Another Veteran Speaks Out Against the Swift Boat Vets

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082304V.shtml

Unfit - My Letter To The Swift Boat Organization
John Cory
t r u t h o u t | Letter

About the author: John Cory is a Vietnam veteran, he received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with V device - 1969 - 1970

Dear Sirs:

In the face of fact after fact that exposes your lies, you continue to foul and slander John Kerry. Your words and deeds cast doubt on all the honorable men who served gallantly; question the competence of former military leadership; and hurl dispersions on fellow soldiers, while denigrating the dead.

And for what?

You choose to align yourselves with those who smeared an honorable Vietnam POW, calling into question his sanity and his survival of the Hanoi Hilton. You choose to serve those who disgracefully painted a Vietnam veteran triple amputee as unpatriotic and less than a true American.

Where were you then? John Kerry was there for his fellow veteran brothers, where were you?

You choose to support men who had other priorities than serving their country. Men, whose self-interest was more important than duty, honor, and country; and you prefer to serve a man who treated his military obligation like Alcoholics Anonymous; picking and choosing what meetings he would or would not attend.

You choose to aid those who have soiled themselves with the blood of others.

You choose to be finger-puppets of a media obsessed with ratings and tabloid sensationalism. A media, that willfully avoids the truth and pain of the daily toll in Iraq: willing to set veteran against veteran in order to increase viewer share. A media, that happily promotes an old war as a means of avoiding responsibility for its promotion of the new war.

You choose to inflate your shriveled egos with the spotlight of hate and slander. You choose to deny both the truth and the lie that was Vietnam. Like the man you support, you choose to look away from the flag-draped reality of today, and instead, seek yesterday's false reflection, in hope of revenge. But you cannot right a wrong war, whether then or now.

I crawled the mud paddies of Vietnam and stuck my fingers in the gaping wounds, trying to stop the oozing blood that drained the life from my fellow soldiers. I have walked the old paths of war and seen the children that even today, lose limbs from the unexploded ordinance of yesterday's war. I have seen more honor and compassion in the eyes of the men who were once my enemy, than in the twisted piety of your vitriolic defamation.

....more....

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. nt

[WilliamPitt]

4. Fixed

Thanks.

[Junkdrawer]

5. There's an unneeded 'H' in the link...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082304V.shtml

[WilliamPitt]

7. Fixed again

Yeesh. Me = duh. Thanks.

[Catch22Dem]

2. Hey, isn't that a Nelson Demille character?

I'm KIDDING!

That is an incredible piece of work. So moving. I apologize, I get wise-cracky when I get moved. Defense mechanism I guess. Thanks for posting this, Will.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. Goddamn...

Sure is good to see some righteous indignation from those who were there and retained that most ephemeral of distinctions: a sense of honor.

[vetwife]

6. Can't get the link up !

[WilliamPitt]

8. Fixed

[klook]

10. Correct link

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082304V.shtml

It's an excellent letter.

[NMDemDist2]

15. kicked and nominated n/t

[sundancekid]

9. time to make sure all these veterans' outpourings are held together in

some sort of unique place with a sacred trust attached to it ... Sir WilliamPitt, no doubt you are already doing this ... can you help us collate and organize the stories??? as you know, there were already several others from vets on DU threads just today ... any suggestions?

[klook]

11. How about a book?

I'd be happy to send $100 to anybody who'll put it together, and I bet a lot of others would too.

[Sparkly]

23. Hmm... I'm an independent publisher

A bigger publisher would do better with the marketing part of it... But I have ISBN's and a distributor and all that stuff. It's a good thought...

[klook]

24. If you start getting real about it

give us the info so we can send you some dough.

[Sparkly]

25. None needed

Just a good idea with a purpose, and a way to get it out there. I don't want to hijack this thread with the idea. My wheels are turning thinking about it -- feel free to PM me with your ideas.

[vetwife]

Thanks Will

[MooPie]

18. Yes.

I think an outpouring of letters from Veterans would make a powerful statement. My husband, a Vietnam Vet, who thinks he may have even been in the same area with Kerry, although he didn't know it at the time, is beyond fury at the smear campaign of O'Neill and his lying scumbag cohorts. I do believe he would be willing to write a letter, as he has complete distaste for the Sieve Boat Vets, as well as AWOL himself. It comes down to this, Kerry went, Monkeyboy didn't. Please keep this thread kicked as he can't read this until tomorrow.

[searchingforlight]

12. I can't get this site.

[WilliamPitt]

14. Try again, I fixed the link

[Karenina]

13. What I REALLY don't get...

Is that now there are guys coming out of the woodwork, honorable men whose scabs are being scraped bloody by this debacle, and studio appearances are STILL being scheduled for those whose "stories" and connexions are so easily laid bare for ANYONE with eyes to see. :freak:

Something much sicker than usual is happening in Amerikkka.

[Kimber Scott]

27. Controversy sells. That's all there is to it.

nt.

[Karenina]

31. It's kinda like

America has become a GIANT JERRY SPRINGER SHOW! :argh:

[Kimber Scott]

32. EXACTLY! What a perfect metaphor!

:silly:

[tandot]

16. Thank you for posting, WilliamPitt

I hope that more Vietnam Veterans speak out against these lying scumbags.

[Joanne98]

17. This was so awesome

You choose to inflate your shriveled egos with the spotlight of hate and slander. You choose to deny both the truth and the lie that was Vietnam. Like the man you support, you choose to look away from the flag-draped reality of today, and instead, seek yesterday's false reflection, in hope of revenge. But you cannot right a wrong war, whether then or now.

"seeking yesterday's false reflection, in the hope of revenge". Damn aint' that true..... what a good writer

[GalleryGod]

19. As always...Well done,Will!

Kick it:kick: :kick: :kick:

[rumguy]

20. Where's the Dem Strategist when you need them?

!

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. Powerful letter.

If only the smearboat asshole bastards had a conscience that the letter could affect.

[Sparkly]

22. John Cory takes my breath away

Power + Poetry + Truth = John Cory, whoever he is. :loveya:

[Kimber Scott]

26. I'm awed.

nt

[realFedUp]

28. Vets are getting used by this administration

Vets, especially Vietnam Vets, we know that the war
still isn't over for many of you. You've suffered with
knowledge and duty, knowing that it wasted so many
good men, living and dead.

Bush is using you; touching the anger you felt when
soldiers, fresh from combat in Vietnam, came back
and told about their experiences in front of Congress
...atrocities against civilians, soldiers, Vietcong
during war. John Kerry was one who spoke out and it
still burns that your service might have been questioned...
and so you questioned his. I imagine that soldiers from
Iraq will feel similar feelings in years to come.

This anger is tragic...it should have been dealt with
so many years ago...

This administration is just looking for ways for voters
to doubt John Kerry and you are a group being used to
do that. It has probably worked for some who were on the
fence, but what you should take a serious look at is how
this administration has really treated veterans.

from the Kerry/Edwards website:

“George Bush needs to learn a certain four letter word: FACT. It is a fact that he has overextended the military to its thinnest levels in years and forced thousands of soldiers to involuntarily extend their deployments. It is a fact that he threatened to veto the $87 billion supplemental and sent troops into battle without body armor. It is a fact that he has broken his promise to America’s veterans and made it harder for them to access quality health care. George Bush is too busy attacking to get his facts straight and he is out of credibility,” Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said.


Bush Has Not Kept His Promise To Vets
Closing Vet Hospitals: In May 2004, the Administration decided to push for the closure of hospitals in Brecksville, OH; Gulfport, MS; and, Highland Drive, PA. Eight VA hospitals will be partially closed. The Administration is planning partial closures in Knoxville, IA; Canandaigua, NY; Livermore, CA; Montrose, NY; Kerrville, TX; Saginaw, MI; Ft. Wayne, IN; and Butler, PA.

Imposing New Fees On Vets: Bush’s 2005 budget will institute a new annual $250 enrollment fee and an increase in prescription drug co-pays from $7 to $15 for middle-income veterans. In December 2001, Bush more than tripled the prescription co-payments for nonservice-connected veterans from $2 to $7.

Leaving Vets Without Health Care: While Bush said in his speech: “I want to thank Ed Banes for his service in being an effective commander of the VFW,” in fact Ed Banas said about Bush’s budget earlier in the year:

“The President ignored veterans in the State of the Union Address and with today's release of his 2005 budget. It is further evident that veterans are no longer a priority with this administration.”

“This funding package is a disgrace and a sham”

“What the administration is proposing for veterans is a shell game. Veterans are being asked to pay for their own health care to make up for shortages in the budget.”

“This budget indefensibly will not meet the increasing health care needs of our veterans, nor will it lessen the many months they wait for disability benefits.”

Bush's 2005 budget falls more than $2.6 billion short of the amount needed to fully fund quality veterans' health care, according to The Independent Budget, an annual collective assessment by four veterans service organizations of the funding levels and policy changes needed at VA.

Opposing Helping Disabled Vets. Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended that Bush veto the defense appropriations bill if it contained a fix to the concurrent receipt problem that penalizes veterans who also receive disability assistance. The concurrent receipt ban stops a veteran who receives disability compensation from also receiving military retirement pay, effectively punishing our disabled vets. Rumsfeld wrote that if the bill, “authorizes concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and veterans’ disability compensation benefits, or expands TRICARE, then I would join other senior advisors to the President in recommending that he veto the bill.”

Bush Claimed Support For Concurrent Receipt: "For more than a century, federal law prohibited disabled veterans from receiving both their military retired pay and their VA disability compensation. Combat injured and severely disabled veterans deserve better. I was proud to be the first president in over 100 years to sign concurrent receipt legislation." -George W. Bush, VFW National Convention

It Is Bush Who Opposed The $87 Billion, Over Vet Funding
Bush Threatened To Veto $87 Billion Supplemental Over Additional Funding For Reservists And Veterans. As part of the $87 billion emergency supplemental appropriations for security and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003, the Senate passed an amendment that provided an additional $1.3 billion for improved medical benefits for reservists and veterans. OMB Director Josh Bolten wrote to the Congressional Appropriations' Committees, stating, "The Administration strongly opposes these provisions, including Senate provisions that would allocate an additional $1.3 billion for VA medical care and the provision that would expand benefits under the TRICARE Program. ..If this provision is not removed, the President's senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100777,00.html; BVA legislative bulletin, http://www.bva.org/aut03bulletin/l_update.html; CQ, 10/20/03>

[Loki]

29. That was an awesome letter

How these miserable old men can stand to look at themselves in the mirror knowing the lies they are perpetrating for a fraud is beyond me. May they rot from the inside.

[Auntie Bush]

30. This letter should be sent to Bush! Highlight..."Where were you?'

[WilliamPitt]

33. .

[WilliamPitt]

34. .

[For PaisAn]

35. WOW

kick

[foo_bar]

36. it's "ordnance"

(in military parlance)

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/ordinance

(on edit) John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham was "Master-General of the Ordnance":

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/John%20Pitt,%202nd%20Earl%20of%20Chatham

[EST]

37. I stand in awe, sir, and salute you!

n/t

[johncory]

38. Thanks To All DUers

Thank you all for your kind support of my writing and especially for the good fight to restore America. You all are terrific.

cheers to all of you
John Cory

[seabeyond]

39. shivers, excellent and wow, huge thank you

thank you for service and thank you for sharing.

[Octafish]

41. Thank YOU!

Thanks for your service to keep ours a free country! Thanks for your letter, to help make the Truth known!

BTW: A hearty welcome to DU, johncory!

[blm]

42. Many of us appreciate the truth tellers

and hold them in the highest regard here at DU.

Salute.

[WilliamPitt]

43. Welcome aboard, John

:toast:

[nomatrix]

44. Thank you, John Cory

For reliving extraordinary moments of courage, painfully digging into experiences that I am sure you would rather have kept silent, to come to aid of a fellow veteran being attacked by well armed militia. If there were an award for this, above and beyond the call of duty, it would be yours, sir.

For those of us who marched to bring you home, know that it was an honor.
We here, are all united to restore our country.

[johncory]

45. Soldiers and Protesters

You are right Nomatrix - what is forgotten about Vietnam is that there was a union between civilian protesters back in the world and the grunts in the boonies.

In October 1969 there was the great Moratorium in DC and at the same time in the Central Highlands, many of our guys donned black armbands in protest. The purpose was to show solidarity. Somewhere in the archives of Life magazine or one of those publications, there are photos of soldiers wearing those armbands during the week of the Moratorium.

Soldier and citizen. That's always what it is about.

cheers

[WilliamPitt]

40. .