Posted on 09/11/2004 11:12:23 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Frank Jones says he's angry about newly revealed memos that indicate President Bush got preferential treatment in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam war, but he's not surprised by favoritism in the Guard.
Jones, a Republican from Troy, N.Y., served in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971 before doing 16 years in the Guard himself. As the presidential election nears, Jones says controversy over both candidates' military records and the mounting death toll in Iraq are important issues.
"I'm really in neither camp at this point," he said. "However, I do see a direct correlation to Vietnam. The body count is really starting to get to me."
Some current and retired members of the National Guard and other military services say the newly revealed Bush documents do not bother them, while others say they are troubling.
The documents, which became fodder for Democratic critics last week, indicate Bush was suspended from flying with his Texas Air National Guard unit because he missed a medical exam and that he missed six months of training. Questions have been raised about the documents' authenticity.
Lt. Col. Jim Driscoll, spokesman for the Georgia Army National Guard, said retired service members may comment on political issues such as the Bush documents, but most current reservists and active-duty service members will hesitate to voice their political opinions.
"It would be inappropriate," he said. "The president is our commander-in-chief and so we have to be very careful from an ethical perspective of how we express our political opinions."
Some who served in the National Guard say it is common practice to miss drills - even up to six months - because of job conflicts, family problems or illness.
Ralph Bradley, 56, a Republican from Albany who served three years in Vietnam in the Air Force and 17 years in the Georgia Army National Guard, said members are encouraged to make up drills so they don't lose pay or retirement benefits.
"There's all kinds of situations ... that cause a person to go out of state for a period of time," he said.
Army Reserve Sgt. Tim Wilding, 37, of Jefferson City, Mo., agreed.
Back home for two weeks of leave from Iraq, Wilding said he remains a staunch Bush supporter despite allegations Bush may have tried to get out of Guard drills for several months in 1972.
"A lot of guys don't serve for four or five months at a time," he said. "They've got other stuff going on. They'll make it up later on, or they just won't get paid. That's really no big deal to a lot of National Guard soldiers."
Allegations of suspect conduct during the Vietnam war also have been leveled at John Kerry, who won three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in Vietnam.
A group sponsoring television ads challenging his wartime record contends Kerry's own gunfire caused the wound that brought his first Purple Heart. Navy records and other veterans do not support the charge.
Ahmad Majied of Albany says the latest allegations about Bush's military record are more troubling to him than allegations about service honors leveled at Democratic challenger Kerry.
Majied, a Democrat from Albany who served 30 years in the Navy, including five years as a SEAL in Vietnam, said the memos support his belief that Bush was a "playboy" during his service years.
"He had enough money to get what he wanted," Majied said. "I think his main concern was not to go to Southeast Asia. I bet he never dreamed it would come back to haunt him."
Neal Eubanks of Leesburg, who served 39 years in the military - 23 in the Air Force and 16 in the Georgia Army National Guard - said the presidential candidates should move beyond their military records and focus on the issues, such as the economy and unemployment.
"You don't see Korean veterans or World War II veterans or Grenada veterans always talking about 'I served here and I served there,'" said Eubanks, 67, a Bush supporter.
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Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., David Lieb in Jefferson City, Mo., and Michael Gormley in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.
I don't hear GWB doing it either! J.F'n.K is the only one doing it.
Check this out: In the middle of the article, just when the response to the accusations start: (Story can end here. Optional add follows.)
In my twenty plus years of service I never served with a muslim. I never met or saw one who was a militray retiree. I think the whole article is DNC liberal lies, deception and propaganda.
Exactly - it's called smoke and mirrors and muddying the waters.
Blather served with the communists, does that count?
I know some muslims have served, but I wouldn't be at all surprised that this whole thing was garbage.
Thanks for the link
Lots of pics of that scumbag hugging the enemy. Same as Jane Fonda in my opinion.
When it becomes well known (and it will) that these documents were forged as a political dirty trick, this will backfire big time on the dimwits.
When CBS first aired the story I noted the contents were not harmful to Bush. Once it became clear they were fake, one must think they tried to achieve spinnability and not get too far afield from authentic documents, but from these comments no harm done. People either had their anti-Bush feelings confirmed or they were apathetic.
Backlash is coming.
I spent 13 months in a Marine rifle company (C-1-5) in Vietnam but I have always respected the guardsmen. I don't resent anything George Bush did then. And Bush never called me a rapist or a murder.
Bump!
THESE ARE ALL turayzuh heinz kerry REPUBLICANS!!!
LLS
DNC garbage non-collectable. This reminds minds me of an aids activist a few years back. He was dressed in a US Army greens(Dress uniform) wearing the Medal Of Honor.He was shortly exposed and had never even served in the military.This is the typical DNC psych/opns in progress.
I would have replied with a firm "The Swift Vets are not lying but CBS and the democrats are about GWB" and left it at that.
Repeat as necessary if the lib goes on an insane rant.
Does anybody think that Rather thinks his bio precludes him from being President??
I mean, he already thinks it qualifies him to be God.
Dan Rather, according to STOLEN VALOR by B.G. Burkett, joined the national guard in college to escape the Korean War. This was before college deferments. When the war ended, Rather quit the reserves by enlisting in the Marine Corps. He lasted a few weeks in boot camp before getting a medical discharge, thus ending his military obligation. Burkett's book says Rather's medical problem related to him having rumatic fever as a child. Since medical information is confidential, this explanation must have come from Rather himself.
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