Posted on 09/12/2004 3:35:47 PM PDT by Pikamax
Vietnam Vets Rally Against Kerry in D.C.
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Chanting "Kerry lied," hundreds of Vietnam veterans on Sunday rallied against fellow veteran and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites).
AP Photo
Comrades died because of people like Kerry and Jane Fonda, asserted Larry Bailey, a U.S. Navy (news - web sites) veteran and president of Vietnam Vets for the Truth.
With the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, Bailey accused Kerry of lying three decades ago when he returned from Vietnam and gave testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1971 alleging widespread atrocities by American troops.
"We can tell him (Kerry) and spit in his eye while we're doing it, 'we served honorably and compassionately,'" Bailey said to cheers from the crowd of approximately 1,000.
Bailey's speech was interrupted when a shouting match broke out between a lone Kerry supporter in a wheelchair, Vietnam veteran Bobby Mueller, and a number of the anti-Kerry vets.
Before the rally, a group of supporters held a news conference nearby to defend Kerry and call for an end to the TV ads attacking the military record of the Massachusetts senator.
"What we ought to be talking about is what's happening today and that includes the best person to lead us out of the mess we've got ourselves in Iraq (news - web sites)," Retired Gen. Merrill "Tony" McPeak, a former chief of staff of the Air Force, told reporters.
McPeak, who is advising the Kerry campaign and is a Vietnam veteran, said those who have questioned the five medals Kerry was awarded for Vietnam either weren't directly serving with him or their accounts have been directly contradicted by other vets who were side-by-side with Kerry.
Vietnam Veteran, Retired Capt. Larry Bailey, with the group, Vietnam Vets for the Truth, addresses the crowd representing men and women who served during Vietnam war, as they stage a 'John Kerry Lied' rally at Upper Senate Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004, in Washington. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
Vietnam Veterans, from left to right, Mike O'Dea, of Carmel, Ind., Bill Brantley, of Miami, Fla., Marshall Huckaby, of Atlanta, Ga. and Rick Allison, of Bluffton, S.C. gather with Vietnam Vets for the Truth, as they stage a 'John Kerry Lied' rally at Upper Senate Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004, in Washington.(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
Bobby Mueller, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, left, argues with a protester as he disrupts a 'John Kerry Lied' rally put on by Vietnam Vets for the Truth, at Upper Senate Park, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004, in Washington.(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
Of course, the AP picture shows a disrupter arguing with a disabled vet.
kerry has been lying to the voters in Mass. for 20 years.
Very good! Some Vietnamese Americans were going there also according to an article I posted earlier- you'll like it.
Kerry's New Vietnam Fix - Refugees of communist takeover won't forget, forgive his past(GOOD ONE)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1214011/posts
I thought the crowd became larger and more vocal as the afternoon went on.
Were my eyes playing tricks on me or did they show Zell Miller in the front row?
Finally, I'd like to take this moment to thank the Viet Nam Vets and all the other Vets out there for putting it all on the line for our freedom. I'm sorry I didn't realize what you came home to. All I can say is" WELCOME HOME and THANK YOU".
I only got to see the first half, as I had to drive my Daughter back to college....but yes , the crowd does look larger.
"He visited Hanoi in 1981 and laid a wreath inscribed with "With respect, from the Vietnam Veterans of America" on the tomb of Ho Chi Minh."
That's disgusting. Why is this man even in this country? He should be deported to his beloved commie Vietnam.
Some other freepers have commented on him - and have not been complimentary. I think he was under the toon. He has made an ad for sKerry - said he voted for W in 2000, but will vote for sKerry in 2004.
Carol is the Youngest Daughter being held by her Mom, in this picture.
Carol Gell is the blond in the Baseball cap, in this picture
The agitator is in the Wheel Chair.
The point is that KERRY KNEW AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS ALL A LIE!!!!!
Carol Gell Crowley gave an excellent speech and the crowd stood and applauded her numerous times. All of the speakers were excellent and the rally was long overdue to recognize veterans of the Vietnam War. It was a very good day in America.
BTW -- KERRY LIED. . .and GOOD MEN DIED!
I wish I could of stayed to see the whole thing, it would of been great to be there with them, but we were here in spirit.
As usual, AP reporters can't count and AP photographers are very careful in their shots to downplay the actual numbers of people attending this rally. The photo is a close shot and cuts off the huge number of people sitting and standing under the trees and along walkways. It also doesn't begin to show the depth of the crowd. It was packed close in and more people kept showing up after the program had begun. My perception was that the crowd size was easily as big as the March for Justice and the first Second Amendment Sisters rally -- those rallies were estimated by Park Police to be around 5,000 participants. There were a lot of people at Senator's Park today.
McPeak was chief of staff for the AF during the Clintonian Regime. The big headache that I remember from him was the intro to corporate culture into the AF as well as the whole Quality Air Force.
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