the Christ"
http://www.TheAlamoFILM.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p+39081
I wonder WHO got the Story right..?
Signed:.."ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer / Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm
"MODERN DAY HEROES" -
Contributing Author
http://www.ModernDayHeroes.com/aloha
NEVER FORGET
The same people are still active enemies of our troops and our country. Current activities of the left:
The Marxists return - Pittsburgh Live 6-20-04
~snip~
As we mourned the death of President Ronald Reagan and celebrated his triumphs, those who had been his life-long enemies -- the communists, the radical left and their money men -- emerged to scheme and plan.
~snip~
As he lay dying, some 2,000 of his enemies, called together by the Campaign for America's Future (CAF), arrived here to plot and conspire how to further infiltrate and control John Kerry's presidential campaign.
~snip~
Vietnam redux
The people were there to do just that. From ACORN to the most militant labor unions, from the National Organization of Women to the Sierra Club, they were there and highly vocal. A new organization was formed to represent more than 20 million Americans who will be organized by the old-and-tried precinct organizing skills now linked to computers.
Many of the organizations taking part in the Campaign for America's Future -- 30 years earlier -- a part of the Vietnam War peace offensive, the anti-nuclear weapons campaigns of the 1980s and the campaigns against free trade of this century. Each and every one of these campaigns was orchestrated by our country's enemies, whose goals remain inimical to the interests of the United States.
Campaign for America's Future (CAF)
~snip~
Inside the Fleet Center this week, few speakers have engaged the fierce antiwar views of the vast majority of delegates.
Instead, activists and delegates flocked to panels and forums around Boston in order to debate and discuss the war, the occupation and what is to be done. On Wednesday afternoon, the Campaign for America's Future and The Nation co-sponsored a debate on "Iraq, The US and the World."
Yahoo News Link Campaign for America's Future Press Release
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
2:00 p.m. Amb. Joe Wilson, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, Rep. Barbara
Lee, D-Calif., and The Nation Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel
debate the role of the U.S. in Iraq and the world.
Royal Sonesta Hotel Grand Ballroom, 5 Cambridge Parkway
OPEN PRESS
Press entrance: main entrance
Preset time: 1:45 p.m.
Final access: 2:00 p.m.
Throw: 50 feet
Two-Faced “Progressive” Democrats One message in private, another in public. National Review 7-29-04
Thank you so much for this essay! Indeed, the voters must understand that he is directly responsible for this.
Thank you so much for the post and ping. Let's bump this thread to the top so that some more people can find out the truth!
"this campaign is bringing it all back like so many bad dreams"
Welcome Home Brother
Bttt
I would like to talk to you a little bit about what the result is of the feelings these men lenz carryies with them him after coming back from Vietnam wherever it is he goes. The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men a man who have has been taught to deal and to trade in violence, and who are is given the chance to die for the biggest nothing in history; men a man who have has returned with a sense of anger and a sense of betrayal which no one has yet grasped.
They He told the stories at times they he had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
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