Free Republic

Decorated Vietnam prisoner of war Orson Swindle Wednesday endorsed Republican Rob Simmons in the Connecticut Senate race. The support comes at an opportune time -- just two days after the New York Times reported that leading Democratic candidate Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had wrongly said he had served in Vietnam. Swindle was Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) from 1997 to 2005 and he also served the Reagan administration. He retired from the Marine Corp as a Lieutenant Colonel. In a statement, Swindle praised Simmons as “my fellow Vietnam Veteran” and offered a sharp critique of Blumenthal that recalled his own days...

Staunch Allies, Tested by Adversity McCain Relies on a Cadre of Fellow POWs to Help Get Message Across By John Wagner and Anita Kumar Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, September 3, 2008; Page A24 ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 -- When the roll call reaches Maryland on Wednesday night, a convention delegate with a special bond with John McCain is scheduled to step forward to announce the state's 37 votes. Everett Alvarez Jr. of Potomac was a prisoner of war with McCain in the same camp in North Vietnam, where they came to know each other during their final year...

Democrats have decided in their infinite wisdom that John McCain should not speak of his 5 1/2 years in captivity as a POW. It's as if they believe they have a right to decide when a man can talk about his own life. But it is his life -- and it is not their right to decide. Now some of John McCain's fellow POWS are speaking out on his behalf. Here is a video report about one of the men who went through the nightmare of captivity alongside John McCain - literally. Col. Orson Swindle shared a cell with McCain...