[GCFL-discuss] Boats and Veterans

[gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net]

I expect that John may soon impose a rule that no material from any
political campaign may be posted in the discussion group. Maybe we should
just say, if anyone wants to uphold a viewpoint or candidate, they should
be confident enough to do it in their own words. (I am certain that in
most matters, I can defend John Kerry somewhat better than he can do
himself -- and Jeff certainly does a better job for GWB than any Bush
campaign commercial does).

But fair is fair, and anyway, one thing I cannot do is speak as a Vietnam
veteran, which I am not. So in response to the Swift Boat Veterans for
Bush, I would like to offer the following. I do not believe that any of
us should vote for either candidate because some number of veterans
recommends them. There are veterans on both sides, union members on both
sides, teachers on both sides, clergy on both sides, etc. etc. etc. But
this will restore some balance.

Siarlys

SHORT VERSION:

Ten Senior Military Officials Respond to Cheney Personal Attacks

Ten senior military officials released the following statement in
response to the Vice President's attacks on John Kerry on Thursday:

"We are deeply disappointed by the tone and tenor of President Bush and
Vice President Cheney's personal attacks on John Kerry, a decorated
combat veteran who served his country with courage and honor. John Kerry
is talking about his plan to address the most pressing issues facing our
nation - jobs, the economy, health care, the war on terror, the war in
Iraq. George Bush and Dick Cheney have chosen take their campaign to the
gutter. We call on President Bush and Vice President Cheney to stop the
irresponsible personal attacks and tell us where they want to take the
country. Tell us how they plan to win the peace in Iraq. Tell us how they
plan to get us back on track with the war on terror. Tell us where they
plan to lead the country. The American people and our troops deserve
better."

Signed by: 

Admiral William J. Crowe (United States Navy, Retired)
Admiral Stansfield Turner (United States Navy, Retired)
General Wesley K. Clark (United States Army, Retired)
General Merrill "Tony" A. McPeak (United States Air Force, Retired)
General Joseph Hoar (United States Marine Corps, Retired)
General Johnnie E. Wilson (United States Army, Retired) 
Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn (United States Navy, Retired)
Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy (United States Army, Retired)
Lieutenant General Donald Kerrick (United States Army, Retired)
Lieutenant General Edward D. Baca

Senator McCain has called Bush's ads "dishonest and dishonorable." McCain
does still support Bush for re-election, and has campaigned with him in
Arizona.

Washington, DC - General Merrill McPeak released the following statement
today responding to the attacks Vice President Cheney made today in
Dayton, OH:
"Let's get the record straight. No one disputes these facts: John Kerry
volunteered for active military service when many others-including
President Bush and Vice President Cheney-found a way to avoid it. He came
under intense hostile fire, was wounded three times and was decorated for
gallantry. Do the President and Vice President really want to have a
debate about who is more suited to fight the war in Iraq and the war on
terror? Do they really want a debate about which candidate has the
toughness to make America stronger?"


NOW, FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO TAKE THE TIME, HERE IS THE LONGER RESPONSE
FROM AN INDIVIDUAL VETERAN:

The Guy Who Was Actually There Speaks Out for Kerry 
Shame on the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush
By JIM RASSMANN
Wall Street Journal
August 10, 2004
I came to know Lt. John Kerry during the spring of 1969. He and his swift
boat crew assisted in inserting our Special Forces team and our Chinese
Nung soldiers into operational sites in the Cau Mau Peninsula of South
Vietnam. I worked with him on many operations and saw firsthand his
leadership, courage and decision-making ability under fire.

On March 13, 1969, John Kerry's courage and leadership saved my life.
While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a
mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from
both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later.
The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into
the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the
bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath.
When I surfaced, all the swift boats had left, and I was alone taking
fire from both banks. To avoid the incoming fire, I repeatedly swam under
water as long as I could hold my breath, attempting to make it to the
north bank of the river. I thought I would die right there. The odds were
against me avoiding the incoming fire and, even if I made it out of the
river, I thought I'd be captured and executed. Kerry must have seen me in
the water and directed his driver, Del Sandusky, to turn the boat around.
Kerry's boat ran up to me in the water, bow on, and I was able to climb
up a cargo net to the lip of the deck. But, because I was nearly upside
down, I couldn't make it over the edge of the deck. This left me hanging
out in the open, a perfect target. John, already wounded by the explosion
that threw me off his boat, came out onto the bow, exposing himself to
the fire directed at us from the jungle, and pulled me aboard.
For his actions that day, I recommended John for the Silver Star, our
country's third highest award for bravery under fire. I learned only this
past January that the Navy awarded John the Bronze Star with Combat V for
his valor. The citation for this award, signed by the Commander of U.S.
Naval Forces, Vietnam, Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, read, "Lieutenant
(junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal
courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the
United States Naval Service." To this day I am grateful to John Kerry for
saving my life. And to this day I still believe that he deserved the
Silver Star for his courage.
It has been many years since I served in Vietnam. I returned home, got
married, and spent many years as a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County.
I retired in 1989 as a lieutenant. It has been a long time since I left
Vietnam, but I think often of the men who did not come home with us.
I am neither a politician nor an organizer. I am a retired police officer
with a passion for orchids. Until January of this year, the only public
presentations I made were about my orchid hobby. But in this presidential
election, I had to speak out; I had to tell the American people about
John Kerry, about his wisdom and courage, about his vision and
leadership. I would trust John Kerry with my life, and I would entrust
John Kerry with the well-being of our country.
Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a
Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted for
Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John
Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed
his bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a
great commander in chief.
Now, 35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat
Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in
Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the
Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these
Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out against
John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But this time
their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not
just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well. This
hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my words
and Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people without
decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who serve in
combat.
As John McCain noted, the television ad aired by these veterans is
"dishonest and dishonorable." Sen. McCain called on President Bush to
condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush ad. Regrettably, the president
has ignored Sen. McCain's advice.
Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar?
In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen.
McCain. In fact, the very same communications group, Spaeth
Communications, that placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved
in these vicious attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with
close ties to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest and
dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are
fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam.
They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam.
But when the noise and fog of their distortions and lies have cleared, a
man who volunteered to serve his country, a man who showed up for duty
when his country called, a man to whom the United States Navy awarded a
Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, will stand tall and
proud. Ultimately, the American people will judge these Swift Boat
Veterans for Bush and their accusations. Americans are tired of smear
campaigns against those who volunteered to wear the uniform. Swift Boat
Veterans for Bush should hang their heads in shame.

Mr. Rassmann, a retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, served with the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
1968-69.



________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!