Posted on 10/10/2004 11:19:46 PM PDT by quidnunc
Midnight in South Vietnam, and the river is black. Past the rice paddies and shacks, small fires are burning by the shoreline as Lt. John H. Davis' 50-foot aluminum swift boat PCF 19 makes its routine patrol through the reeds.
In a split second, rocket fire shatters the silence, and through a plume of oily smoke, the boat sinks to the river's bottom.
"My whole crew lost their lives that night. I was the only one who survived," Lt. Davis says.
Lt. Davis, now 62, lost his left eye. The bones in both legs were shattered. But the scars of war are nothing compared to the demons that wake him from his sleep, leaving him drenched in sweat and trembling with fear.
"My latest nightmare was that I was pulling my crew out of the water. When it came to the last body, it was me."
Lt. Davis has come to Washington at his own expense, along with 89 other Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, to tape the eighth 60-second TV spot questioning Sen. John Kerry's fitness to be commander in chief.
They come from Oshkosh, Wis., and Orlando, Fla., San Francisco and Virginia Beach. One is on crutches. Others, former prisoners of war, walk stiffly, a result of being bound and tortured. Some wear their medals. Two are in cowboy boots.
Snow-haired Bud Day, a 79-year-old former POW, stands at attention. He is wearing a brown leather flight jacket befitting an Air Force major, complemented by the Medal of Honor around his neck. Others have donned "Swift Boat" baseball caps.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
All I can say is...WOW.
Bet the North Vietnamese took 8mm pictures of McLaim ratting out his buddies thats what puts him very close to sKerry in some views.. like McLaim-Feingold... if Hillary has those Movies he's in her pocket..
Yep.
May God bless these good men, and may what they are doing now bury forever the deamons that have tormented them for years.
Thanks for the post. I just donated to the Swifties once again.
I love the sticker! I still need to send you a picture of the one on our car! I sent the smaller one to my daughter in California.
My family and I had the honor of meeting Col. Day and his lovely Wife (they've been married fifty years or thereabouts); they are wonderful.
btt.
BTTT! Great article.
Go Swiftees!
Really? Why do you say that?
The anti-war crowd will never understand the way vets were affected by the work of the likes of Hanoi Jane and John. But to those vets and their families, the wounds are as fresh as they were back then. You were asked to stuff it and expected to ignore it because there was no place to turn for any sort of support. Even within families. The anti-war crowd was vile and I am personally glad to see a day when those feelings can be expressed openly by the masses! Thank God for the Swift vets! Over the years my poor television has been threatened by a number of flying objects whenever Jane Fonda dares darken the screen with her presence. They both (Jane and John) should be behind bars!
I need help. My flaming lib SIL says that the proof that Bush was not in AL when he should have been is because Gary Trudeau offered 10,000 to anyone who could prove he was but there has been no takers.
Help!
Does anyone have a reference to this?
"He then spent the next six years as a prison cellmate of John McCain, who would become a Republican senator, at the prison the Americans called, with bitter irony, the "Hanoi Hilton." Maj. Day's presence in the room is palpable. Even in a group of decorated war veterans, he stands out as a living legend.
"The others sheepishly introduce themselves and are honored just to shake his still-firm hand.
"Kerry betrayed us by telling the people we were committing atrocities," Maj. Day says. "A man who does that is not fit to lead. It's impossible to let this man masquerade as a war hero and someone who has leadership. To imagine this guy who betrayed us becoming president and him being the leader of our armed forces is just unthinkable."
John McCain was suspiciously unavailable for comment...
They are not even animals---animals would not be so cruel.
Kerry better start paying attention. When heroes and men like Col "Bud" Day are coming out publically against you, there are plenty of people who are going to listen.
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.... we kid each other alot about our service affiliations in jest but when the chips are down, there is NO finer fighting force in the world!
Col Bud Adams, a salute sir, for your service, patriotism, and your unwavering belief in your fellow airmen and the United States of America. When true military heroes names are mentioned, yours will forever be in that list.
People sent Gary Trudeau info on President Bush serving in Alabama and got a form letter back saying it didn't meet his standard of proof. I think Trudeau also modified the offer as 10,000 to some goofy liberal charity, but don't quote me.
Thanx.
After so many years, perhaps Benedict Arnold will get his due.
Don't jump through hoops. Tell your lib SIL to back up her accusation with proof.
End of story.
Then, after she's done sputtering and stammering, ask her if she's watched Kerry's testimony before the Senate. And for her sake assume Bush did skip out on guard duty in Alabama. Then...
1) Ask her which is worse. Skipping out on stateside duty, or committing treason and getting your colleagues tortured and killed.
2) Ask her if she also disqualified Billy Clinton for dodging the draft.
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