Ralph, the story of a viet nam vet as told by his wife. (Did Kerry's 1971 testimony do damage?)

me | 8/26/04 | me

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

Dear Mr. President,

What an honor it is to be able to email you. There are two issues I would like to cover in this letter.

The first one is to say how thankful I am for the Swift Vets and their courage to uncover the truth about John Kerry. It breaks my heart and angers me that anyone would consider him a hero. He lied about our brave soldiers in Vietnam, causing their homecoming to be even more painful and hateful.

My husband, Ralph, was just one soldier hurt by his lies. He was spit on at the airport and called a rapist and baby-killer. Ralph served our great Country for 3 tours in Vietnam, lost the end of his finger for which he didn't receive a Purple Heart, whereas John Kerry received 3 and never shed any blood? More importantly than that, he suffered from severe PTSD for 33 years along with symptoms of Agent Orange until he lost the battle on November 2nd, 2003 from a massive heart attack.

My belief is that he died from a broken heart.

I watched him suffer for years, many times standing by helplessly, unable to relieve his pain and fear. The greatest blessing left is that he is in Heaven now, and no longer has to run from the war and what our Country did to him.

Our children and I have always been so very proud of him and his service and miss him dreadfully. My belief is that John Kerry should be held accountable for all the harm he has done to our soldiers and their families. What a shame and a slap in the face it would be if this man were to become President and represent the greatest Country in the world, all the time being responsible for such an atrosity. I pray that he is fully exposed, as he owes a tremendous apology to every man that served in Vietnam, along with every family member connected to that soldier.

The second issue I would like to address is the VA and how they handled Ralph's claim for compensation along with how they are handling it now. You see, Ralph passed away before they ever finished his claim. That totally breaks my heart as he so deserved the compensation for all the years of suffering. When he did pass away, the claim started all over for dependent compensation. I have been informed that it is now my responsibility to prove his death was service-related, even though they were the ones treating him for severe PTSD and I'm sure knew the connection to the heart. I became more aware of that connection after going to the National Cemetary in Ft Scott, Kansas to visit Ralph's grave. As I looked around the section he is buried in, I realized that the majority of the other stones in that section were for men that served in Vietnam and all in their early 50's also. When I came back home, I looked up heart and Vietnam on the internet and found everything I knew in my own heart, that PTSD and heart attacks are related. I found that the connection was realized in 1999 and many soldiers have died the same way as Ralph. Along with this, to my knowledge, the VA didn't check his heart out, nor did they tell us this could happen.

I confronted them with his medical records for the past 27 years along with the knowledge of the connection they had known for 4 years. I begged them to let the Vets and their families know, along with treating them, so no other family would have to go through the shock and heartache our family has had to suffer. I'm not sure where this leaves me, as I'm not a Doctor, just a wife of a brave man, with his children that have shared in his suffering for 27 years. We watched the fear and listened to the screams in the night, all the while he was thinking he was going crazy. What heart could withstand this for so many years?

One of his therapists that tried to help him, said that the human heart was not made to handle being turned on by your own Country, along with the things he suffered in Vietnam, such as picking up body parts to send home, many being his friends. How could this have been allowed to be done to our precious men?

If there is any help you might be able to provide, we would so much appreciate it. Our brave soldier's name is: Ralph

VA case

Served in the United States Army for 3 tours in Vietnam.

Thank you so much for your time and we will be praying for your re-election.

Sincerely,

ProudVetWife

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

A friend of mine, and also a new freeper, ProudVetWife, sent this letter to President Bush a couple of days ago, and I thought that many of you here would appreciate this letter, so I am posting it for her.

ProudVetWife will join us later on this thread. You can post replies to her if you choose.

[Jewels1091]

Let us know if she gets a reply. Prayers for the whole family..found out a year ago my cousin was affected by angent orange.

[hoosiermama]

I don't know which state you are in, but do know our representative, senators help out the vets get thru all the paper work.....Please look into it.

My heart breaks for our vets AND their families....

[ProudVet77]

Just for clarity, she's not my wife.

[Chieftain]

Very touching email. Huys like that suffered immensely from Hanoi Kerry's slime. I am trying to get the word out to our folks on the road to work everyday, who need to know the what the Swift Boat Vets are doing!

I got this EXPOSE KERRY'S FRAUD SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH sticker on my truck the other day. The next day on the way to work and back I got lots of honks and 'thumbs up'!

The sticker serves 2 purposes:
1 - Shows visible support for "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" to passing motorists
2 - Gets the swiftvets.com website visible to the public, so they can and find out more about 'Hanoi John' Kerry

Made by fellow FReeper disabled vet who has a bone to pick with Kerry, like we all do!
Large (24" Wide 12" Tall) like mine
Small (12" Wide 6" Tall)
Profits go to SwiftVets.com

FReep mail for details.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

If she gets a reply, she may post it herself, but if she doesn't and it is ok with her, I will.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"I don't know which state you are in, but do know our representative, senators help out the vets get thru all the paper work.....Please look into it."

Thanks for the idea. I can do that.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

I like that window sticker.

You are one of the people I was thinking of pinging to this thread, I guess I don't have to now.

[dstarr]

My husband received much the same welcome when he returned from Vietnam. My husband did not suffer the PTSD that I know of. He had been retired from the military for a very long time when I married him and was already being treated by the VA. My husband, Gary, had suffered his first heart attack while still on active duty. That is what put him out of the service. Luckily, with his years pulling active duty, he was able to retire. Gary went through a great deal of stress when he tried to help and look after his first wife who had MS. When he put her in a nursing home, he soon had a stroke. He did very well after that. He and I found each other again and got married. I only had him for 3 years after waiting for him for over 20 years. My husband passed away April 9th of this year. When I turned in the paperwork for the DIC I was told within a couple of minutes that I would be approved for it as his death had been service related. Gary died from a massive heart attack and since a heart attack had put him out of the service then had already figured I would receive the DIC with no problems.

One time when he and I were visiting his aunt out in Bakersfield, CA we were sitting in her living room and just talking when Gary told us of his homecoming from Vietnam. He had the rotten onions and tomatoes thrown at him and was called "Baby Killer" and "Murderer." I know that he could not abide John Kerry, Hanoi Jane or any of the rest of the cast of Lefties. Gary was also very modest about his medals. He actually seemed almost embarassed to be wearing them when I would make him wear them to the Veteran's Day service at church. I always tried to get him to events that would thank him for his service. I even had him at several Freeps. He was so cute being interviewed by the press and actually seemed to eat it up. I think he deserved to feel that way.

I was lucky in that since my husband had retired from the military, I had a Casualty Assistance Officer to help me with paperwork for the estate and in applying for whatever I could. The young men who are assigned this task are probably not thanked enough for all that they do. They have to step in to assist someone who feels that life has become surreal all of a sudden.

My husband had had me quit work to be here at home with him and to look after him. That DIC is all I have right now but I thank my husband and his service for it. Hopefully, I will be able to find a part time job to supplement the DIC until I become eligible for SS. That is still a ways off.

I hope that ProudVetWife can have something positive happen for her. I can identify with some of her feelings that she is probably having.

Thanks for letting me sound off. This election is probably hitting very close to home for all of the Vietnam vets and their family members. It has definitely been that way for me.

[tiki]

This letter is good but she needs to let the DAV and VFW help her. My father, a WWII vet, spent many hours helping vets get their rightful due. I see the VA hasn't changed in all these years.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

"I pray that he is fully exposed, as he owes a tremendous apology to every man that served in Vietnam, along with every family member connected to that soldier."

kerry admitted intentionally doing this in a cynical and calculating fashion. This proves it:

By Tony Blankley:

Some of the honorable members of big media are now doing some solid reporting on the subject. The Washington Post's David Broder in this week's column reported: "In a 2002 conversation, Kerry told me he thought it would be doubly advantageous that 'I fought in Vietnam and I also fought against the Vietnam War,' apparently not recognizing that some would see far too much political calculation in such a bifurcated record." Indeed, some of us would think that sounded remarkably like "I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it." If big media returns to its duty to report even-handedly on this presidential campaign for the remaining two months, there may be no need to ship them off to show trials and re-education camps.
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040824-085849-4084r.htm

here is the paragraph from Broders article.....the whole piece is worth a look.

"Having lived with that legacy since the start of his political career, Kerry may be judged naive to have thought that Vietnam would be a golden credential for the presidency -- and not an inevitable source of controversy. When he chose to make his Navy combat in Vietnam the principal metaphor for his dedication to public service and the proof of his toughness in a time of terrorism, he might have guessed that the skeptics would not remain silent. In a 2002 conversation, Kerry told me he thought it would be doubly advantageous that "I fought in Vietnam and I also fought against the Vietnam War," apparently not recognizing that some would see far too much political calculation in such a bifurcated record."
http://www.postwritersgroup.com/archives/brod0823.htm

[giznort]

I would like your comments after you read this. Thank you.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

First, I am very sorry to hear about your loss.

Second, thank you for sounding off.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

I thought you might be interested in this. If you can please send a ping.

Thanks.

[dstarr]

I had already made donations to two groups soliciting for Bush before Gary died. Since then I have purchased online a "Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry" bumper sticker and display it proudly. I have friends who are either retired military or are active duty and we are all watching the Swiftboat Vets with admiration. I look forward to each new ad that they come out with. I think it's GREAT!!!!! And about damned time!!!!!

[Lovergirl]

It's so sad that so many of us have lost a spouse and/or other loved ones who were Viet Nam vets. I lost a husband, a cousin was kia in 1968. They were honorable men. Kerry has no honor. He will NEVER be forgiven. Not by me.

[TASMANIANRED]

I thank your husband for service to our country and I thank you for supporting a fine man.

[Feiny]

DAV is one of the charities I regularly give $ to.....I have contact info if anyone need it.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

Can I please get a ping from the King of Ping?

Thanks,

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

John O'Niell faithful then, faithful still.

John O'Niell, 30Jun71 on Dick Cavett:

I'd like to turn to a second issue. Mr. Kerry is the type of person who lives and survives only on the war weariness and fears of the American people. This is the same little man who on nationwide television in April spoke of, quote, "crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command," who was quoted in a prominent news magazine in May as saying, quote, "war crimes in Vietnam are the rule and not the exception," unquote. Who brought 50 veterans down to Washington to testify about alleged atrocities in April, the same 50 who after they had appeared on every major news network refused to provide any depositions or provide any details of any kind.

Never in the course of human events have so many been libeled by so few.

There were two and a half million of us who served there in Vietnam under the most severe restrictions in this nation's history. We have brought this war close to a close. We never engaged in mass bombing of population centers, as all nations did in World War II, and the reason we did not is because we are a moral people.

Fifty-five thousand Americans died there in Vietnam no matter what they thought about the war because they believed in this country, and those of us who survived came back to this country, by and large determined just to resume our normal lives after the disruption caused by war.

We encountered a variety of problems: unemployment, discrimination, other problems, and then we encountered the biggest problem of them all, the big lie by Mr. Kerry and his group, that we were either each individually war criminals or that we were collectively the executioners of a criminal policy.

You've seen that all before, guilt by association. If one or 50 or 150 veterans testify as to war crimes, then all two and a half million of us must be war criminals. That's the same as saying if one Jew or one black commits one murder in this country, then all the Jews and all of the blacks in this country must be murderers, and that is something that we must not stand for in this country.