A Veteran's Letter to Kerry
And A Soldier's Letter to Kerry
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Posted on 05/15/2004 3:13:53 PM PDT by Deacon_m
(FIRST LETTER) A Veteran's Letter to Kerry:
Dear Senator John Kerry:
Since it has become clear that you will probably be the Democratic nominee for President, I have spent a great deal of time researching your war record and your record as a professional politician. The reason is simple, you aspire to be the Commander in Chief who would lead my sons and their fellow soldiers in time of war. I simply wanted to know if you possess the necessary qualifications to be trusted in that respect.
You see, I belong to a family of proud U.S. veterans. I was a Captain in the Army Reserve, my father was a decorated Lieutenant in World War II; and I have four sons who have either served, or are currently serving in the military. The oldest is an Army Lieutenant still on active duty in Afghanistan after already being honored for his service in Iraq. The youngest is an E-4 with the military police. His National Guard unit just finished their second tour of active duty, including six months in Guantanamo Bay. My two other sons have served in the national guard and the navy.
In looking at your record I found myself comparing it not only to that of my father and my sons, but to the people they served with. My father served with the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion in Europe. They landed on Utah Beach and fought for 317 straight days including the Cherbourg Peninsula, Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. You earned a Silver Star in Vietnam for chasing down and finishing off a wounded and retreating enemy soldier. My father won a Bronze Star for single handedly charging and knocking out a German machine gun nest that had his men pinned down. You received three purple hearts for what appears to be three minor scratches. In fact you only missed a combined total of two days of duty for these wounds. The men of my father's unit, the 87th, had to be admonished by their commanding officer because: "It has been brought to our attention that some men are covering up wounds and refusing medical attention for fear of being evacuated and permanently separated from this organization..."
It was also a common problem for seriously wounded soldiers to go AWOL from hospitals in order to rejoin their units. You used your three purple hearts to leave Vietnam early.
My oldest boy came home from Iraq with numerous commendations and then proceeded to volunteer to go to Afghanistan and from there back to Iraq again. My sons and father have never had anything but the highest regard and respect for their fellow soldiers. Yet, you came home to publicly charge your fellow fighting men with being war criminals and to urge their defeat by the enemy. You even wrote a book that had a cover which mocked the heroism of the U.S. Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. Our current crop of soldiers has a philosophy that no one gets left behind; and they have practiced that from Somalia to the battlefields of the Middle East. Yet as chairman of a Senate committee looking into allegations that many of your fellow servicemen had been left behind as prisoners in Vietnam, you chose to defend the brutal Vietnamese regime. You even went so far as to refer to the families of the POWs and MIAs as Professional malcontents, conspiracy mongers, con artists, and dime-store Rambos.
As a Senator, you voted against the 1991 Gulf War, and have repeatedly voted against funds to supply our troops with the best equipment, and against money to improve our intelligence capability. I find this particularly ironic since as a Presidential candidate, you have been highly critical of our pre-war intelligence in Iraq. However, you did vote to authorize the President to go to war, but afterwards you proceeded to do everything you could to undermine the efforts of our government and our troops to win this war on Terrorism. Is this what our fighting men and women can expect of you if you are their Commander in Chief? Will you gladly send them to war, only to then aid the enemy by undermining their morale and cut off funding the weaponry they need to win?
Our country is at war Senator, and as has been the case in every war since the American Revolution, a member of my family is serving their country during the war. Now you want me to trust you to lead my sons in this fight.
Sorry Senator, but when I compare your record to those who have fought and died for this nation, and are currently fighting and dying, the answer is not just no, but Hell No!
Sincerely,
Michael Connelly February 14, 2004 Dallas, Texas
Forward this to EVERYONE you know--we can NOT afford to have this man as the President of the United States!!
(SECOND LETTER)
A Soldier's Letter To Kerry:
Dear Senator John Kerry:
You have often spoken out about the quagmire which is the Iraqi 'occupation'. I would like to list a few of the accomplishments of my commrades in Irag's:
1.) Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
2.) School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
3.) Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so education can occur.
4.) The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
5.) The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
6.) Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.
7.) The country (Irag) now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
8.) 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.
9.) Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
10.) Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
11.) Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
12.) Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
13.) Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.
14.) Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
15.) Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.
16.) An interim constitution has been signed.
17.) Girls are now finally allowed to attend school.
18.) Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.
My fellow Americans, Please don't believe the lie that the Iraqi people don't want us in their country! I have met many people in Iraq that tell me how glad they are that we have come. Unfortunately though, they do not believe that they will ever see the freedoms we came there to make possible for them; but, they hope and pray that their children will see it!
We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute with me on these facts. This soldier will set John Kerry straight about any 'quagmire' he may think we are having in Iraq. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.
Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National Guard 234th Signal Battalion
A Veteran's Letter to Kerry
And A Soldier's Letter to Kerry
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.
 The book that Kerry wishes would just go away. |
HanoiJohnKerry.com is a blog with a primary purpose. That purpose is to counter the preposterous claims of Sen. John Forbes Kerry (D-MA) that he has any legitimate claim to any sort of "brotherhood" among combat veterans of the War in Vietnam. While it is generally supposed that his service as a Naval officer on a "Swift Boat" in that theater was adequate and honorable, there is much to question regarding his readiness to allow the accolade "war hero" to be applied to him. Likewise, it is not at all uncommon for more senior Naval officers to raise an eyebrow at the swiftness and relative comfort by which Lt. JG Kerry attained those medals, and who is available to vouch for the efficacy of his being awarded them (since, as boat commander, it would be his own task to make recommendation for awards for all personnel, including himself, on the Swift Boat). But most egregious was his conduct, words and associations upon his early-out (from SEA) return to the USA and discharge from the US Navy. His leadership role with the radical pro-Communist (inaccurate to deem this group "anti-war") group called "Vietnam Veterans Against the [Vietnam] War" (hereafter VVAW). |
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It was while climbing the social and political ladder of the pro-Soviet Left as a principle of VVAW that John Kerry found his political soul-mate in Hanoi Jane Fonda. Granted, these politically formative years for Kerry were prior to the more outlandish acts of Fonda that earned her that name, but it is easily documentable that Fonda did not under go any radical transformation in belief or character from the time she and Kerry were working the same side of the street to the time she traveled to Hanoi, NVN and entered US history as the most overt traitor to ever NOT be charged, tried and executed. John Kerry went to his own overt extremes to demonstrate that, politically, socially and in lowness of character, there wasn't a nickel's worth of difference between he and Fonda. Thus, in the spirit of fairness and accuracy, we are reasonably certain that he will be agreeably flattered by calling him Hanoi John Kerry. |
 Here, testifying before the Fulbright Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is where John Kerry, spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, cemented his position and moniker as "Hanoi John" Kerry. This was the occasion where US troops still in the field in Vietnam learned from one of their FORMER brothers-in-arms that they were heinous murderers and war criminals. HJK would now like to call on them for support in his bid to be the new Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Perhaps the most preposterous hypocrisy of all. |
The answer is "No".
You betray an unfamiliarity with the facts.
>>I mean, any allegation that Kerry's purple hearts might not be fully deserved and that he took advantage of any injuries to come home seem a little petty next to a man who did everything possible to stay out of Nam in the first place.
You're talking about Bill Clinton, right??
Thanks for the ping, and thanks for the article.
Good read, here's to it getting to the right eyes.
Tonk,Bump.
Kerry did the same thing that Bush did, didn't he? In those days, young men could either wait to be drafted, or sign up for a service that was more to their liking. Kerry signed up for the Navy, where he would not likely be in danger. Bush signed up to be a fighter pilot.
Are we going to disparage every young man who decided to sign up for a specific slot rather than be drafted? If so, Kerry is every bit as awful as W.
Thanks for the ping!
The mod is REALLY fast!! I barely get a chance to post against a troll and they are gone....*Poof*.... I just wish someone could fix my cable as fast!
Definatly a must forward!! Thanks Tonk!
Happy Armed Forces Day!
Here's a couple of blog you might be interested in.
Also you might want to get on Ragtime Cowgirl's pinglist.
The Greenside
http://www.thegreenside.com/
Boots on the Ground
This is about my daily life here in Baghdad, Iraq as an soldier of the United States Army. My views do not reflect that of the US Military or US Government
http://bootsonground.blogspot.com/
Just thought I let you know
Viet Vets Against Any Wars Being Fought By GW Bush
BTTT!!!!!!
All your biff-baffs are belong to us.......
bada BUMP BUMP BUMP to da TOP
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