Posted on 10/01/2004 5:03:21 AM PDT by kattracks
Coral Gables, Florida (CNSNews.com) - A former Navy crewmate and supporter of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says it is time to "let the dead rest." He demanded that the Vietnam veterans who are questioning Kerry's military service and anti-war activism "shut up."
Del Sandusky, one of Kerry's naval crewmates in Vietnam who was present during the actions that led to the Kerry's Silver Star, Bronze Star and two of his three Purple Hearts, made his remarks about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth immediately following Thursday night's debate between President George W. Bush and Sen. Kerry at the University of Miami.
Sandusky served as one of Kerry's official spokesmen following the debate.
"Let the dead rest, we have got to talk about the issues. Let those guys (Swift Boat veterans opposed to Kerry) go sit in a corner, you know, shut up," Sandusky told CNSNews.com.
Sandusky called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "a Republican smear tactic."
"All of the claims and all of the TV ads were proven false. America ain't listening to them anymore. They are just a crock of lies," Sandusky said.
CNSNews.com asked Sandusky if he could sympathize with the anger that many former Vietnam prisoners of war harbor against Kerry because of his behavior when he returned home from the war. Some communist North Vietnamese prison guards used Kerry's 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to torment American POWs.
Sandusky responded, "Sure I can understand it -- right. But it doesn't matter if John Kerry made that [1971 speech] or not, they (the POWs) were still going to be tortured. They were prisoners of war."
John O'Neill, the co-author of Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, said Sandusky's comments were consistent with the treatment all Vietnam veterans have received from Kerry.
"Sandusky's comments reflect the arrogance of Kerry's campaign. Instead of an apology, the answer is simply an additional insult to POWs and Vietnam veterans -- to say 'shut up' about it," O'Neill told CNSNews.com Thursday night shortly after Sandusky made his remarks.
"The truth is we are talking about a fellow (Kerry) who may become the commander in chief in the near future. The fact that he made these accusations of atrocities that were used to torture our servicemen in North Vietnam and that they were total lies about the people serving in North Vietnam should disqualify him from being commander in chief," O'Neill said.
Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971 about the testimony of more than 150 Vietnam veterans, who had "testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia..."
Those Vietnam veterans, Kerry said, admitted they "had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam..."
"It is important that there is no apology forthcoming from Kerry," O'Neill said. "He stands by his [atrocity] remarks that we were the army of Genghis Khan, and presumably he take no responsibly for the use of his own remarks to torture our troops."
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was also present in "spin alley" following the debate, blasted the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for broaching the topic of Kerry's performance in combat.
"I do not and will never question anyone's conduct in combat. Now what [Kerry] did after the war or at any other time, that is fine. But in combat, it's dishonorable and disgraceful," McCain told CNSNews.com.
When asked if he has forgiven Kerry for making atrocity allegations against Vietnam soldiers, McCain, a former Vietnam POW, replied that it isn't a matter of forgiveness.
"I worked together with [Kerry], trying to heal the wounds of the Vietnam War. And the worst thing we have done to the American people in this campaign is to reopen them. And the people who suffer more for that than anybody are the Vietnam veterans, and I think it's disgraceful," McCain said.
But O'Neill countered that "Kerry is the one who opened up Vietnam wounds." "He opened the wounds initially by accusing us of being war criminals and reopened them with his 2004 book Tour of Duty (written by Douglass Brinkley)," O'Neill said.
"That book repeated the same [atrocity] allegations just six months ago. And he is the one who inserted Vietnam in the campaign just a month and half ago at the Democratic convention," O'Neill explained.
"Under the circumstances, to not allow the people he's falsely accused of criminal conduct to respond makes no sense at all," he added.
'He was trying to help'
Former Democratic presidential candidate General Wesley Clark said Kerry's anti-war activism in the 1970s was designed to "help" U.S. soldiers serving in Vietnam and revealed the candidate's "moral courage."
"He was trying to help the men and women in the United States Army and help the United States by having the courage to go and testify in front of Congress," Clark said.
"So I can understand why people might have misunderstood John Kerry at the time. But that was 30 years ago," he added.
Former Georgia Democratic Senator and Vietnam veteran Max Cleland said that voters need to "forget about Vietnam."
"This is not about John Kerry's Vietnam 35 years ago, this is about the Vietnam that George Bush has created in Iraq where we are losing young men and women every day," Cleland told CNSNews.com.
"I agree with John Kerry 35 years ago. I agree with him now, and those of us band of brothers out there have been traveling around this country [supporting Kerry] for a long time," Cleland added.
See Related Articles:
Protester Says She Prefers 'Serial Rapist' to George Bush (Oct. 1, 2004)
Kerry's Views on Iraq, Vietnam 'Virtually Identical,' Critic Charges (Sept. 21, 2004)
Kerry Blamed for Viet Vets Being Dubbed 'Atrocity Committing Monsters' POW Says (Sept. 10, 2004)
Kerry 'Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief,' Say Former Military Colleagues (May 3, 2004)
Kerry Lying About Anti-War Past, Supporter Alleges (March 18, 2004)
Kerry's Denials at Odds With 1971 Book He Authored (Feb. 20, 2004)
E-mail a news tip to Marc Morano.
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"All of the claims and all of the TV ads were proven false......" Sandusky said.
When were they proven false, Mr. Sandusky?
Cite articles and dates, please.
As far as liars go, I always heard that birds of a feather flock together.
You and John Kerry are as tight as a tick on a hound dog and no one in the universe can cite a truthful statement that John Kerry has ever made.
That puts you and Kerry in the same nest.
So , would you please give the time and date of the first truthful statement you ever made?
I was in college during Vietnam. I wore my "America, love it or leave it" tye dyed t-shirts. I learned from my father and uncles who fought in WWII and Korea how important the homefront was. I really tried to get the anti-war types to listen, but there was a mob-mentality that drowned you out.
I understand what you are saying about todays 'Nam battle. I heard the doctor, who treated Kerry's first Purple heart wounds break down in tears on Hannity. He said he knew it would be tough to tell the truth, but he never imagined it would hurt (so to be dragged through the mud like this.)
I heard a vet say when Kerry looses on Nov 2. It would be they parade he never had.
After this fiasco, another co worker informed me that her german friend was embarrased to tell her what Germany really thinks of us Americans. I informed her what would you expect from a country that we kicked their asses twice in the last century. I also told her, her german friend should go back to Germany to be among her own kind.
Today was not a good day.....
I'd be happy to let it go, if only Kerry would stop mentioning Viet-Nam everytime he opens his mouth.
"we have got to talk about the issues."
Translation: These guys are really hurting us.
"All of the claims and all of the TV ads were proven false."
Must of missed this. So far all I've heard is a lot of name calling.
Thank you both for sharing your stories and speaking out for us. As a Vietnam vet I know a lot of Vietnam vets. None of us ever saw any of the atrocities that Kerry accused us of committing nor do any of us know any other vets who committed any of these atrocities.
There were always stories; I heard stories "through the grapevine", but there has never been anything, not so much as a shred of truth or evidence to support any of those stories. So, how much are those stories worth?
Welcome Home Brother
The same back at ya, my friend.
Yes it was, too! You conFRonted EVIL, and came out the winner!
Taxman Bravo Zulu!
They have a new petition...
I loathe John McCain.
We hates him.
God Bless you for your unselfish service to our Country. You are a true hero and a perfect example of what a boy should emulate to be.
WHERE OH WHERE
does SKERRY
get his
IDIOTS FOR HIRE?
From
SKELLY GIRLIEMEN SERVICES?
Was he talking about Dino Rather??
Pray for W and Our Troops
You're very kind. At the height of Vietnam, it got very surreal when we were encouraged, even prohibited, in some cases, from wearing our uniforms off-base (it could be dangerous). That's when we knew that the inmates were truly in charge of the asylum.
There is no way that any of us can adequately describe life in the US at that time. Those of us who were supposed to be defending our country, our families and our fellow citizens were the ones who needed to be defended from the people we were supposed to be defending. Try living through that and keeping your head on straight. There's a reason that we Vietnam vets are a little nuts. :-)
Listen to the news and wonder if you were nuts because you could see right thru the propaganda. All of a sudden overnight, an elitist was required to interpret a speech we just heard from a politician. All of a sudden overnight, everything you believe in was taboo. You did not dare speak your mind in public because you were made to feel that you were the only one that thought that way. All of a sudden overnight, my teachers were anti-america, anti-military, anti-god, anti-morals, anti-common sense. All of a sudden overnight, you would listen to a politician knowing what they were saying made no sense whatsoever but told you were not smart enough to "get it". All of a sudden like overnight history you knew did not exist and was re-written. All of a sudden like overnight, the experiences you lived no longer existed and was re-written. All of a sudden like overnight, families no longer existed as it was. Divorce was normal, out of wedlock childbirth was normal, character did not matter, children not being able to read in fifth grade was not a big deal.
You want to know why there was no outrage on any of this because it happened so damn fast. All of a sudden like overnight, the world we knew no longer existed. If it wasn't for PaPa Rush and the beginning of talk radio, the internet (Thank God for Free Republic), and Fox News, we would still be scratching our heads and wondering how in the hell did this happened. You are correct the inmates were truly in charge of the asylum but it is time for us to take it back. As I always say, as you keep matches away from children, you must also keep power away from liberals........I hope you realize you were not alone, we were all thinking the same thing and wondering how did everything get out of control so fast.
The Swifties need to talk more and louder. They're hurting Kerry, ... BAD!!!!!
IMO, what happened entails more than most people are willing to consider. The 60s were a time of radical change. We not only had the Vietnam War, we also had what I consider to be a mini-civil war at home. Look at the Manson Family, Students for a Democratic Society, The Symbionese Liberation Army, the Black Panthers, college radicals, Kent State - all of the places/groups that fomented, supported or initiated the whole anti-war/free love/sex, drugs and rock 'n roll environment that typifies America of the 60s.
We were all overwhelmed, wondering what was going on. Riots were rampant, college campuses were hotbeds of radicalism and unrest (particularly Berkley), the drug culture and its overlord, Timothy Leary, were in command. And every evening, during the news hour, more American deaths and injuries were televised in American homes, showing what became known as "The Living Room War". I can't help but wonder to this day how many families saw their son being dragged off the battlefield to be sent home in a box or shipped to an aid station for medical care.
We all forgot, when Kerry accused the Vietnam vets of committing all those atrocities, that these vets were comprised of Tommy, who lived down the street and had a crush on Brenda; and Sam who was the class clown, Vic who was going to be a professional musician, Allen who was going to be a pharmacist and work in his dad's pharmacy. Kerry didn't talk about Tommy and Sam and Vic and Allen and Doug or Pete or anyone else by name; he talked about nameless, faceless, evil murderers who committed atrocities in America's name. Unfortunately, it was guys like me and Tonkin Gulf and Valin, and Tommy and Sam, etc., who became the face of those anonymous evil murderers Kerry talked about.
And, we paid the price for it. I don't think anyone blames you for not speaking up. We could have, but our voices were lost in the hate directed toward us. Nixon talked about the "silent majority" - people who, in those days, understood that discretion was the better part of valor. No one wanted to become a target of the left's hate - of the SDS or the Black Panthers or the Symbionese Liberation Army.
I appreciate that you want to speak out now against the evil that Kerry is still trying to perpetuate, but I also sense that you might feel guilt for not speaking out then. Don't. We survived and, by the grace of God, we lived long enough to fight this battle again; wiser and better for the experience. Now we can all fight it together, with one voice that can't be shouted down. What happened in the 60s and 70s is relegated to history. What happens on Nov. 2 is up to us.
It is freakin insane.
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