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View Full Version : Medals do not make a man. Morals do.



usmc4669
03-25-04, 10:16 AM
When asked on TV, in January, about George W. Bush’s record in the Air National Guard, John Kerry mugged for the TV cameras and said, “I am not going to question someone’s decision back then to join the National Guard, go to Canada, be a conscientious objector, or go AWOL.”

Kerry did not stop to think, when he made such a statement, lumping National Guard service in with being AWOL or a draft dodger, that he was not only dishonoring the 6,077 men who died in Vietnam who were in the National Guard and Reserves, those who trained hard to protect our homeland and be a reserve force, but he also denigrated the 140 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor in our nation’s history who were members of the National Guard. That is what I said: 140 Medal of Honor recipients were in the National Guard.



If you are a veteran then go to this site and read what Don Bendell wrote about Senator John F. Kerry, I really don't care if you are a Republican or Democrat.You do not have to post a reply.




http://www.donbendell.com/

thedrifter
03-25-04, 10:30 AM
Issue Date: March 29, 2004

Voters should remember that Kerry’s medals are testimony to service, valor

By Keith Taylor

Old sailors used to say, “With this medal and a nickel, you can get a cup of coffee.”
Despite that bromide, medals had quite a bit of value back in the Dark Ages when I was competing for promotion. Then, the value of personal medals was added to test scores, time in service, time in grade, quarterly evaluations and several other measurements. The guys with the most points made the cut and were promoted. The others waited until the next year.

I had to make do with little more than the Good Conduct Medal, with a new star added every three years, but nothing for heroism. I always thought I rated something for the time I stepped in front of a drunken shipmate who was trying to punch our executive officer. My shoulder took the full force of what was left of the best wild blow the staggering sailor could muster.

As it turned out, an award would have been awkward because the XO looked pretty drunk himself. Later, in a Key West, Fla., bar, he bought me a beer and told me, “That was a real gutsy thing you did, chief.” I couldn’t wear his compliment on my chest, so I bought him a beer and we talked about girls.

My neighbor Bill Sumpter earned an important medal during World War II. He once flew his lumbering PBY Catalina patrol plane through a hail of anti-aircraft fire and sank a Japanese cruiser. Bill thinks he would have been awarded the Medal of Honor if he’d been more of an officer’s officer. Alas, he was, at heart, an enlisted pilot who got a commission because of Pearl Harbor. He thinks awarding him the nation’s highest honor didn’t seem politically correct to those higher in the chain of command, so Bill had to make do with the Navy Cross.

Ah, politics and medals — they are indeed intertwined. Look at Sen. John Kerry and his run for the presidency. I figured Kerry, who earned more medals during four months in Vietnam than I earned in 23 years all over the world, would get the nod from veterans, and he does to an extent.

But some veterans stick it to Kerry. I suspect they’re stung by criticism of their own favorite, the current president. After all, George W. Bush is accused of avoiding combat duty by using political influence to get one of the few open spots in the Air National Guard.

Kerry, on the other hand, can point to a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. That doesn’t placate those who don’t want him elected. A retired master chief boatswain’s mate in Maine avers that Kerry was a dumb officer who drove his Swift boat too close to shore, got himself shot and endangered his men. Well, it certainly was close to shore, 9,400 miles closer than 1st Lt. Bush got.

An old shipmate of mine forwards e-mails to me denouncing Kerry. A couple contained photos of Kerry with Jane Fonda. In one, our would-be president was sharing a dais with her, but that shot quickly was branded a fake by the photographer. In another, Kerry was sitting near, but not with, Fonda. However, the accusation of a relationship with “Hanoi Jane” doesn’t hold water because the photo was taken nearly two years before Fonda visited North Vietnam.

Various versions of the “unpatriotic” e-mail are sent every day, each aimed at denigrating the only presidential candidate with a Silver Star. A guy who calls himself “A Real Veteran” contends that Kerry used a little-known loophole to leave ’Nam early. The loophole is little known because few folks took three bullets for their country and lived to tell about it.

Mostly, though, the umbrage comes from those who don’t like his turning against the war after he’d fought in it. Maybe there’s something to that, but people should remember that he did fight in it. He fought with valor. Those medals say so.

As for his actions after coming home, Kerry gave the First Amendment the greatest possible honor by using it.

Keith Taylor retired after 23 years as an officer and an enlisted man. He can be reached at krtaylorxyz@aol.com.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2744466.php


Ellie

usmc4669
03-25-04, 10:42 AM
EMAIL EXCERPT: “But I do know that John Kerry spent not just a few months in Vietnam, but TWO TOURS of duty. And our illustrious president of the US can't even prove he showed up at his patriotic "jet fighter" job!!”


DB: Kerry spent his first tour as an electronics officer on a ship that went back and forth between the coast of California and the coast of Vietnam. Hardly combat experience of Kerry’s description, razing villages, etc. After his third Purple Heart in four months on a Swift Boat, with the wounds of each only requiring a "bandage" and no hospital time (Little different than my step-brother, who was in the National Guard, who got one Purple Heart in 1966 after being transferred to the 1st Cav Div and then having four M-16 bullets that shortened his leg and kept him in hospitals for over a year). Any person with any common sense and military background knows that Bush would have been court-martialed for being AWOL no matter who "Daddy" was, as a pilot and an officer. Plus, his commanding officer already stated at the beginning of this "attack Bush campaign" that Bush volunteered to transfer to Vietnam but the CO disapproved it, because GWB did not have enough flight hours. Thirdly, Bush had to sign up for additional service time by requesting flight training. If "Daddy" wanted to exert influence, he could have easily got Bush a cushy desk job anywhere in an air-conditioned office. Why don't you ask Kerry why he has staunchly refused to request the release of his own military records? They cannot be released without his personal request, and he refuses. Why? GWB released 600 pages of personal information about his service in the Air Nat'l Guard. Secondly, why don't you go make your smart-ass liberal remarks to the surviving family members of the 6,077 National Guard members and Reservists who lost their lives in Vietnam? Tell those families their loved one's service was less honorable than Kerry's.

USMC-FO
03-25-04, 11:06 AM
The above posts lead us all 'eye' suspect to the obvous concluson....that the current campagn shall be one of the more unpleasant and nasty from recent memory and even, perhaps, from the last 100 years. Sadly we wll all get very messy from the fallout of all the "sh*t" that wll be tossed around.

Sorry but tough to comment when the letter "eye" on the computer has "sh*t the bed"...

MillRatUSMC
03-25-04, 11:28 AM
Medals on a uniform only bear witness to what's in one SRB or Service Record Book.
Some denote valor others service in a war area, others for one's personal conduct.
Morals on the other hand come from one's Core Values.
Lack of Core Values will make some take actions that later in life they might regret having taken.
Of the two which would we most admire, a man full of medals on his or her chest.
Or a man or woman of high moral values?
It is a no brainer, morals win hands down.
We must lay Vietnam to rest, there's more to life than seeking reasons why one did or didn't serve in a war that was madness.
We answered the call, not once but twice, are we better than the next man.
It's up to others to make a judgement...

"A man or woman is measured
by the footprint,
he or she leaves behind"

"They were the best you had, America,
and you turned your back on them".
~ Joe Galloway ~ Speaking about Vietnam Veterans

“Marines have always been physically and mentally tough.
We must keep squarely in our sights,
the fact that toughness can be decisive in combat.”
~ General Charles C. Krulak ~
31st Commandment of the Marine Corps

TO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
THAT OTHERS MAY SAY PROUDLY
I AM A MARINE

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo

fulmetaljackass
03-25-04, 11:40 AM
"We must lay Vietnam to rest, there's more to life than seeking reasons why one did or didn't serve in a war that was madness."

Not that I'm the political type, but I would like to urge everyone to seperate what a candidate can or cannot do for America from the standard run of the mill s^*t talking that goes on during a campaign.

usmc4669
03-25-04, 12:50 PM
fulmetaljackass

"We must lay Vietnam to rest, there's more to life than seeking reasons why one did or didn't serve in a war that was madness."
Not that I'm the political type, but I would like to urge everyone to seperate what a candidate can or cannot do for America from the standard run of the mill s^*t talking that goes on during a campaign.


Don Bendel: Here is some factual mud: George W. Bush has increased military pay 21%. Kerry voted against military pay raises 12 times. Kerry and his spinners have said that Bush is decimating the Veterans Administration. FACT: According to factscheck.org, Bush’s 2005 fiscal budget increases VA funding by 40% over when Bush took office, Bush has cut administrative time in VA by half, the Annenberg Center says that funding for veterans under Bush is increasing twice as fast under Bush as it did under Clinton, and vets getting health benefits now has increased by over 27% under Bush.

Under previous Presidents, democratic and republican, I always was treated like a bastard stepchild at VA hospitals. Since Bush became President, I am treated like a veteran with respect and dignity and have never had to wait for more than a half an hour for an appointment.