A Contrast in Character

e-mail | 02/16/04 | Brady Stump

[Neil E. Wright]

A Contrast in Character

By Brady Stump

In the small town of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a nationally recognized public speaker and Vietnam Veteran delivered a message of courage and hope to an enthusiastic crowd. Up the coast, at a rally in Virginia, a Democratic presidential candidate was also delivering a message of similar themes to an equally enthusiastic crowd.

To my knowledge, Clebe McClary and John F. Kerry have never met. Their two stories have very similar beginnings. McClary is a decorated war hero and Vietnam Veteran. After surviving a ferocious midnight attack by a Vietnamese suicide squad that left him with one less arm and eye, McClary was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Bronze and Silver Star.

Kerry also fought bravely in Vietnam. Kerry earned his stars as the commander of a patrol boat, where he was wounded in battle three times. When his service was completed, Kerry also earned three Purple Hearts and a Bronze and Silver Star, just as McClary did.

However after returning from Vietnam, the two war hero’s lives would begin to track in much opposite paths.

After recovering from 39 surgeries, McClary would return from Vietnam and begin an illustrious public speaking career that would impact thousands of lives. Many speaking engagements, from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports teams, would follow. Still, McClary would always feel most at home when speaking on messages of bravery and courage with his fellow men and women of the Armed Forces. These speaking engagements would take McClary to United States military bases all around the world.

Kerry returned from Vietnam a changed man as well. The same men that had served so bravely on his patrol boat and those that had fought fearlessly in the rice fields of Vietnam were now taking the brunt of Kerry’s attacks. Kerry had now joined a new army. Kerry now stood beside actress Jane Fonda, in an all out assault on his fellow Vietnam Vets. In the following months, Kerry would play a vital role on the attacks of the psyche of the American Vietnam Veteran.

Kerry would first play an integral part in the “Winter Soldier Investigation” hearings, where he would assert that United States soldiers often committed acts of torture, murder, and rape, while serving in their respective tours of duty. After the “hearings,” Kerry would go onto speak before Congress saying that it was our soldiers who were committing the atrocities in Vietnam, not the enemy. Kerry would always deliver speeches thick with anti-war rhetoric, yet very thin on hard facts backing up his accusations.

Additionally, Kerry would go onto pen a book, The New Soldier, to further raise his stock with the anti-war crowd and lower even further the self-esteem of his fellow Vietnam Veterans. This book featured an insulting cover that mocked the patriotic and legendary image of the Marines raising the American flag in the battle for Iwo Jima, by showing the flag upside down.

Kerry’s final act of solidarity to the “Hanoi Fonda” movement came when he supposedly threw his military medals over the fences guarding the capitol building, during a protest in DC. We would later find out that these medals were not his own, but a fellow Vietnam Vet duped by the cool anti-war Kerry. Kerry was smart enough to know that these medals may come in handy someday during a congressional, senate or even a presidential election run.

I mention these facts because I was in the crowd the other night when McClary spoke. There is something he said that night that I cannot forget. He spoke of his fondness for fellow Vietnam Vets and lifting up their spirits over the years through his speaking. He talked about the 56,000 plus names on the Vietnam Memorial. McClary then spoke of the thousands of additional honorable Vietnam Vets who probably took their own lives after the war. He spoke of their negative portrayal on TV, in the movies and by activist groups after the war. The unfair and horrific assault on their character drove many Vets to lose all self-worth and pay the ultimate price via their own hands.

Now the man that played a major role in the ferocious attack on the character of the American Vietnam Veteran is returning for a new tour of duty. Now Kerry expects these Veterans to forget his attacks on their character and service to country, and participate as political pawns by lending their support to his upstart campaign.

One man chose to build up and give hope to our Veterans, while another broke them down with character assassinations and false accusations. The contrast in character is apparent to me and surely to our honorable Vietnam Veterans too.

[Neil E. Wright]

Absolutely alright to post that here .... thanks for that article. :)

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"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
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[SAMWolf]

Thanks for a good article.

[Dubya]

Your welcome Sam.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Bigg Red]

Excellent! Thanks for the flag.