Comments on: Swift Boat Vets: Trying to Divert Attention from Iraq?

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 14:44:05 +0000

Another Viet Nam vet here.
Bill: You commented "All the official documentation tells a totally different story " which would appear, on its face, to be a valid argument. But then again -- if I recall correctly, the official documents regarding My Lai didn't say anything about a massacre of noncombatants. One thing I learned in my military career (I'm retired Army â joined in '67, got out in â71, went back in in â78), is that the official stuff reflects the ground truth just somewhat more than the rumor mills.
Because of the hard work of the many Johns and Janes of the antiwar crew, many (most? all?) of the Viet Nam vets felt tarred by the babykiller appellation. The general impression given, through press accounts, college speeches, etc., was that we were drug-addicted, undisciplined, baby-killing, ear-collecting, murderers. And stupid, to boot, since we went while others pursued their degrees, worked to become 4F (not acceptable for military service), took off to Canada, deserted, etc., and were applauded for those actions.
I was a Democrat. And although now a registered Republican, I still have a pre-1965 Democrat heart. One that listened to and believed âAsk not what your country can do for youâ¦â and ââ¦pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foeâ¦â

By: The American Mind

The American Mind — Fri, 27 Aug 2004 03:47:49 +0000

Kerry's House of Ketchup #24
Kerry speaks. And August is supposed to be a slow news month. Maybe it is, and that's why so...

By: Gary B.

Gary B. — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 17:00:31 +0000

I doubt that anybody saying there is nothing to the swiftboatvets charges have actually read their book. Otherwise they wouldn't be making such foolish statements. But, why let the facts get in the way of supporting the Benedict Arnold of the 20th century. I don't want that SOB to be the CoC of a military with my children in it.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 15:06:23 +0000

The idea of soldiers exaggerating war stories is just shocking!

I have a real problem with 2 things:
1. These Swifties got any real publicity at all. All the official documentation tells a totally different story from them, some of these guys said the exact opposite not too long ago, and some of the outrageoulsy bigoted comments coming from a couple of them make me think they are not honorable men at all. That's not all of them, but quite a few.

2. Kerry won't answer the charges directly. Although he did get the only other officer at the incident to backup his story making the Swifties look pretty foolish again.

Overall, I think Kerry is a pompous jerk, but there seems to be nothing at all to most of these Swifties claims.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 13:39:56 +0000

I know how Vietnam War Hero John Kerry™ is reacting to this story, and it tells me something about Kerry that the Swifties can't tell directly: that Kerry would rather try to silence his critics than rebut them.

We don't make men like that President.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 02:09:23 +0000

It's personal for more people than just the Swiftees. There are about two and a half million veterans, all tarred with Mr. Kerry's war criminal, rapist-torturer-murderer brush. There was a period of some six years, as each of my four children would hit that period in school that I would have to relive and rebut those charges. It's a lot of fun, telling your teenaged daughter that, no, Daddy isn't a rapist. As it turned out, many, if not most, of the 'veterans' giving these lurid stories either never wore the uniform at all or were never in Viet Nam, it doesn't matter. That crap is still being taught in schools. It was unpleasant for me, a lot of the men killed over there had children themselves. One of my Sergeants left, if memory serves, three kids, they would have been in their early to mid teens in 1971. That Sergeant was one of the finest men I've ever known, my middle boy is named after him, as it happens. I wonder, sometimes, how that 'testimony' affected his children. It's personal all right. I wouldn't know a Swift Boat if it bit me on the ass, I don't care one bit about what the Hee-row did over there. I know what he did over here and that's enough. They tell me that there is a wall in Washington, DC with some 58,000 or so names on it. I served with some of those people. They never got a chance to answer John Kerry's slander. There hasn't been a day in the almost forty years since my first trip across the pond that I don't remember those young men. John Kerry might as well have gone to each individual grave, took out his handy-dandy movie camera and pissed on their graves, filmed it and sent the film to their families. I'm not anyone important, except to my family and friends, I'm not anyone famous, I'm not a particulary good speaker or writer. Yet it is up to me to speak for those young men who will never be able to speak for themselves.

By: Fair and Balanced

Fair and Balanced — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 01:24:26 +0000

How many supporters of the "Swifties" were living during the Vietnam Conflict? How many of you lost good friends in Vietnam? I was 18 in 1968 and have very clear memories. One of my close high school friends was killed by so-called 'friendly fire' in early 1969 while serving in Vietnam. He had been there only a few months. Indeed, it was possible to have been wounded and/or killed on one's very first day in Vietnam. (I suggest that those who doubt this might want to interview wounded veterans of the current Gulf War who were 'in country' only days before being hit.) Several other good friends who served in the U.S. military came back from Vietnam physically and/or psychologically scarred for life. My young husband, who had a very low draft lottery number, would surely have been drafted and sent to Vietnam had he not developed high blood pressure out of sheer anxiety about it all. Why would I have wanted to support the Vietnam war in the late 1960s and early 1970s, knowing that my younger brothers would soon be in line to be drafted? Why would I have wanted to support Nixon's decision to bomb Cambodia and spread the war there? Yes, I joined peace demonstrations; many of those walking alongside me were veterans who had survived Vietnam. Not everyone who lived through that era (least of all those Vietnamese civilians who survived) is blowing half of the hot air that some bloggers are blowing. Not everyone felt the same, acted the same, nor believed the same--then nor now. Free speech is alive and well in America. Get used to it. And be grateful if you didn't have to put yourself in harm's way as many veterans and civilians have done. Talk is very, very cheap.

By: Cooper

Cooper — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 22:41:19 +0000

I bet Kerryâs crewmates appreciated the fact that he â...sacrificed 10 pounds of socks and clean underwear to pack a typewriter.â Especially after being cooped up in 100 degree, humid weather. But hey, anything for a future political career.

So youÂ´ve narrowed down to this and that proves why Kerry is unfit for command, Good job.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 21:20:00 +0000

Fair enough.

By: Mike Adamson

Mike Adamson — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 20:45:58 +0000

It's quite possible that I'm confusing the "what ought" with the "what is". I should have said that I wouldn't consider the issue important enough to merit the attention and that its prominence is reflective of the times. As a Canadian, I don't have any particular axe to grind. I would probably prefer to see Kerry elected as I consider the current administration's judgement in the international arena to be lacking to say the least. I'm struck more by the persistance and prominence of the issue rather than the details in themselves.

By: Petrified Truth

Petrified Truth — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 15:55:43 +0000

Hanoi John roundup
Vietnam veterans support John Kerry... at least some living in Hanoi. HANOI - With the U.S. presidential race taking a decidedly bitter turn over John Kerry's Vietnam war record, U.S. veterans in Hanoi are selling T-shirts supporting his run for...

By: McGehee

McGehee — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:54:59 +0000

Addendum to my last comment: after clicking that link, scroll down to the next-to-last item.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:53:52 +0000

The issue matters to the hard core on both sides of the spectrum but is essentially irrelevant to the decision to be taken in November. Unfortunately, "Kerry-leaning" independents aren't cooperating with your spin.

By: PoliBlog

PoliBlog — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:46:02 +0000

Speaking of the Perverse Effects of Campaign Finance Laws...
Kerry takes legal action against Vietnam critics In a statement released to reporters, Kerry's campaign announced it had "filed a legal complaint against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) before the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) (...

By: CNChristy

CNChristy — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:40:57 +0000

Mike Adamson,

"essentially irrelevant to the decision to be taken in November"??

The Kerry vs. Swifties issue has made up my mind and at least two others that I know. The character of a candidate (including silly little things like honesty, humility) is most certainly VERY relevant to some of us voters.