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1) According to your interpretation, I only have about 5 1/2 years of service, including 4 years active Marine Corps and the year of combat duty in Iraq I just returned from. The 20 years as an infantryman in the Army National Guard just don't count? Don't underestimate the time, dedication, work and training reservists put into their careers, which cost a great deal of time away from home and family. I will also say without hesitation that my National Guard company operated at or above the level of most actve duty units we were around while in Iraq.

2) Murtha was also awarded the Bronze Star with V for Valor, and the Marines are notoriously chintzy about giving out awards. A good S2 does NOT spend all his time sitting behind a desk, by the way.

I have no use for Murtha, his politics, or what he has been doing lately, but there's plenty to attack him for without distorting his military record.

I am most appreciative of your service.

That being said, I was a member of the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club -- and also did a stint at 7AF as ComSeventhFleet Joint Strike Coordinator as a young Commander, during the height of the Rolling Thunder effort in -1967 -68.

Bronze Stars --even with the "V" were given out like cracker jack boxes -- essentially good conduct medals for the field grade officers. The 0-6'ers were written up for LOM's.

How do I know? I wrote the damn citations by the dozens in my spare time at night...as a collateral assignment.

I would bet my last hold-em dollar that Murtha fell well into that category --essentially being rewarded for surviving a tour --clap-free!

I guess by now you have figured out that I hold Murtha is total disdain. And, that is being really polite!

Kindest regards.

Of course your time in the Guard counts. Just like Bush's decade in the Guard counts. But you aren't presenting your total time in the Guard as active duty, and then using that to criticize the war effort and call our troops murderers. Murtha is. He's operating under the false pretense that he's served in the military for 37 years, leaving the impression it was 37 years ACTIVE, and completely failing to mention that in Vietnam he was only there for ONE YEAR as a staff officer, and failing altogether to say what he did in Korea.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone who served in the Guard any length of time is a patriot and was part of the military, but Murtha did it as a calcualted political scheme so he could put it on a resume' and get into political office, and is now lying about his past service and what he did while in Uniform. People like you don't do that. He is. As far as I'm concerend, that negates anything he ever did while wearing that uniform, because he's dishonored his oath he took before he put it on the first time. A military uniform is NOT a stepping stone. It's an honor and a responsibility. And it should be treated as such.

And considering his complicity in the Abscam scandal, he has less then no credibility at this point too. And Congressman Bailey, a REAL war hero who was awarded the Silver Star and triple Bronze Star, going on the record stating that Murtha admitted to him that his Purple Hearts were a fraud cannot be overstated. Kerry did enough to disgrace those brave men and women who risked their lives or were wounded or died and won those awards without Murtha doing it all over again. It can't be tolerated.