Replies

Sorry about that. Anyway, here is the article:

Kerry doesn't look much like a hero

Web posted Wednesday, September 8, 2004 | Letter to the Editor John Kerry is a war hero. Many of you believe that, and deny anything said to the contrary as simply political lies. I won't try to change your minds; rather, I'll ask you to consider a few things, each of which is fully documented:

# The almost 300 Navy veterans who have spoken out against Kerry also are highly decorated, some even having been prisoners of war.

# Kerry's own writings contradict several of the stories of his heroism, including the rescue stories of former Army Green beret Jim Rassman, and Kerry's Purple Hearts.

# After Kerry returned from Vietnam, he helped form Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which was funded and later supported by communist organizations bent on the defeat of the United States.

# Many of the charges Kerry made against our soldiers in Senate hearings have since been debunked - yet he has never retracted them even after learning that those statements were used by North Vietnamese prison officials to demoralize and torture our prisoners of war.

# VVAW leaders traveled to Hanoi and Paris to negotiate with the leaders of North Vietnam, without authorization from our government, and at home held meetings to consider assassinating public officials and promoting mutiny among our military.

# While Mr. Kerry was involved in acts considered by many to be treasonous and seditious, he was still a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve, still bound by his oath of office, an oath which read in part: "I swear ... to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic."

Does Kerry still look like a hero to you?

Mike Miller Aiken, S.C. (Editor's note: The writer is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel.) --From the Thursday, September 9, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle