Ann Coulter: Cleland drops a political grenade

Universal Press Syndicate ^ | February 12, 2004 | Ann Coulter

[Hon]

Not to nitpick, but that is a carefully written piece, buried in a local paper.

You'll note that there are a lot of specifics about everything--except who is supposed to have actually dropped the grenade. The name is never mentioned.

I don't believe it myself.

[Hon]

Don't be to sure. Go to the site. Re-read the article.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/7218941.htm

I don't see this claim made anywhere else on the internet. (I might be wrong about that.)

[Hon]

Which paper do you read?

"Cleland retold the story in 1999 on a History Channel program. Lloyd, who was watching the show at his home in Annapolis, Md., picked up the phone and called Cleland’s office.

The story, Lloyd said, was wrong."

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/7218941.htm

"Last year, new information about his war injuries emerged. A fellow Marine David Lloyd contacted Cleland on "Larry King Live" with a revelation.

"Here was a man I didn't know ... and suddenly he had the key to my life," Cleland said."

http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/113000/LOCbooksigning.shtml

[optimistically_conservative]

Isn't that the day MLK was killed? - Yes.

[highlander_UW]

"When the battalion command post came under a heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack, Capt. Cleland, disregarding his own safety, exposed himself to the rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted in moving the injured personnel to covered positions. Continuing to expose himself, Capt. Cleland organized his men into a work party to repair the battalion communications equipment which had been damaged by enemy fire. His gallant action is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Wow, well, this is infinitely more respectable a reason for award then chasing a fleeing wounded Viet Cong behind a shed and killing him.

[jla]

^

[optimistically_conservative]

You will find a number of conflicting stories including the rank of the marine and when/where he was contacted. This is typical reporter laziness/inaccuracy. The story is real:

Amputee War Hero U.S. Senator Still Fights for Survival
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2000/n01272000_20001274.html

Cleland's life journey began in June 1967 when he arrived
in Vietnam for duty as a captain in the 1st Air Cavalry
Division. His unit helped lift the 76-day-long enemy siege
on 5,000 Marines at Khe Sanh during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Cleland recalled being thankful to be alive and unhurt when
his unit was relieved on April 5. But just three days
later, and a month before he'd have rotated home, his luck
ran out after he and his team had unloaded a helicopter.

As the aircraft lifted off, he saw a hand grenade on the
ground. Thinking he'd dropped it, he reached to pick it up
with his right hand. He never made it.

"As the story goes, the guy behind me was peppered with
shrapnel, but he didn't lose any limbs," Cleland said. "He
was crying and saying, 'It's my fault, my fault, my
grenade, my grenade!'" Apparently the soldier had been told
or scared into thinking that loosening the pins on his
grenades would make them easier to pull out in combat. The
pins normally come bent so they don't come loose
accidentally.

"So one of his grenades with the loosened pins fell off his
web gear and blew me up," said Cleland. "I've had a helluva
time coming to terms with that.

"The explosion blew off my right arm and right leg
instantly and mangled my left leg so badly it had to be
amputated," he said. "I was lucky to survive because my
windpipe was cut, front teeth were knocked out. I was a
bloody mess lying there on the ground -- dying."

"I remember somebody cutting off my uniform and trying to
tie a tourniquet and the screaming for a helicopter
medevac," he said. He fought to stay conscious. "I figured
if I lost consciousness, I wouldn't make it back. I'd lost
a lot of blood. My legs were smoking. I'd been so close to
the grenade that the flash burn had seared the flesh.
That's probably why I didn't bleed to death right there."

[There's millions of'em]

Good stuff. It appears Coulter has really missed the mark on this one and owes Mr Cleland a serious apology.

There's a lesson here for all of us..... we simply must have the facts before any accusation about someone's military service is put on the table.

[CyberAnt]

And as was pointed out by another Lt. who served with Bush, when Lt. Bush got out, the ANG was only too happy to get rid of him because with the war being over there was a gut of AF pilots ready and eager to fly ANG. It was mutually beneficial.

[FreedomPoster]

The bottom line for me: We booted Max because his close-to-Teddy Kennedy voting record in the Senate made him far too Liberal for GA. While many of us already knew of his Liberalism, the whole state really woke up and took a hard look in the wake of 9/11, and it wasn't pretty. Saxby Chamliss is our new Senator as a result.

[My Dog Likes Me]

I'll bet Ann has more severe bedsores than Max.

For different reasons.

[iconoclast]

Cleland did more that just "pick up a grenade". He was playing with that same grenade and made it live and then realized he was a doofus and jumped on it. He should have been discharged.

Sounds like he should have gotten the "Darwin Award" instead of a ticket to the Senate. ;o)

[Prodigal Son]

There was no bravery involved in dropping a grenade on himself with no enemy troops in sight.

Ann Coulter goes where I would surely not. I would not like to have every aspect of my military career under her microscope. She has a point. I'm not arguing that. But I draw a series of distinctions when criticizing one's service. Once they have passed the release point and are in a combat situation, I'm uncomfortable with how closely civilians should examine each thing that the soldiers do.

Case in point: the CNN video of the US Marine shooting the unarmed wounded Iraqi and his buddies cheering about it. Taken from the civilian perspective, that looks very terrible. But.... I would prefer not to try to judge that Marine too much on that. He's somewhere doing something that the rest of us are not. Hard to judge him rationally.

[demkicker]

So your reaction to Ann's article is to insult her? Typical reaction of a lefty.

[Godebert]

" Wow, well, this is infinitely more respectable a reason for award then chasing a fleeing wounded Viet Cong behind a shed and killing him."

Kerry didn't chase him (the VC) into the hooch. After the twin .50 gunner ripped it to shreds from the swiftboat....Kerry disembarked and decided to bayonet charge what remained of the Viet Cong's corpse.

[Godebert]

"I'll bet Ann has more severe bedsores than Max. For different reasons."

I smell a rat.

[Clinton Is Scum]

Max Cleland volunteered to serve in Vietnam. For that alone, he deserves respect. Let's face it--most people who served in the Guard at that time did so to avoid seeing combat. I like Ann a lot, but this column misses the mark.

[Stewart_B]

The grenade exploded when its cotter pin had fallen out, activating the explosive, said the 57-year-old Lloyd. The soldier told Lloyd that he had straightened the pins so it would be easier to pull them when he had to throw a grenade.

Jesus. How would you like to live with that on your conscience? Knowing your stupidity cost a man both legs and an arm.

Cleland did his duty and was a good soldier it appears. I may not like his politics but I wont try to denigrate that.

Anyone that would is no better than a clinton.

[RandallFlagg]

*sigh*

[samtheman]

That Bush skipped out on his National Guard service is one of liberals' many nondisprovable beliefs, like global warming.

Yup.