Three Former POWs Say Communists Used Kerry's Words for Torment

Jim Warner will never forget when he first heard of John Kerry. It was May of 1971, and Warner was a Marine first lieutenant suffering in solitary confinement in North Vietnam's infamous Skid Row punishment camp.

Since his F-4 fighter had been shot down three and a half years earlier, Warner had been tortured and interrogated regularly by his captors.

One morning--Warner thinks it was a Saturday--he was subjected to an unusually long three-hour interrogation, during which they made him read the typewritten transcript of a statement by a U.S. Navy officer, who was Vietnam veteran, speaking in the United States. The speech included a litany of American war atrocities against the Vietnamese and advocated an immediate and unilateral withdrawal from Vietnam.

"JAN LET'S THEM HAVE IT!" By Jan Visconti - April 2003 RE: A Response to the letter artists wrote to President Bush AND: Gillian Anderson, Rene Auberjonois, Edward Asner Jackson Browne, David Bale, Kim Basinger, Ed Begley Jr., Theo Bikel, Barbara Bosson, Peter Beck (REM), Kathleen Chalfant, Diahann Carroll, Jill Clayburgh, David Clennon, Jack Coleman, Peter Coyote, Lindsay Crouse, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Dana Daurey, Suzanne Dwyer, Vincent D'Onofrio, David Duchovny, Olympia Dukakis, Charles S. Dutton, Hector Elizondo, Cary Elwes, Shelley Fabaras, Mike Farrell, Mia Farrow, Laurence Fishburne, Sean Patrick Flanery, Bonnie Franklin, John Fugelsang, Janeane Garofalo, Larry Gelbart, Melissa Gilbert, Danny Glover, Elliott Gould, Samaria Graham, Robert Greenwald, Robert Guillaume, Paul Haggis, Robert David Hall, Ethan Hawke, Ron Howard, Helen Hunt, Anjelica Huston, LaTanya Richardson, Jackson Samuel, L. Jackson, Jane Kaczmarek, Melina Kanakaredes, Casey Kasem, Mimi Kennedy, Jessica Lange, Tea Leoni, Wendie Malick, Camryn Manheim, Marsha Mason, Richard Masur, Dave Mathews, Kent McCord, Robert Duncan, McNeill Mike Mills (REM), Janel Moloney, Esai Morales, Ed O'Neill, Chris Noth, Peter Onorati, Alexandra Paul, Seth Peterson, Tony Shalhoub, CCH Pounder, David Rabe, Alan Rachins, Bonnie Raitt, Carl Reiner, Tim Robbins, Mitch Ryan, William Schallert, Susan Sarandon, Loretta Swit, Susan Sullivan, Martin Sheen, Armin Shimerman, Gloria Steinem, Marcia Strassman, Michael Stipe (REM), Studs Terkel, Lily Tomlin, Blair Underwood, Dennis Weaver, Bradley Whitford, James Whitmore, James Whitmore, Jr., Alfre Woodard, Noah Wyle, Peter Yarrow, Howard Zinn. Ambassador Jonathan Dean (U.S. Rep. to NATOWarsaw Pact), Jack Shanahan Vice, Adm. U.S. Navy (Ret.), Ambassador Edward Peck (former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq), Eugene J. Carron, Jr., Rear Adm. U.S. Navy (Ret.), Steve Robinson, Sgt. U.S. Army (Ret.) (National Gulf War Resource Center). ©2003 All Rights Reserved - Website by Tree Media Group ================= I have NO IDEA who you are or what your connection to the military is, but I must applaud your work here. To name ALL these celebrities is undertaking a tremendous responsibility, needless to say, possible legal charges against the fact that YOU HAVE ALSO excercized your right of FREE SPEECH in the UNITED STATES!!! I am Jan Visconti. Wife/widow of Major Francis Edward Visconti, USMC, POW/MIA, South Vietnam, 22 November 1965. 37 years later, our 3 adult children, 6 grandchildren and I STILL wait for the copiously elusive turthful information about, what happened to our loved one. My youngest son Tony 39, just did an interview with local Fox News here in Orlando Fl...Oher than a human interest story, I think their objective was to bring to light, how MIA families have in the past and continue to wait for word or remains (a shard of bone or a tooth or 2) of their loved ones, even 37 years later. Since the media has not and does not make a habit of searching out a Vietnam POW/MIA Family, it's unheard of that a Vietnam family is interviewd randomly, (other than for the return of "alleged" remains, the humanitarian gesture of Fox News here, is totally lost on the Visconti's. The publicity, although thoughtful and "classy," methinks, was ONLY because of the POW who is from Orlando, Chief Warrent Officer, David S. Williams 30 years old, (same age as my husband when he was lost) Army, Apache Chopper pilot. In other words, and subtley sarcastic on the medias side, 'if we survived, why can't the families of Gulf War 11 do the same??!! What do these alleged celebrities know except how to "ACT??" Given acting degrees, most do NOT have more than a high school degree, if even. AND, this blatant exhibition of using thier "star status" and "financial power," doing this "jane fonda copy cat" thing, merely shows their ignorance about the military, their families and the EXTREMELY HIGH REGARD in which true AMERICANS hold their fighting men and families. Mind you, I said AMERICANS... NOT our government, and certainly, NOT these "protesters." Our family's case is a perfect example of how the USG devastated our lives!! I'd LOVE TO MEET ANY ONE of these so called "celebrities" and give them my shoes to wear for an hour! They could NOT get them on past their big toes!!! How many big talk show people have EVER done the VIETNAM FAMILY THING? NONE of them even want to touch anything to do with Vietnam...Oprah, Rosie, Regis, Donahue, Barbara, Hugh...etc...just to mention a few....

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.