Just so ya'll will know, I'm ashamed
that Dan Rather is from Texas!
Posted on 09/17/2004 10:18:28 AM PDT by Howlin
Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History, by B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley, Dallas, TX: Verity Press, 1998, 692 pages, hardback
One of the most ingrained stereotypes that plague the 3.3 million Americans who served in Vietnam is the tainted image of the Vietnam vet as scruffy, jobless, homeless, mentally unstable, addicted, suicidal, and stranded on the fringes of society. It is an image that has been reinforced by innumerable TV dramas, movies, and newscasts. It is also usually tied to stories about the horrors of war, atrocities, and other dark deeds that, allegedly, have caused these personal problems for the tragic vet.
The highly hyped 1988 CBS program, "The Wall Within," purporting to tackle the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a perfect example of the lies and distortions about Vietnam that have been fed to three generations of Americans. The program profiled six pathetic victims who it claimed were "representative" of those who served in Vietnam. It claimed that the symptoms suffered by these men were shared by hundreds of thousands of other veterans. The Dan Rather "documentary" became part of the CBS video history series on Vietnam and is graced with a formal introduction by liberal-left one-worlder Walter Cronkite.
This is how Dan Rather introduced his TV audience to one of his prize victims: "At age 16, Steve was a Navy SEAL, trained to assassinate. For almost two years, he operated behind enemy lines, then he broke. He came home in a straightjacket, addicted to alcohol and drugs."
According to the CBS propaganda piece, "Steve" had been trained to massacre and mutilate Vietnamese civilians and then blame the atrocities on the Communists. "You’re telling me that you went into the village, killed people, burned part of the village, then made it appear that the other side had done this?" Rather asked. "Yeah," Steve responded. "For propaganda purposes at home," Rather added. "That’s correct," Steve confirmed.
Terry Bradley, another supposed Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD, told a grisly tale of having, on one occasion, skinned alive up to 50 Vietnamese men, women and children. He told of cutting out hearts and eyeballs, of mangling and stacking their bloody bodies. The CBS program showed the mentally tormented vet at night in a dark forest howling at the sky.
Another PTSD victim, George Greul, told the CBS team that he had been traumatized by witnessing his friend’s gruesome death on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier while the ship was on a "secret mission" off the coast of Vietnam. He had seen his buddy accidentally walk into a spinning propeller blade and had been spattered with his blood.
The critically acclaimed "Wall Within" was a colossal fraud. The man identified as "Steve" turned out to be one Steve Southards, and through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Burkett obtained his military records. The truth, he found, was that "Southards was not a SEAL, nor had he taken any SEAL training.... In reality, Southards was an ‘internal communications repairman,’ assigned to rear area bases and had no combat decorations. His only special training was a ‘motion picture operation course (16mm),’ at Subic Bay in the Philippines." What’s more, he had spent time in the brig for going AWOL six times. According to Burkett’s research, "Little that Southards had told Rather was true except that he had been in the Navy, and that his first name was Steve."
Terry Bradley was not a "fighting sergeant," as Dan Rather had described him, but another storytelling misfit who had spent 300 days either AWOL or in the stockade. No evidence was provided by CBS, and Burkett could find none either, from official sources or otherwise, to verify Bradley’s tales of mass atrocities.
George Greul’s carrier, the Ticonderoga, was deployed on a training mission off the coast of California, not a "secret mission" off the coast of Vietnam, when the fatal propeller accident he referred to took place. But Greul was not present when the accident happened; he was merely repeating what he had heard. However, his story had convinced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that he had been sufficiently traumatized to receive a couple thousand dollars a month in compensation.
Hijacked Honor ("The Wall Within" 1988 CBS/Dan Rather fraudulent documentary on vets)
This was just just discussed on Dayside with Linda Vester on Fox News!
FYI.......more fraud by CBS
One day, he walked into a Bureau Chief's Office in Siagon. The chief said, "Hi Jack! What's today's body count?" Dad told him he didn't know.
Then the chief asked, "Do you have any good stories about American commanders screwing up and getting their units blown away?" Dad said no, but he had some interesting articles about Guardsmen and Reservists spending thier time off helping the local villagers by building clinics and schools and digging wells.
The chief then asked, "How about some pictures of bodies hanging on barbed wire?" Dad told him no, but he had some great photos to go along with the stories he had.
The chief said, "Let me see them!" Dad handed them over and watched as the chief quickly looked through them. The chief then threw them back in my Dad's face and stated, "I'm not gonna use any of this shit! It gives the wrong impression of the war!"
Dad said, "You know, I think you are a Communist!" The chief responded, "You may be right, but as long as I am bureau chief, the American people are only going to see this war the way I want them to see it!"
With that, my Dad bent down, picked up the articles and photos, turned his back and without another word, WALKED OUT OF DAN RATHER'S OFFICE!
And that, Fellow Freepers, is why we have just got to win this war!
bmp
BUMP !!!
Thank God I've lived long enough to see the Internet give us an outlet and competition to the "main street press". Conservatives now realize that we really aren't in the minority, that most Americans live a conservative, live and let live type of life.
Thank you Free Republic for allowing me to get in the "face" of every liberal with well thought out discussion of topics that face our country's future.
Get it in print and let Rather answer to the charges. They are more real, looking at his history than the lies Rather is putting out and President Bush's history.
Okay - just my preemptive strike, since it's _very_ easy to make the connection:
BG Burkett is not Bill Burkett (the latter who is possibly related to memogate). I confirmed this yesterday with BG Burkett's co-Author Glenna Whitley.
It does occur to me, though, if Rather thought they were the same person, it would explain why he thought his source was 'unimpeachable'. (At least, that's what I was thinking when I found the answer to the question).
Stunning. Thanks, Redleg, for posting that. Howlin, I saw the Vester piece, and it just made my jaw drop. Yes, I'd heard some of this before, but not quite in this way. Usually it was just folks we knew saying the report was way wrong. Liz Trotta (is that spelled right?) seems to have some more dirt. I hope she's writing a book!
Just so ya'll will know, I'm ashamed
that Dan Rather is from Texas!
bump
Liz Trotta was on with Linda Vester today, saying that Dan is "due" a Nixon moment, just like that.
Wouldn't that be something? Talk about full circle.
Thanks for the post and re-post of Redleg's post.
Would like to see Redleg's comment hit the air waves with the fury of Ivan.
Yeah!
We have learned from Dan Rather that it doesn't even matter whether or not that story is true. The only thing that matters is the content.
bttt
ping
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