REAL HEROES DON'T BOAST OR BRAG

CHRONWATCH.COM ^ | SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 | RUSS VAUGHN

[CHARLITE]

Editor:

I didn’t write this piece but I salute the man who did. He has said exactly what so many veterans have been thinking for so long. When I returned from Nam, my roommate in the 82d Airborne was SSGT Charles B. Morris, awarded the Medal of Honor while serving with the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam. I know firsthand it’s true that warriors like Charley are tormented in their dreams and cry out in their sleep as they re-fight their battles; yes that I know from bunking with him.

But one thing I never heard him do was boast.

Not once, not ever.

May your troubled spirit forever rest in peace, Command Sergeant-Major Morris.

Russ Vaughn

I Don't Know War (author unknown)

I'm not worthy to question John Kerry's war record. Because I don't have one. I spent the Vietnam War in elementary school. And the four years I was in the Army were all behind a desk. My fort was unofficially known as "Uncle Ben's Rest Home."

So I don't know anything about war.

Though I do know a little bit about men who've been to war. I've been around plenty of those. Like my stepfather. He got bunged up pretty bad in France. I know that because I saw him in a swimming suit once. But he never talked about it. Not once.

If you asked him about the war he'd tell hilarious stories about basic training, or where the guys he served with were from, or how fun it was learning to fly the gliders, or the time they stole the ambulance to go into town and get drunk in France, or a few of the phrases in German he learned. But he'd never actually talk about the war. Unless he was really drunk.

In which case he still wouldn't talk about it. He'd cry about it. He'd put his head in his arms in the wee hours of the morning and sob to himself about how the men around him were broken and torn when the gliders crash landed into the French countryside.

But that was only once or twice, and that was never about him. And the little box of medals at the bottom of his footlocker never came out.

It was kind of the same way at the Legion and the VFW. Every day he'd check in at both places, to sign the book and to have a beer, and I would tag along. All those men had been in the service, and most had been in combat, but I never heard a war story. Lots of Army stories, and Navy stories, sure. About guys they knew and leaves they were on and officers they messed with. But nothing about the war.

It was the same way in the Army.

In my day, it seemed like everybody above staff sergeant or captain had been in Vietnam. I went in 10 years after the war ended but the guys on the second half of their careers had all gone. You could tell when they wore their dress uniforms. But that was the only time.

Men didn't talk about what they'd done in the war. They didn't boast of their accomplishments. They didn't brag about their medals. But if you chanced to see them in their dress uniforms, with the rows of service ribbons, you could read their history there, you could see that those who'd done the most spoke of it the least.

Like one of our drill sergeants in basic training. Buffing the floor in his office one day we saw the service ribbons pinned to his Class A uniform on the coat rack. Comparing them to the poster in the company day room we learned he'd gotten the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. We asked about them and he made us do push-ups for being nosey.

The night before graduation, when he welcomed us as fellow soldiers, we asked him again, we almost pestered him. Finally he relented and gave us two sentences: "I was in a war. I got hurt." And that's all he'd say.

Kind of like a man I know, who received the Medal of Honor. One night he stood in a long line to shake hands with Colin Powell. The man, because of the nature of the event, wore his medal around his neck. As he came to Colin Powell the man said, "General, it's an honor to meet you." And Colin Powell responded, "No, sir - it's an honor to meet you."

Anyway, I know this man, and he's often asked to tell his story, of how he earned the Medal of Honor. And he never does. Oh, he answers, and he talks, and he inspires, and he talks about the war. But he neglects the part about the lives he saved and the courage he showed, and instead talks about a young Vietnamese man who helped him to safety when his legs were too shot through to hold him anymore.

I don't know anything about war. But I do know a little bit about men who've gone to war. And none of them act the way John Kerry does.

None of them brag about, boast of, talk about or otherwise try to benefit from their service. They don't prostitute their time in uniform for personal gain and ambition.

They all modestly and insistently say that they "didn't do anything." They minimize their contributions and put them in the context of the similarly courageous and noble service provided by their comrades.

A true hero doesn't boast. In fact, he kind of keeps his deeds to himself. Which is what makes John Kerry so different. Which is what makes John Kerry so unbelievable.

I don't know war. But I do know war heroes. And John Kerry's damn sure not one of them.

Regards, Russ Vaughn

About the Writer: Russ has a 40 year affiliation with the military, directly and as a retired health care marketer. Six years as a paratrooper with the 82nd and the 101st Airborne. Earned the Combat Infantry Badge in Vietnam with the 101st. Russ receives e-mail at lkv@direcway.com.

[DTogo]

Great post. Any possible heroics of John Kerry in 'Nam went down the toilet with his lies to Congress and over White House the wall with whatever it was (and who's ever they were) he threw over that day.

Kerry's a ZERO, not a Hero.

[T Minus Four]

Bump for great truth and wisdom. If you read this, bump it again please.

[Prime Choice]

Real Heroes Don't Boast or Brag...

And real Purple Heart recipients don't claim self-inflicted "wounds" that are remedied with a Band-Aid.

Kerry is such a fraud.

[Imaverygooddriver]

Kerry is like those nurses you read about every so often who make the patients sick or even kill them so they can look like heros when they try to "save" them or do it just for the attection. Kerry ranks in the same category, the same psychosis. He wasn`t satisfied with the attention he was getting by his bogus medals so he came back here and drew attention to himself by lying about Viet vets without any care whatsoever the damage it would cause to those Vets. This dude is a psycho, and shouldn`t even be Senator in my opinion, never mind in the White House. A padded room is where he belongs.

[Hold DiMayo]

You don't throw something away WHEN YOU TRUELLY EARN IT.

[Turk82_1]

I ride the train with someone who let slip that he knew Bob Kerrey (Senator, of CMoH fame) in Nam. Under direct questioning, he admitted that he was part of the team that was involved with that action. And, yes, he admitted to having won the Silver Star. But that is all he would say on the matter.

[DmBarch]

In the early 70's we had a high school English teacher, Mr. Leighton. He was a very nice man and I don't remember any of his students complaining about him - ever. It was only when he died a few years ago that the newspaper noted that he was the Navigator on the famous B-17, the Memphis Belle.

[DTogo]

Repeat message:

"Any possible heroics of John Kerry in 'Nam went down the toilet with his lies to Congress and over White House the wall with whatever it was (and who's ever they were) he threw over that day.

Kerry's a ZERO, not a Hero."

Over...

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Real Heros don't boast...I can vouch for that...my grandfather in WWI received the Distinguished Service Cross for taking care of his men as a Sargeant even though he was wounded and there was gas (I think) being used. He never ever ever talked about it, although I inherited his medals and papers...he was a calm quiet man who died when I was too young, but a true hero who did what he was supposed to do to the best of his ability, and did not try to destroy his country with doubts and lies that gave aid to the enemy.

[philomath]

This dude is a psycho

i've been getting this feeling, stronger with each week, that he is indeed mentally ill. not in an offhanded, joking way, but that he has a clinical personality disorder. take away the wealth and connections and this guy would be getting outpatient psych treatment at a veterans administration hospital for his fabrications and delusions.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

In the early 70's we had a high school English teacher, Mr. Leighton. He was a very nice man and I don't remember any of his students complaining about him - ever. It was only when he died a few years ago that the newspaper noted that he was the Navigator on the famous B-17, the Memphis Belle.

Holy cow, that's amazing ! Small world I guess. :)

[Artemis Webb]

Great Post Charlite. Thank you.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

This article is SO dead on target. When I was in the Army, I served with a LOT of combat vets, from Vietnam to Desert Storm. Some were former Special Forces, some were in Infantry units that "didn'e exist", etc.

Nobody ever told "war stories." And as a vet myself, I think the reason why we don't tell "war stories" is because it's just not an interesting subject of discussion. It just doesn't interest us.

We would much rather tell about the time our buddies and us got drunk downtown and had to evade the MPs, stuff like that. :)

[TalBlack]

The guys who have been to war don't talk about it because they know that the "real" heroes never came back.

WWII guys seemed embarrassed to be spoken of as heroes. They always mumbled something like 'The real heroes never came back'.

[Imaverygooddriver]

He is, seriously... I mean a good way to judge mental illness is to compare someones actions to yourself or just the average rational person. Everything he did or does is just not something a rational person would do.

Hillary Clinton is the same. Hillary Clinton while running for Senator of New York got her husband to pardon 16 memebers of the FALN terror group which bombed NYC and Chicago a total of 130 times (hey it was only 130 times) in the late `70`s and early `80`s in the hopes that she could garner a few votes from a small minority of the Puerto Rican community. When Bill CLinton said he would pardon them if they renounced violence, they told him to go shove it. So what did he do? He pardoned them anyway. Can you guess why? Because Hillary insisted on it. Even Janet Reno was against this pardon saying they were still a threat to National Security, but all this didn`t matter to Hillary. And she did this ALL before she was even elected! She put this country and the people of New York in direct danger for her own selfish gain.

Is that something a rational person would do? John Kerry is the same way. He doesn`t care who it hurts, or how it may damage the country. If it helps John Kerry he will do it. Kerry and Hillary both have the traits of being a sociopath; someone who never grew out of the ego of infancy, someone who feels the world revolves around them and everything else is expendable. This is why Kerry had no problem going in front of the Senate Foreign Relations to call the guys he just served with "baby killers" amongst other things. It was getting him the attention he wanted, and everything else was expendable. It`s also why he does the little things like having "PurpleHeart3" on the license plates of his cars, absolutely no shame even after he supposedly threw those medals away. It`s why when he gives a speech he doesn`t even notice that he`s stepping on the US flag, because he is too absorbed in himself. Can you imagine Bush doing this? Bush would have taken one look at that stage and blew a gasket.

The scary thing is there are a lot of these types of people around, not just in politics. Scott Peterson seems to be another type. Just doesn`t give a damn that his wife and kid are dead, as long as Scott is OK and get`s attention. It`s why he shows up in court with permed hair and preens and poses when the camera is on him. Read this..It describes these psychos and you`ll find alot of what they say directly describes Kerry and Hillary..And just think; The left wants them as leaders of the free world. If that doesn`t send shivers down your spine, I don`t know what does..

Profile of a Sociopath

[philomath]

interesting choice of sociopaths, and spot on.

you heard it here first, folks......

[yhwhsman]

Real Heros don't boast

I think, judging from Kerry's actions, that he believes that it's the medals that make you a hero. That's why he's so fixated on his receiving three Purple Hearts, Silver and Bronze Star.

What he doesn't understand is that it's a man's character that makes him a hero, not the pretty trinkets.

[gortklattu]

; I served from 68-73 and did not see combat. met many who served in combat. Every one of them didn't talk about it unless they got drunk.

One friend of mine worked medivac. He was shot down twice in one day and lived. I heard that story once in 24 years. A pilot recognized him one day. He told me to never let that guy pay for his own meal or drinks.

Neither man every said why.