Posted on 02/09/2004 3:56:49 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
"""And so a New Soldier has returned to America, to a nation torn apart by the killing we were asked to do. But, unlike veterans of other wars and some of this one, the New Soldier does not accept the old myths.
We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small flags, calling to memory those who died for the "greater glory of the United States." We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars---in fact, we will find it hard to join anything at all and when we do, we will demand relevancy such as other organizations have recently been unable to provide. We will not take solace from the creation of monuments or the naming of parks after a select few of the thousands of dead Americans and Vietnamese. We willl not uphold traditions which decorously memorialize which was base and grim.
It is from these things the New Soldier is asking America to turn. We are asking America to turn from false glory, hollow victory, fabricated foreign threats, fear which threatens us as a nation, shallow pride which feeds off fear, and mostly from the promises which have been proven so deceiving these past ten years""
(snip)
"""This is not to say that all soldiers who have departed Vietnam with the same feelings about their military service. Certainly not all veterans of this war are New Soldiers. Not all want to be or even understand what many of their veteran contemporaries are trying to say"""
This book can be found at some libraries. I checked it out today. There are a lot of pictures in it.
I'm not going to question the individual soldiers' patriotism there, particulary the grunts. Everyone that has served has their own experience and their views shaped by it.
Some of the leaders like Kerry, and HIS actions as a leader of the group (associating with Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark, backing Ortega later as a senator) however I will question.
I was on the fence with Iraq. I'm still not overly sure about it. I could give a rip about the WMD(which I think was a political ploy to try and get the UN support - since they were yapping on it for years). All I care about is the links to terrorism affecting the US. I've seen some evidence there, but it isn't clear cut.
Once the war started, I supported the mission, and believe the job must be done and done right with mininum American casualites.
My problem with this march here is that it was going on when our guys were still over there. I won't argue that there were a lot of bad decisions made, particulary in Washington. But the lives of our troops need to come first.
As for John Kerry, I'm more convinced than ever that he's simply a publicity hound, and a true believer in Communism, much like Ramsey Clark and Jane Fonda. He's just slicker about it.
I'd like to hear what the Freeper Vietnam Vets think of Senator Kerry...
We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small flags, calling to memory those who died for the "greater glory of the United States." We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars---
Except Kerry joined the naval reserves in 1972 and stayed until 1978.
This book has become somewhat scarce.
The copies on eBay have been selling for $130-350 with the only copy onsale at bookfinder.com (the new/used booksearch engine) priced at $750.
Feel free to loan it out to friends but if you've found a library copy, don't let it go. Some of the auctions I saw were discarded library copies. Funny how there just isn't enough shelf space to keep the antiAmerican actions of some in the "history books".
Kerry's enlistment in the Navy was a political move. He hoped to emulate his idol JFK and return a war hero. In Kerry's mind the best way to get the exposure at minimal risk was the Navy. He hoped to lob shells at the enemy from a distance. Unfortunately for Kerry about the time Kerry signed up the Navy came out with the "swift boat". Kerry wasn't counting on that. It put him far closer to the action than he ever counted on. After moving up the ranks he was named officer in command of PFC 66. He was at that position approximately 6 months. His injuries allowed him to leave 6 months earlier than the majority of commanders. When he returned to the US he found he was not the hero th thought he would be. He wet his finger, put it in the air and became a protester. The rest is history. He can mouth on all he wants about honor and duty. Bull, he enlisted for the wrong reasons and has been wrong ever since.
BTW, swiftboats.net has a very detailed accounting of swiftboat activity. Shows Kerry as commander of PCF 66. Unlike, most of the other boats no crew was identified as being under him. There are stories of firefights and even a man tossed overboard. Kerry isn't a part of those stories. Interesting that during Kerry's stint many boats were transferred from An Thoi to other staging areas. Kerry's wasn't. I don't think we have been told the truth about Kerry's time in Vietnam. He should fess up, less he continue to dishonor the service of others who sacrificed much more than he.
the media will do everything they can to cover this stuff up. I just wonder how long it's going to take for the evil Dums to back off and say " We were just kidding about GW's War service."
WELCOME HOME !! DAMMIT ! *SALUTE*
This one is for you:
Re: Folks, I don't know how to break the news to you gently, so here it is: Vietnam was over almost thirty years ago and the youngest veteran is in his/her late 40s.
Look, I see your point, and understand it, but after 9/11 I've gone way way out of my way to thank every soldier I meet, serving or otherwise, to thank them for their service.
Quick story: Last week after work we were seated next to a guy in uniform, young guy, perhaps old enough to be sarge, was seated next to our booth. When the guy got up to leave with who I assumed was his date, I leaned over, extended my hand and said "thanks for your service".
He got this huge smile, shook my hand with a Marine corp grip (hard enough to crush my fingers) and simply said "thanks". Afterward, she said good by at the door, came back in and offered to buy our table a round of drinks.
She brought over a round, said she was his sister, he just got back for some leave from Iraq, and that he was going back in a few weeks, and that we were the 7th or 8th stranger to thank him since he's been back.
So there ya go, I shook the hand of a man who helped with "Spring Break, Baghdad, 2003", which brings me to captain capitulation Kerry.
What am I suppose to think of a guy who did what Kerry did to our troops ? What am I suppose to think of a guy who applauded the side who spit on our troops in the 70s ? I mean, we're not just talking about a few letters to the editor, or something, the guy was leading a capitulation movement in my country!
Consider him for CIC?
Will his isolationist tendencies return ? Will his appeasement policy work it's way into our foreign policy ?
I answer these questions and YES and YES respectively and could never even consider him for leading the WOT.
Kerry is either unwilling or unable to demonstrate vigilance and lacks the statesmanship to know that he's wrong.
In the 1970s, John Kerry was on the wrong side of a very important issue, supporting our troops, while at the same time, in the same decade, GWB was wearing the uniform with pride, serving his country, and supporting the troops.
Bush has gone on since then to proove himself to be one of the most successfull, from Kabul to Baghdad, military leaders of my lifetime, and deserves to be rewarded at the ballot box.
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