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 ...
Please ping your military lists.
BOOKMARKED and PRINTED.
I don't think we will ever understand John McCain. The most charitable view I can come up with is that perhaps he thinks that one should never denigrate a fellow soldier EVER, even tho he is despicable.....that's probably naive to say the least....but its so hard to speak ill of a fellow repub....you know RR's 11th commandment....
Oops, America needed you all along.
Great article. Massive Swift Boat Bump!!
McCain wants to be loved by the media.
John's aim is statemenship at the expense
of his true feelings. Pity.
As I recall, the 254 members of SBVFT are approximately 40% Republican, 30% Democrat and 30% independent.
I heard Col. Hackworth (whom, I realize, doesn't win any medals on this website) say during a talk show interview, in answer to the *exact* question that you're asking, that "John McCain has been slammed up against the wall one too many times".
Will the ultimate disrespect to these veteran’s sacrifice be the election of a traitor to their cause to the highest office in the land? That insult has to hurt more than anything they received when they returned.
These swiftboat guys destroy me. I don't understand how anyone can support John Kerry after what he did to them.
Probably but it might be that if you stand in the middle of the road long enough, you will get hit by a bus..
I just noticed your name scroll by.
I do not want you to miss this article.
It is worse than Clinton's Draft dodging.
Sobering
Chilling
And so right.
Thanks.
I shall send them some more money. I sent a little to my congressgal Marsha Blackburn today but I will get back to the Swifties for round 4 or 5....money well spent....they deserve it.
I was reading the updated 40th anniversary edition of PT 109 (why do you think jfk II
was on Swifts) and got a great link from it.
PT Boats, Inc.- A Nonprofit Histroical/Educational Corporation
http://www.ptboats.org/
And from that sight got this link
RiverVet - Don Blankenship's site about River Boats in Vietnam
http://www.rivervet.com/
Bud Day in an ad is HUGE.
I am so grateful for these brave heroes.
All my GOP donations now go to the Swiftees. Thank you all brave men, we salute your duty to America then and now. God Bless.
Well....at a minimum they will keep Kerry on the defensive in the waning days.
The MSM and hardcore left don't care and the rest who hate Bush are simply ill informed and emotive.
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