Wasn't PALACE ALERT a program to actually use the 102 platform? Or were they simply culling the best ANG pilots for duty in Indochina and retraining them on the Phantom and the Thud? Be Seeing You,
Chris
Posted on 09/20/2004 5:28:26 AM PDT by JaguarXKE
Fox and Freiends now
Oh, Dan Blather will break in on CBS with a Breaking News Alert on this any moment!
Bush flew the F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor, whose mission was domestic Air Defense against attacking Soviet bombers. However, stranger things have been know to happen in war. The B-52 was a strategic bomber - not designed for the tactical bombing it was used for in Vietnam. Same with the F-111. So who knows? The important thing is that he volunteered - and there might have been a mission for his aircraft cobbled together - or he might have been retrained for another aircraft.
Bush flew the F-102 which was used in Vietnam for air defense. Vietnam F-102s flown under Palace Guard were piloted by Air Guard pilots on 3 - 6 month tours. Bush was not selected because he lacked experience as recent flight school grad - not enough seniority.
Why do people keep saying Bush flew the F-104 when it was actually the F-102? Rush made the same mistake the other day.
Wasn't PALACE ALERT a program to actually use the 102 platform? Or were they simply culling the best ANG pilots for duty in Indochina and retraining them on the Phantom and the Thud? Be Seeing You,
Chris
I wish I would have taped that intereview. He shot down every one of Rather's arguments.
Lively said the 102s were flown in i think a support capacity.
here is the big news i heard.....
LIVELY DOESN'T HAVE A DOG IN THE RACE, HE IS TIRED OF THE BESMIRCHING OF THE TANG...... HE SAYS PEOPLE ARE ACTING LIKE BEING IN THE TANG WAS LIKE "GOING TO CANADA OR SOMETHING".
GW flew the F102, not the F104.
If FNC was smart they would report it daily - it would increase their ratings. Do you think Dan Blather is going to talk about how he was wrong about the memos every day for 10 days? (That's the length of time he has be saying he was right about the memos)
He said "top cover" for the fighter-bombers.
I don't know why we keep stirring this cauldron. We won this battle. It's over. Forget about it. Throwing out new stuff is just going to muddy the waters.
You mean Max "Oh Shit Where Did I Drop That Grenade" Cleland?
Wouldn't there be records of this somewhere? Wouldn't he have to fill out some paperwork on this? Why would Bush mention this?
And don't give me the "oh, he's too humble" line. We're in the most important election of a lifetime this year! If he volunteered for Vietnam he should have said so before, and he should say so now. It makes no sense that at the very least his surrogates wouldn't have mentioned this.
Grrrr ... "wouldn't"
Of the four pilots I spoke to who flew with Bush in the Texas days, Fred Bradley knew him best. They had met before going off to the year-long ordeal of pilot school, and entered the 111th at about the same time. Both were junior lieutenants without a lot of flying experience. But the inexperience didn't prevent Bush — along with Bradley — from going to their squadron leaders to see if they could get into a program called "Palace Alert." "There were four of us lieutenants at the time, and we were all fairly close. Two of them had more flight time than the president and me, said Bradley." All four volunteered for Vietnam (Bradley doesn't remember whether he and Bush actually signed paperwork, but he specifically remembers both Bush and himself trying to get into the Palace Alert Vietnam program.) Bush and Bradley were turned away, and the two more senior pilots went to Vietnam.So, coupled with Kerry's attempt to get a deferrment in order go to Paris, and then stating on the public record that he joined the Swift Boat program in order to avoid combat, we can come up with some great trivia questions to drive your lefty co-workers/relatives/etc. nuts, such as:
1) Who is the only major-party presidential nominee to volunteer for a combat role in Vietnam?
2) Who sought more deferrments, Kerry or Vice President Cheney? (The vice president did not actively seek his deferrments; they were automatically granted due to his age when the draft was begun in earnest for Vietnam, his marriage before the draft, the birth of his first daughter, his status in college, and his application for graduate school.)
3) Also, where was Bambi (a.k.a. Breck Boy)? He turned 18 in 1971 when the draft was still going on. How many deferrments did he seek?
No paperwork. He did not have enough flight hours to apply.
Yep, the information has been out there.
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1081371/posts
However, it was good to hear Lively and Killian's son confirm it. Lively made it clear that he was not politically motivated. He just wanted to clear the good name of the Air Guard, which has been equated with going to Canada.
Excellent interview. I sure wish the alphabets would report these FACTS. Also, when young Bush was asked why he wanted to be a fighter pilot he replied, "Because my daddy was one". Sure sounded like Mr. Bush wanted to make his father proud by following in his footsteps, AND serve his country. None of this surprises me. George W. Bush has a strong and well developed love of country and family. It was apparent even back then.
pattyjo
I don't know much about planes, being a submariner, but I heard someone say that an F102 was like a brick with wings. On the other hand Kerry thought he would get safe PT duty when we volunteered for the swift boats.
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