John Kerry And The Mythology Of The Vietnam War:
A Veteran’s Perspective
John Kerry And The Mythology Of The Vietnam War:
A Veteran’s Perspective
By
Michael Tank
Part One
"The first casualty when war comes is truth."
- Hiram W. Johnson
I am a Vietnam Veteran. I served in that war as a Marine Scout/Sniper in 1970 and into 1971. I was assigned on a monthly basis to the various Grunt (an endearing slang term for Marine infantry) units in the 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division. With them I participated in ambushes, search and destroy missions, patrols, sweep and blocking operations and basically humped around the countryside. I manned OP’s, observation posts, during the day, too many LP’s, listening posts, at night and on occasion sat alone with my Sniper teammate hunting for targets. I am not a decorated hero. I am not a hero in any sense. I have no Purple Hearts, Silver or Bronze Stars or any other medals. Like all combat Marines my most prized award is the CAR (Combat Action Ribbon). I have no brave or heroic deeds to my credit. I rose, if you will, to the rank of E-4, Corporal, after having enlisted voluntarily for three years and preformed my duties honorably. I am not an expert on the Vietnam War. Many others can tell you far more than I about the strategy and battles of that time. Many others have far more combat experience than I. So many others have suffered far more for this experience than I. I am just one man out of the 2.6 million who served our Country in that manner during this war when so many others refused to go. I believed then, and now, that America was right to be in Vietnam and that I was right to go. I am proud of my service.
Although not registered as one, I have considered myself a Democrat for most of my life and have mostly voted for that party. I did not vote for President Bush in the last election. I tell you all this so that you may understand, that although I am not an expert, I do have some experience and knowledge of the war. I mentioned my previous vote to show that I am not writing this simply along some party line. I am simply writing this as a Vietnam Veteran.
We have watched the talking heads on TV now for the past few weeks arguing over who is lying about Kerry’s service in Vietnam. Kerry, backed up by the too few members of his crew, with his self-written war diary, or the two hundred fifty-four other Swift Boat Veterans. Combat is a very personal and individual experience. Two men sharing the same experience often remember that same experience differently, especially over a period of time. Thirty plus years is a long time to remember anything, let alone actions conducted while under duress. Yet I am constantly amazed at the ability of some of my fellow Vets who seem to have almost total recall of our time there, while I have so much difficulty in recalling most of my tour. Giving them the benefit of doubt, let’s say that some of these Swift Boat men fall into that group who can recall these long ago details just as they lived them. Even though Kerry has been caught in at least two false statements of his memories with his Christmas in Cambodia story under, the then not yet in office, Nixon’s command being seared into his mind. Also, Kerry speaks of his sad reflections towards the world’s violence as he sat in Vietnam and learned of the death of MLK in April of ’68, although he did not get to Vietnam until November of that same year. Although his short stay there should have made it easier, and he should have remembered what country he was in when he heard about Rev. King, let’s give him the benefit of being in the second group, like me, who remembers certain details but cannot place them in order. Granting these concessions, we must still ask the question, what does it all matter? No one is really interested in the real truth of what happened there because the truth in our American two party system has come down to whatever fits in the mind of the believer. It has become ever more obvious in this election that if you are for Kerry, you believe he is a Patriotic war hero, and if you are against him, he is a fraud and a traitor. With the truth and logic be damned.
One would think that with the many questions about his medals and actions in Vietnam, his lack of commitment and dedication to finish his obligation of service, and the conflicting reports of those men with which he had once served, should raise some doubts in the voters’ minds to be careful for whom they vote. But this is not the case. Instead, we hear a steady outburst from Kerry supporters, and even rival politicians protecting their own, that the same men who had once shared the many dangers as their hero, these men who completed their full obligations, are liars and that they are the ones politically motivated. They declare that they respect these men for their duty to our country and in the same breath call them dishonorable for now speaking out. What’s more, it now seems almost a prerequisite that in order to even have a say in what is going on, you must at least have the same medals as the man, Kerry, you are calling into account. Well I have none of these medals, but in my mind his actions, leadership and motives in that time of his life are at best questionable, in the least shameful.
Kerry’s campaign has also drug out of the mothballs the old semi-draft dodger routine of saying anyone who had signed on for the Reserves or National Guard was only avoiding combat in Vietnam. However, a few things are very wrong with this line of thinking. First, the National Guard and Reserve units of our Armed Forces are, and always have been, an honorable way to serve our Country with a long, proud and courageous history, which can follow it’s roots all the way back to the famed Minute Men of our Revolution. These units have participated in every major war that the United States has been involved in. Not until Vietnam has the honor of the men who served in this capacity ever been questioned or dismissed. The men and women who serve these billets fill an important role in our national defense. Many times, such as Korea and Iraq, these Reserve and National Guard units were some of the first to go to war. Another problem with the joined the Reserves not to go to Vietnam myth, is that there were 21 million American men who came of military age during the Vietnam War; there were only 2.6 million of us who went to Vietnam. So, as you can see, we didn’t need them all now did we? I have no problem at all with a man who enlisted in these units during the war. At least they were fulfilling their military obligations and not swilling Canadian beer and chasing moose, or mooses or is that meese? The military runs on many different levels and has a very wide assortment of duties, all honorable and necessary. A person who signs up in any branch of the Armed Forces, Reserves or National Guard, and does their duty the best they can and serves honorably, no matter if they are a cook, clerk, rifleman, pilot or any in other capacity, deserves credit and respect for their service. Granted, you may say that Bush, who is now under the gun about this service, was privileged by his family’s position and wealth and used this to his advantage. But while you or I might be able to cry in our beer for Bush’s unfair advantage due to family and wealth, Kerry sure needs to dry his eyes. He had the same advantages as Bush and moved about the Navy almost at will. Everything this man requested he received. In fact if Kerry had not grown up with the self admitted idol worship of our first, and I hope our only, JFK then he most probably would have opted for the same type of duty as Bush, he certainly had the connections and pull.
Kerry would not have been the first man to receive a medal when it might not have been fully warranted. He is not the first man to elaborate on his exploits. He will certainly not be the last. As an officer with his background and family connections, it would have been more of a surprise if he hadn’t had some kind of medal pinned to his chest when he came home. Certainly no matter what the outcome of this debate, his medals will not be taken away. Kerry’s biggest problems with his medals are that he just got greedy. The most decorated combat soldier in our history is Audie Murphy, and he never had a four-month period as U. S. medal lucrative as Kerry. I can think of no other American Veteran in any conflict in our history who may have won that many U. S. medals in such a short period of time. Especially three Purple Hearts! Can you? Shouldn’t this set off some kind of a cautionary alarm in the backs of our minds? (Or in G-rated Marine jargon, set off the male cow manure detector.) If anyone who reads this can come up with someone in our history who has won such decorations, as often and as fast as Kerry, I would like to know who they are. Why hasn’t the media asked this question and looked into this quick paced medal phenomenon? Why hasn’t the Kerry campaign used this? America eats this stuff up; He’s won more medals faster than anybody in our history! (He’s hit 600 home runs faster than anybody in history!) I think Kerry’s guys are missing a very catchy slogan here.
Most medal winners have had their citations written up and requested on their behalf by others. Many medal winners have been cited for their bravery without even prior knowledge that the medal had been requested for them. It seems in Kerry’s case that he did most of the writing and requesting for his medals himself, even going through different chains of command when at least one had already been refused. Most medals stand on one written citation, yet Kerry has three different citations for his lone Silver Star. Then there is the controversy now growing of why the posting on his website showing his military records has added a ‘V’ to his Silver Star. Never before in our history has a ‘V’ been awarded to a Silver Star. For those who do not know, this ‘V’ is awarded with a few medals in recognition of ‘Valor’ but never with the Silver Star. In fact, it is unlawful to present such a false document as this Silver Star with a ‘V’. The penalty for doing so is a stiff fine and up to fifteen years in prison. To the unaware the ‘V’ must seem impressive.
One must also question how any human being can sustain three wounds of any consequence and heal from them all without missing any duty in just four months. Three wounds with no lost days of duty for recuperation just do not happen. Back in the real world, as we used to say, even Superman has to shake off the cobwebs after getting clobbered once in a while. Three Purples and not to skip a beat is a mockery to all those brave men, and now unfortunately those brave women, who have had to suffer for theirs.
We who have served also know a glory hound, or ironically as the term has been so widely associated with Bush, a cowboy, when we see one. We knew that it did not matter who or how many were killed or wounded or whatever had to be done, said or lied about for that cowboy to attain his glory. We were never sorry to see a cowboy leave our unit. I have read both Kerry’s and his distracter’s accounts of his actions in Vietnam, and in both I find that I believe not a single man in his unit was sorry to see this cowboy rotate home. All of us Veterans were relieved when our time was up and we rotated back to the world. Yet then, and even today, most of us still feel the guilt and regret of leaving our friends and Brothers behind. Kerry talks of this Brotherhood today as if it is one of his most cherished possessions. Yet when he was there he made every personal effort to book just as fast as he could. He was an officer who had requested this very Swift Boat duty just a few months prior to his early rotation. Where was the dedication to his duty and to see that his mission was accomplished? Where was the dedication to his men, to his fellow officers, to the Navy, to his country? See ya fellas, it’s been a lovely little war. Kerry had what he needed, his medals and a combat record with a whole Swift boatload of homemade combat film footage to prove it. Good luck boys, I’ll see you in thirty years when I need you again.
What you may not realize is that at the time Kerry requested his early rotation, our troop deployment was still high in Vietnam, peaking to it’s highest level in April of ‘69. Nixon had not yet agreed to start pulling out the boys, and the draft was running in high gear. I started going through training in August of that year and was assured on a daily basis by our DI’s that my entire platoon of Marine recruits would be heading straight for Nam, where every one of us was surely going to get KIA’d by Charlie because we were such a sad and sorry lot. However, our DI’s conveyed this message in a much more colorful and base language than I just used. In fact, such was the rush for more bodies in Nam the Marine Corps’ boot camp had been cut back from thirteen weeks to nine weeks. Kerry’s request to go home early simply meant that someone else must be rushed in to take the hero’s place. Keeping in mind that if any of Kerry’s wounds had been serious; the Navy would have rotated him out on their own. Leaving your men behind and shirking your duty before it is done, at your own request, and thus laying it on someone else to finish your tour is not a very heroic thing to do.
But the medals and his actions in Vietnam are not the true issues here. They are just the kindling that has been ignited to burn down this house of cards framed with his constant boasting of his answer “…to the call of duty to my country.” Although, after thirty years, the kindling seems too wet and thus hard to ignite, these seekers of the truth now have the luxury of written testimony, plus audio and videotapes, to finally know the real story of John F. Kerry. I wonder if it will matter? It hasn’t so far.
“Don't talk to me about atrocities in war; all war is an atrocity.”
- Lord Kitchener
The real issues of Kerry’s new war with Vietnam Vets are his actions upon his return and the serious consequences that ensued. While serving as an Admiral’s aide, Kerry asked for and received an early discharge from the Navy. Again not fulfilling his obligations. I was still in Vietnam when Kerry had already tested the waters back home and found that the American majority was no longer supporting the war in Vietnam as they had prior to 1968. Learning the country was no longer looking for war heroes, but now war protesters, he helped found the VVAW, or Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Thus making sure that he could have it both ways, as a decorated, albeit disenchanted war hero, he could appease the pro-war crowd, and also the anti-war groups. In January of ’71 Kerry investigated approximately 150 Vietnam Vets in Detroit about atrocities being committed by our troops in Vietnam. Like Kerry, I was rotated home early in March of that year. Unlike Kerry, I had not requested my early rotation; it would have done me little good if I had. I was part of Nixon’s planned reduction of troops strength. I had a little over a year and a half left to serve in my enlistment when I came home and again, unlike Kerry, it would have done me little good to request an early release. So when Kerry was testifying before the Committee on Foreign Relations, I was reporting into the 2nd Recon Battalion at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. When he was traveling the country protesting, telling the world about our war crimes on TV shows and college campuses and throwing his medals at the White House, I and my band of Brothers were standing guard along a flimsy chain link fence line at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba and wondering if Castro was ever going to let loose his dogs of war. I know it doesn’t sound like much today, but the threat was there. We were in the Cold War, the base had been closed off from the rest of Cuba and tensions were high. There were few Vietnam Vets in Cuba and I do have to hand it to those young teenage Marines fresh out of boot, standing out there alone at their posts in the middle of the night with the Cubans trying to spook them. One errant shot and you have an international crisis on your hands, and of course it would have been America’s fault.
Somewhere in this time frame Kerry had also written his book, “The Winter Soldier.” This book proudly displayed on it’s cover a re-enactment by a bunch of his anti-war (anti-American) buddies of the famous Iwo Jima flag raising, only Kerry thought it was cute to turn our flag upside down this time. Why isn’t this book still in publication? There is certainly a large market for it now. Never knew a Presidential candidate before who did not have a plethora of books out there for sale when he was running for office. Why not this book?
Also, in this time frame, Kerry and his VVAW marched on Washington D.C. acting out war crimes on the streets to show the American public what their murderous, rapist sons were really doing in Vietnam! Kerry also showed just how precious his medals were to him when he threw them over the White House fence in protest of the war. These are the same medals he now says he cherishes and continues to flaunt as his proof that he is a certified Vietnam War hero. He has changed his story many times over the years about his actions that day. When he threw the medals he said it was in protest of an unjust war. Later he said they were actually his ribbons, and later still he stated that they were actually someone else’s medals. I might have the sequence of his excuses wrong; it is hard to keep up with his ever-changing story lines. I really do have a problem with his actions of throwing his medals away and now claiming such pride in earning them. I have found in my life that most people who have truly earned something through their hard work, service, experiences, or especially by shedding their blood, rarely throw away the symbols of such sacrifice and hard earned experiences on a whim. It is basic human nature to want something as a memento, even if it’s just a memory of the event. It seems too precious to throw away something tangible of that memory. I do understand that some of these men may have felt that strongly in opposition of the war, but I do not find Kerry among these true believers. This leads me to question just how much Kerry truly had to suffer for his medals and if he himself questions their own validity.
When so many other men have suffered terribly, and even died in order to receive these medals, with Kerry’s actions I question just how precious the memories of his service are to him. Furthermore I wonder at how that Green Beret feels about Kerry throwing the Bronze Star away that was awarded for the saving of the Green Beret’s life? If Kerry really believed that Vietnam was an unjust war, it might explain him throwing away the Silver Star he had won for killing a wounded teenage VC, but not a medal for saving someone’s life. If I were that Green Beret, I would be a little more than put out with the thought that saving my life meant so little to my rescuer.
As far as throwing someone else’s medals away that day, that is cowardly and despicable, even if the owner of the medals asked you to do it. I also wonder what his VVAW brothers thought of him when he tried to explain away his guilt for throwing away his medals? On Medal Throwing Day: I’m with you men! (Throwing his medals over the White House fence.) Urrrrhaammph! There take that you nasty White House! Showed them didn’t we boys! Then later: “They were not my medals.” Just goes to show you can’t trust this man, no matter what side of the fence he is currently standing on. I heard somewhere that if Kerry is elected he plans on instituting a National Medal Throwing Day, sometime around Benedict Arnold’s birthday, however that might just be a rumor.
Everyone in the military knows that the ribbons they wear are symbols of the medals they have earned and that the ribbons deserve the same respect as the medals themselves. Military personnel only wear the actual medals for special occasions. Otherwise if everyone wore all those medals all the time we would all be running around looking like a French General at a cocktail party. So whether Kerry threw away his medals or his ribbons it still represented the same thing. He was saying to hell with America. He dishonored our Country, our military, the men who had earned those same awards; especially the memory of those who had earned them posthumously, and he shamed himself. He threw them away once and should be ashamed that he now flaunts them as proof of his heroism.
Kerry was a busy man, but still not too busy to unlawfully meet with our enemies in Paris, along with his VVAW brothers, and discuss terms for ending the war. Consenting to every one of their points for an end to hostilities, including no guarantee of when our POW’s would be released. In other words, he was admitting to the Communists that the war was our fault and was giving them our unconditional surrender. He unlawfully negotiated while our government was already conducting peace talks with the NLF representatives. (National Liberation Front or, as we knew them, the VC or Viet Cong.) One would have to believe that he and his cohorts’ unlawful interaction with the NLF at this delicate time had to interfere with the legitimate negotiations by the United States. At any other prior time in our history, that act alone would have had him imprisoned. Never mind that he was probably still a Naval officer in the inactive Reserve, which by itself could have resulted in his death under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice.) As a civilian doing thus, it was a treasonous act as described in our Constitution; wherein, no American private citizen will treat with a hostile foreign power with whom the United States is at war. It also states that the war does not need to be declared. We certainly were at war with North Vietnam and I am a witness to the fact that they certainly were hostile. Why were Kerry and the others not charged with treason? If not a charge of treason, then why were they not charged with sedition?
"The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one."
- Adolf Hitler
Kerry’s Senate Testimony: http://www.nationalreview.com/document/kerry200404231047.asp
If you have not read Kerry’s testimony, then you should before you vote. What a love fest that was, half a dozen anti-war Congressmen listening intently, when they were not excusing themselves to hustle out to the Senate floor for more important business, and praising this courageous new voice of our generation. All packed into a room with Kerry’s anti-American brothers applauding, as if on cue.
Kerry: “I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.
It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room, the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam, but they did. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do.
They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.”
He continues on. But he really didn’t have to. In these three paragraphs John Forbes Kerry condemns an entire generation of American Veterans. With his words and actions he proudly joined the ranks of Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Ramsey Clark, Doctor Spock, the present day media, Hollywood film makers and too many others in perpetrating the myths and lies of the Vietnam War and it’s Veterans.
When Kerry stated, “………war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.” He knowingly implicated every man who ever stepped foot in Vietnam and saw combat. He strongly suggested that if you had not committed a crime yourself, then you at least witnessed them or personally knew of them, thus making the silence of the witness, or the one with the knowledge of these crimes, an accomplice. Only there is one problem with his statement. It is not true.
The questions one should ask begin with, who were these anonymous “over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans " of which he speaks? What were their names, were they really honorably discharged, and were they really decorated, if so how, were they really all Vietnam Veterans? Had they enlisted or were they disgruntled draftees, still angry that they had to go? Why were they admitting to crimes when they could be punished? Why, once they confessed, were they not punished? Why didn’t these Senators ask these questions and so many others? They were all politicians, there had to be a lawyer in there somewhere. Why were there just only over 150 to testify? With 2.6 million men serving in Vietnam and these “….. not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis”, why so few men? There should have been hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands and more! Yet none of these esteemed Senators felt it was necessary to ask these or any other questions of consequence of our accusers. None of them saw fit to take a peek under this blanket condemnation that Kerry had thrown over their accused fellow countrymen. Instead his testimony was accepted without so much as a second thought. Was he not to be questioned because he was, after all, under oath and a decorated hero? Between the media of the day falsely reporting our continuing defeat in Vietnam, and these men led by Kerry, Fonda, and others, the majority of America and the World accepted the lie that those of us serving in Vietnam were a shameless, drugged up, Godless horde of armed mercenaries, killing, raping, torturing and mutilating at random, without pity or remorse. Why, we even went so far as to shoot the family pets for fun. Kerry’s testimony follows to the letter the line of Communist propaganda of that day. 'Pravda' could not have said it better itself. Every immoral and inhumane act is covered but cannibalism, slavery and necrophilia. I would not be surprised if Kerry and his self proclaimed heroes had not at least considered throwing those in as well. With his small group’s alleged confessions the questions Americans were now asking were not: Should we be fighting this war? How can we win this war? Can we get out of this war with honor? The question simply became: My God, how can Americans do such things?
Kerry states, “…with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.” I respect and admire no other Americans more than those men and women who continue to serve our Country as a career in the military. They are the heart, soul and backbone of our military strength. Throughout our history they have been the fire that forges the steel of our 'Citizen Soldiers' with their leadership, experience, moral fiber, loyalty and dedication to duty. As a whole they are highly family orientated and are profoundly religious. They are heroes in every sense of the word. Set aside the moral implications to Kerry’s accusations towards his fellow officers. Now you tell me if you honestly think one of those lifetime Officers or NCOs, who have spent many hard years in their beloved respective services, are going to let someone dishonor their Corps, jeopardize their life’s work, their personal futures and their families’ well being because Private S. Bird, who has been in their Corps for barely a year, decided he wanted to kill a civilian, rape a young girl, or satisfy some sadistic desire to mutilate dead VC or torture a prisoner? Regardless of what you may have seen in a dozen movies or read since that time, the military has no qualms in bringing charges against their own when someone steps out of line. If anything, sometimes they are too quick to indict. The movie scene where the hero steps before his Sergeant or Commanding Officer to bravely tell about how his fellow soldiers had raped or killed some innocent civilian, only to be ordered to forget about it and shut up is all too familiar and untrue. The idea that Officers or NCOs ordered, condoned, ignored or accepted any such conduct from American troops is ludicrous. Kerry’s testimony implies an unspoken conspiracy spreading rapidly and uncontested among 2.6 million men, minus his brave 150. This conspiracy would have had to cover the entire nation of South Vietnam and continue for sixteen years, with every new man who came ashore quietly accepting his role in these crimes, while every man rotating home kept his silence, a conspiracy theory as wide as this would not be heard of again until the L.A. Police Department was accused of such during the O.J. trial. By Kerry’s word, not only are we supposed to believe that the Vietnam Veterans were such wanton criminals, we are to believe that not one man jack of us had the courage or moral integrity to stand up and speak out against these crimes. That is, except for Kerry and his courageous band of 150 admitted war criminals, Kerry again, bravely the hero.
The repercussions of Kerry’s testimony were far-reaching, long lasting and can still be felt today. Mothers, wives, sweethearts, friends and family soon began writing loved ones serving in Vietnam and asking them if these crimes were being committed and were they committing them? These questions and the reports from home of the growing anti-war movement saddened and demoralized the men we had sent there to serve. POW’s, who would not make such statements even under torture, isolation and threats of death where shown, by their captors, Kerry’s and the others’ propaganda statements and the torture, isolation and death threats increased. The incriminations Kerry implied upon all Vietnam Veterans by his testimony cast doubts upon our conduct and honor which has remained suspect by far too many to this very day. Their lies demoralized us while we were serving in country and followed us home into an atmosphere of doubt and implicated guilt. His false statements, under oath, and his continuing protests against the war reinforced the Communist’s propaganda and the lies about the war and guaranteed that those falsehoods would prosper and persist. With the help of his efforts and that of his fellows our military began a long tumble into disfavor with the people of the United States that weakened our defenses in that critical time of peril called the Cold War.
The mythology of the Vietnam War, which persists even today, includes many misconceptions such as rampant drug use by U.S. Forces in Vietnam, that the Vietnam Veterans are ashamed of their conduct and service, that we were mostly uneducated poor draftees, that there was a disproportionate number of minority casualties, that many of us left the service under less than honorable conditions, that once home most of us could not assimilate back into society, that a large number of us became a criminal element and that a high percentage of us have committed suicide because of our guilt. The myth continues that the domino theory had been proven false, that we were in a war we could not win, that we frequently fragged or otherwise killed our officers and NCOs and of course that we were all guilty of either having committed or had knowledge about brutal, vicious crimes against our enemies and the civilian population. Oh yes, and we shot the family pets for fun. All of these misconceptions and lies followed the doctrine of our Communist enemies and they were all untrue.
But the most outrageous part of this mythology is that the anti-war protesters helped to shorten the war. Instead it is in fact true that Kerry, other anti-war protesters and the American press gave the North Vietnamese aid, support and hope for a military victory if they continued to carry on the war, even after the NVA and VC had been badly defeated. Thus resulting in the prolongation of the war and it’s peace talks by the Communists, causing the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of American, Allied, and North and South Vietnamese when the war could have ended.
In American casualties, the ten most costly battles of the Vietnam War were between the battle of the Ia Drang Valley in October 1965, and the siege of Khe Sanh, which officially ended on March 14, 1968. By their own admissions the North Vietnamese did not launch another major offensive against us after Tet in 1968 because they did not have the ability to do so. The American and ARVN forces had so badly damaged the NVA and the VC’s ability to wage a concentrated war after their failure of the Tet offensive in 1968 that General Giap had ordered a conditional surrender to be drawn up and submitted to the United States, which would have brought the war to a conclusion. But this surrender was never offered. To the Communist’s party and military leaders’ amazement, knowing that they had been critically hurt by the losses of their latest offensive, they found that the American press was repeatedly reporting that the Tet offensive and the siege of Khe Sanh had been devastating American defeats. I am sure that they could not believe their ears when on February 22, 1968 Walter Cronkite, 'The Most Trusted Man In America', announced on his CBS nightly news that in his opinion America could not win in Vietnam. The North held on, hoping to kill and maim as many Americans as they could until the anti-war movement in America forced our politicians to withdraw. It was Kerry, the other anti-war protesters and politicians whoring for votes which defeated us in Vietnam.
Although these protesters are wont to take credit for it, I do not owe them a thing for my early rotation date. The people I owe are the men I served with and especially the men who came before me in that war. Those brave men had fought the NVA and VC so fiercely and so completely that by the time I arrived in country my enemy’s might was already broken. Although it still was no walk in the park to be in Vietnam, there would be no major Communist offensives launched while I was there or in fact until America had withdrawn its forces and support. Vietnam had become a war of attrition by the Communists intent on building up the body count of dead Americans and the maiming of U.S. forces. For them it was no longer a war to gain ground or advantages over their enemy. Their soul purpose in the war was now the accumulation of American dead and wounded to destroy the will of a people far removed from the sounds of the explosions and gunfire. Yet America is the one who is condemned for a policy of taking 'body counts'. At the end of 1968, when a ceasefire could have become a reality, there were approximately 36,000 American KIA's. According to interviews given by NVA officers after the war, the American anti-war demonstrators (Kerry) were instrumental in the defeat of the United States by their success in demanding our government remove our troops and end our support of South Vietnam. An additional 22,000 plus names would be added to the war dead on our Wall. God only knows how many more Vietnamese died because of the continuation of the war after 1968.
It is estimated that 3 million Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians were murdered in the years following our withdrawal from Southeast Asia when those countries fell to Communist rule. In addition, an estimated 500,000 Vietnamese boat people perished in their attempt to escape Communist domination. These boat people are the same persons of whom Kerry spoke of in his April 1971 Senate testimony when he said, “We found that most people didn’t even know the difference between communism and democracy…” Well Senator, whether they knew or not, they sure did give their all to avoid living under the yoke of Communism. The battles had been won; the defeat of our enemy was within reach, yet we lost the war. Now, Kerry, a leading propionate in that anti-war movement wants to be President. For a Vietnam Veteran it is an atrocity to think he may be.
Kerry and his VVAW brothers held a meeting in Kansas City where the discussion turned to plans of how to assassinate pro-war Congressmen. Kerry has denied being at this meeting but other VVAW members have said he was there. In fact it was because of these plans of assassinations that Kerry has stated was his reason for quitting the VVAW, he felt it had become too radical. This of course begs the questions: If indeed Kerry was present, as it has been testified that he was, then why wasn’t he guilty of conspiracy? With knowledge of the assassination plans why didn’t he report it to the authorities? As a leader in the VVAW he would have had knowledge of these planned murders even if he was not in K.C., any man with a ounce of moral fiber does not sit idly by while others plan out the killings of other human beings. Lastly, just how radical must a radical be to be considered too radical by other radicals in a radical group? Kerry’s leadership and willing participation in this radical cell, with their secret meetings and their travels around the country trying to disrupt the workings of a democratic government and its society, reminds me of the early years of the youthful stages of Hitler's Nazi Party, when those radicals met in beer halls, and we all know how well that turned out. I for one never want a man in the White House who was a party to such radical behavior even if it was thirty years ago.
“I have learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.”
- James Rhinehart
In the years following the Vietnam War America has held onto the misconceptions of its sons who had served there. For the first time in our history America had lost a war. Even though these warriors had remained unbeaten on the battlefield and the protesters and politicians had lost the war, it was the soldier who would shoulder the blame. America only loves winners. Except for the POW’s who had finally been released and justly brought home to a hero’s welcome, the Vietnam Veteran mostly came home as he had gone to war, one by one. In other wars it had taken weeks and even months for our fighting men to make the passage from the war zone to the home front, thus allowing them to reflect and talk to the others in their units about their shared experiences. With air travel we made the transition from battlefield to our hometown streets in usually less than four days. Discharged or given leave until our next assignment, without a single word about how to cope with what we had been through or what we should expect at home. From the time I left Vietnam, stopping at Okinawa for my orders and dress uniform, I don’t remember saying a single word to anyone, until I said yes to a stewardess when she asked if I wanted a drink on the flight to Chicago. Kill, kill, kill, wait, it’s over, you’re home. We walked into a world that we no longer knew. A father who had served in WW II, who believed we had been right to serve, and brothers, sisters, friends and contemporaries who thought we had been wrong to go. Those of us who went back to school found, that unlike our fathers returning from WW II, we were not welcome, student unrest about the war and the draft was still too fresh in people’s minds. Thanks to the false testimony of men such as Kerry, we were the rapists, torturers, drugged up murdering baby killers of an unpopular war. To others we had just been too stupid or poor to have been able to avoid the service, after all we were all supposed to be draftees. If someone did ask about the war it was usually the question, what went wrong over there? We had no answer. But mostly no one wanted to talk about it, not our families, not our friends, not even ourselves. The war and its warriors were to be forgotten. So while America forgot about us, we tried to forget about the war.
After thirty-one years the mythology hangs on, even though it has proven false. Drug use among Vietnam Veterans was no more prevalent than that of our non-military age group back in the States. Ninety-seven percent of us received discharges under honorable conditions, with ninety-one percent saying that they were glad they had served and seventy-four percent said they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. Eighty-five percent of us settled productively into society, and although at times jobs were hard to find and harder to keep, our personal incomes exceeded non-veterans of our age group by eighteen percent. We married, had children and have grown older, yet the myth lives on. As for that criminal element, only one half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. In the first five years after discharge suicides among Vietnam Veterans were one point seven percent higher than the average of non-veterans but after that five-year period the percentage of suicides among Vietnam Veterans fell below the rest of the population’s. The Vietnam Veteran was the best-educated force our country had ever sent into combat with seventy-nine percent having a high school or better education. Also we had volunteered; two-thirds of Vietnam Vets had enlisted while seventy percent of the brave men who gave their lives were volunteers. Contrary to what our enemies want you to believe minorities were not used as canon fodder as eighty-six percent of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian, while twelve point five percent of this dreadful toll were Black Americans which was proportionate to the Black population in America at that time. Another one point five percent of our fallen Brothers were of other races. As for the domino theory, after America removed its armed forces and support, South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos all fell to the Communist invaders within the next two years. How many dominoes must fall before you say it fits the theory?
"The domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism." (Westmoreland Papers)
Then of course there was that claim of “…not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis….”
I served for eleven months in Vietnam, Kerry was there for four months. I walked through the villages and countryside for God only knows how many miles and encountered thousands of Vietnamese. I served with numerous Grunt companies, thus serving with hundreds of these men on countless ambushes, patrols and other duties. And in all that time and all those travels and duties I never committed, witnessed or had any knowledge of any atrocities committed by Americans against our enemies or the civilian population. Yes, during the Vietnam War there were crimes committed, by a very few Americans. And as a whole those responsible were held accountable and punished. But they were "isolated incidents" and they were not "committed on a day-to-day basis" as if policy as Kerry testified. Of all the dead and wounded Vietnamese civilians I had the misfortune to see, they had all been killed or wounded by the VC or NVA. If you want to know about atrocities, ask a Green Beret of the Army Special Forces or a CAP Marine (Combined Action Program) for they are the men who worked most closely with the civilian populace. They can tell you of the Viet Cong Death Squads who murdered 36,725 Vietnamese village leaders, schoolteachers, medical personnel and others. They were witness to the abduction by the National Liberation Front (VC) of 58,499 Vietnamese, many of whom were never seen again. This NLF was the same group with which Kerry met and agreed to the terms of our surrender in Paris. Ask the Marines and soldiers who liberated Hue and discovered the “Tet Massacre” where an estimated 3000 South Vietnamese civilians had been slaughtered when the VC and NVA held that city for just a few days. In all the NVA and VC executed an estimated 5000 South Vietnamese civilians during the 1968 Tet offensive. Thanks to the American press we have all heard of My Lai, but how many of you have ever heard of the Tet Massacre? Why do these lies continue to this day? The lies live on because of the false testimony given under oath by men such as John Forbes Kerry, the continued distortion of the war by the American press and movie makers and the disturbingly unquestioned acceptance of these lies by the American media and public.
Kerry: Part Two
“Copyright 2004. Michael E. Tank All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied, faxed, electronically transmitted, or in any other manner duplicated without express written permission of the author.”
A Veteran’s Perspective
By
Michael Tank
Part One
"The first casualty when war comes is truth."
- Hiram W. Johnson
I am a Vietnam Veteran. I served in that war as a Marine Scout/Sniper in 1970 and into 1971. I was assigned on a monthly basis to the various Grunt (an endearing slang term for Marine infantry) units in the 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division. With them I participated in ambushes, search and destroy missions, patrols, sweep and blocking operations and basically humped around the countryside. I manned OP’s, observation posts, during the day, too many LP’s, listening posts, at night and on occasion sat alone with my Sniper teammate hunting for targets. I am not a decorated hero. I am not a hero in any sense. I have no Purple Hearts, Silver or Bronze Stars or any other medals. Like all combat Marines my most prized award is the CAR (Combat Action Ribbon). I have no brave or heroic deeds to my credit. I rose, if you will, to the rank of E-4, Corporal, after having enlisted voluntarily for three years and preformed my duties honorably. I am not an expert on the Vietnam War. Many others can tell you far more than I about the strategy and battles of that time. Many others have far more combat experience than I. So many others have suffered far more for this experience than I. I am just one man out of the 2.6 million who served our Country in that manner during this war when so many others refused to go. I believed then, and now, that America was right to be in Vietnam and that I was right to go. I am proud of my service.
Although not registered as one, I have considered myself a Democrat for most of my life and have mostly voted for that party. I did not vote for President Bush in the last election. I tell you all this so that you may understand, that although I am not an expert, I do have some experience and knowledge of the war. I mentioned my previous vote to show that I am not writing this simply along some party line. I am simply writing this as a Vietnam Veteran.
We have watched the talking heads on TV now for the past few weeks arguing over who is lying about Kerry’s service in Vietnam. Kerry, backed up by the too few members of his crew, with his self-written war diary, or the two hundred fifty-four other Swift Boat Veterans. Combat is a very personal and individual experience. Two men sharing the same experience often remember that same experience differently, especially over a period of time. Thirty plus years is a long time to remember anything, let alone actions conducted while under duress. Yet I am constantly amazed at the ability of some of my fellow Vets who seem to have almost total recall of our time there, while I have so much difficulty in recalling most of my tour. Giving them the benefit of doubt, let’s say that some of these Swift Boat men fall into that group who can recall these long ago details just as they lived them. Even though Kerry has been caught in at least two false statements of his memories with his Christmas in Cambodia story under, the then not yet in office, Nixon’s command being seared into his mind. Also, Kerry speaks of his sad reflections towards the world’s violence as he sat in Vietnam and learned of the death of MLK in April of ’68, although he did not get to Vietnam until November of that same year. Although his short stay there should have made it easier, and he should have remembered what country he was in when he heard about Rev. King, let’s give him the benefit of being in the second group, like me, who remembers certain details but cannot place them in order. Granting these concessions, we must still ask the question, what does it all matter? No one is really interested in the real truth of what happened there because the truth in our American two party system has come down to whatever fits in the mind of the believer. It has become ever more obvious in this election that if you are for Kerry, you believe he is a Patriotic war hero, and if you are against him, he is a fraud and a traitor. With the truth and logic be damned.
One would think that with the many questions about his medals and actions in Vietnam, his lack of commitment and dedication to finish his obligation of service, and the conflicting reports of those men with which he had once served, should raise some doubts in the voters’ minds to be careful for whom they vote. But this is not the case. Instead, we hear a steady outburst from Kerry supporters, and even rival politicians protecting their own, that the same men who had once shared the many dangers as their hero, these men who completed their full obligations, are liars and that they are the ones politically motivated. They declare that they respect these men for their duty to our country and in the same breath call them dishonorable for now speaking out. What’s more, it now seems almost a prerequisite that in order to even have a say in what is going on, you must at least have the same medals as the man, Kerry, you are calling into account. Well I have none of these medals, but in my mind his actions, leadership and motives in that time of his life are at best questionable, in the least shameful.
Kerry’s campaign has also drug out of the mothballs the old semi-draft dodger routine of saying anyone who had signed on for the Reserves or National Guard was only avoiding combat in Vietnam. However, a few things are very wrong with this line of thinking. First, the National Guard and Reserve units of our Armed Forces are, and always have been, an honorable way to serve our Country with a long, proud and courageous history, which can follow it’s roots all the way back to the famed Minute Men of our Revolution. These units have participated in every major war that the United States has been involved in. Not until Vietnam has the honor of the men who served in this capacity ever been questioned or dismissed. The men and women who serve these billets fill an important role in our national defense. Many times, such as Korea and Iraq, these Reserve and National Guard units were some of the first to go to war. Another problem with the joined the Reserves not to go to Vietnam myth, is that there were 21 million American men who came of military age during the Vietnam War; there were only 2.6 million of us who went to Vietnam. So, as you can see, we didn’t need them all now did we? I have no problem at all with a man who enlisted in these units during the war. At least they were fulfilling their military obligations and not swilling Canadian beer and chasing moose, or mooses or is that meese? The military runs on many different levels and has a very wide assortment of duties, all honorable and necessary. A person who signs up in any branch of the Armed Forces, Reserves or National Guard, and does their duty the best they can and serves honorably, no matter if they are a cook, clerk, rifleman, pilot or any in other capacity, deserves credit and respect for their service. Granted, you may say that Bush, who is now under the gun about this service, was privileged by his family’s position and wealth and used this to his advantage. But while you or I might be able to cry in our beer for Bush’s unfair advantage due to family and wealth, Kerry sure needs to dry his eyes. He had the same advantages as Bush and moved about the Navy almost at will. Everything this man requested he received. In fact if Kerry had not grown up with the self admitted idol worship of our first, and I hope our only, JFK then he most probably would have opted for the same type of duty as Bush, he certainly had the connections and pull.
Kerry would not have been the first man to receive a medal when it might not have been fully warranted. He is not the first man to elaborate on his exploits. He will certainly not be the last. As an officer with his background and family connections, it would have been more of a surprise if he hadn’t had some kind of medal pinned to his chest when he came home. Certainly no matter what the outcome of this debate, his medals will not be taken away. Kerry’s biggest problems with his medals are that he just got greedy. The most decorated combat soldier in our history is Audie Murphy, and he never had a four-month period as U. S. medal lucrative as Kerry. I can think of no other American Veteran in any conflict in our history who may have won that many U. S. medals in such a short period of time. Especially three Purple Hearts! Can you? Shouldn’t this set off some kind of a cautionary alarm in the backs of our minds? (Or in G-rated Marine jargon, set off the male cow manure detector.) If anyone who reads this can come up with someone in our history who has won such decorations, as often and as fast as Kerry, I would like to know who they are. Why hasn’t the media asked this question and looked into this quick paced medal phenomenon? Why hasn’t the Kerry campaign used this? America eats this stuff up; He’s won more medals faster than anybody in our history! (He’s hit 600 home runs faster than anybody in history!) I think Kerry’s guys are missing a very catchy slogan here.
Most medal winners have had their citations written up and requested on their behalf by others. Many medal winners have been cited for their bravery without even prior knowledge that the medal had been requested for them. It seems in Kerry’s case that he did most of the writing and requesting for his medals himself, even going through different chains of command when at least one had already been refused. Most medals stand on one written citation, yet Kerry has three different citations for his lone Silver Star. Then there is the controversy now growing of why the posting on his website showing his military records has added a ‘V’ to his Silver Star. Never before in our history has a ‘V’ been awarded to a Silver Star. For those who do not know, this ‘V’ is awarded with a few medals in recognition of ‘Valor’ but never with the Silver Star. In fact, it is unlawful to present such a false document as this Silver Star with a ‘V’. The penalty for doing so is a stiff fine and up to fifteen years in prison. To the unaware the ‘V’ must seem impressive.
One must also question how any human being can sustain three wounds of any consequence and heal from them all without missing any duty in just four months. Three wounds with no lost days of duty for recuperation just do not happen. Back in the real world, as we used to say, even Superman has to shake off the cobwebs after getting clobbered once in a while. Three Purples and not to skip a beat is a mockery to all those brave men, and now unfortunately those brave women, who have had to suffer for theirs.
We who have served also know a glory hound, or ironically as the term has been so widely associated with Bush, a cowboy, when we see one. We knew that it did not matter who or how many were killed or wounded or whatever had to be done, said or lied about for that cowboy to attain his glory. We were never sorry to see a cowboy leave our unit. I have read both Kerry’s and his distracter’s accounts of his actions in Vietnam, and in both I find that I believe not a single man in his unit was sorry to see this cowboy rotate home. All of us Veterans were relieved when our time was up and we rotated back to the world. Yet then, and even today, most of us still feel the guilt and regret of leaving our friends and Brothers behind. Kerry talks of this Brotherhood today as if it is one of his most cherished possessions. Yet when he was there he made every personal effort to book just as fast as he could. He was an officer who had requested this very Swift Boat duty just a few months prior to his early rotation. Where was the dedication to his duty and to see that his mission was accomplished? Where was the dedication to his men, to his fellow officers, to the Navy, to his country? See ya fellas, it’s been a lovely little war. Kerry had what he needed, his medals and a combat record with a whole Swift boatload of homemade combat film footage to prove it. Good luck boys, I’ll see you in thirty years when I need you again.
What you may not realize is that at the time Kerry requested his early rotation, our troop deployment was still high in Vietnam, peaking to it’s highest level in April of ‘69. Nixon had not yet agreed to start pulling out the boys, and the draft was running in high gear. I started going through training in August of that year and was assured on a daily basis by our DI’s that my entire platoon of Marine recruits would be heading straight for Nam, where every one of us was surely going to get KIA’d by Charlie because we were such a sad and sorry lot. However, our DI’s conveyed this message in a much more colorful and base language than I just used. In fact, such was the rush for more bodies in Nam the Marine Corps’ boot camp had been cut back from thirteen weeks to nine weeks. Kerry’s request to go home early simply meant that someone else must be rushed in to take the hero’s place. Keeping in mind that if any of Kerry’s wounds had been serious; the Navy would have rotated him out on their own. Leaving your men behind and shirking your duty before it is done, at your own request, and thus laying it on someone else to finish your tour is not a very heroic thing to do.
But the medals and his actions in Vietnam are not the true issues here. They are just the kindling that has been ignited to burn down this house of cards framed with his constant boasting of his answer “…to the call of duty to my country.” Although, after thirty years, the kindling seems too wet and thus hard to ignite, these seekers of the truth now have the luxury of written testimony, plus audio and videotapes, to finally know the real story of John F. Kerry. I wonder if it will matter? It hasn’t so far.
“Don't talk to me about atrocities in war; all war is an atrocity.”
- Lord Kitchener
The real issues of Kerry’s new war with Vietnam Vets are his actions upon his return and the serious consequences that ensued. While serving as an Admiral’s aide, Kerry asked for and received an early discharge from the Navy. Again not fulfilling his obligations. I was still in Vietnam when Kerry had already tested the waters back home and found that the American majority was no longer supporting the war in Vietnam as they had prior to 1968. Learning the country was no longer looking for war heroes, but now war protesters, he helped found the VVAW, or Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Thus making sure that he could have it both ways, as a decorated, albeit disenchanted war hero, he could appease the pro-war crowd, and also the anti-war groups. In January of ’71 Kerry investigated approximately 150 Vietnam Vets in Detroit about atrocities being committed by our troops in Vietnam. Like Kerry, I was rotated home early in March of that year. Unlike Kerry, I had not requested my early rotation; it would have done me little good if I had. I was part of Nixon’s planned reduction of troops strength. I had a little over a year and a half left to serve in my enlistment when I came home and again, unlike Kerry, it would have done me little good to request an early release. So when Kerry was testifying before the Committee on Foreign Relations, I was reporting into the 2nd Recon Battalion at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. When he was traveling the country protesting, telling the world about our war crimes on TV shows and college campuses and throwing his medals at the White House, I and my band of Brothers were standing guard along a flimsy chain link fence line at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba and wondering if Castro was ever going to let loose his dogs of war. I know it doesn’t sound like much today, but the threat was there. We were in the Cold War, the base had been closed off from the rest of Cuba and tensions were high. There were few Vietnam Vets in Cuba and I do have to hand it to those young teenage Marines fresh out of boot, standing out there alone at their posts in the middle of the night with the Cubans trying to spook them. One errant shot and you have an international crisis on your hands, and of course it would have been America’s fault.
Somewhere in this time frame Kerry had also written his book, “The Winter Soldier.” This book proudly displayed on it’s cover a re-enactment by a bunch of his anti-war (anti-American) buddies of the famous Iwo Jima flag raising, only Kerry thought it was cute to turn our flag upside down this time. Why isn’t this book still in publication? There is certainly a large market for it now. Never knew a Presidential candidate before who did not have a plethora of books out there for sale when he was running for office. Why not this book?
Also, in this time frame, Kerry and his VVAW marched on Washington D.C. acting out war crimes on the streets to show the American public what their murderous, rapist sons were really doing in Vietnam! Kerry also showed just how precious his medals were to him when he threw them over the White House fence in protest of the war. These are the same medals he now says he cherishes and continues to flaunt as his proof that he is a certified Vietnam War hero. He has changed his story many times over the years about his actions that day. When he threw the medals he said it was in protest of an unjust war. Later he said they were actually his ribbons, and later still he stated that they were actually someone else’s medals. I might have the sequence of his excuses wrong; it is hard to keep up with his ever-changing story lines. I really do have a problem with his actions of throwing his medals away and now claiming such pride in earning them. I have found in my life that most people who have truly earned something through their hard work, service, experiences, or especially by shedding their blood, rarely throw away the symbols of such sacrifice and hard earned experiences on a whim. It is basic human nature to want something as a memento, even if it’s just a memory of the event. It seems too precious to throw away something tangible of that memory. I do understand that some of these men may have felt that strongly in opposition of the war, but I do not find Kerry among these true believers. This leads me to question just how much Kerry truly had to suffer for his medals and if he himself questions their own validity.
When so many other men have suffered terribly, and even died in order to receive these medals, with Kerry’s actions I question just how precious the memories of his service are to him. Furthermore I wonder at how that Green Beret feels about Kerry throwing the Bronze Star away that was awarded for the saving of the Green Beret’s life? If Kerry really believed that Vietnam was an unjust war, it might explain him throwing away the Silver Star he had won for killing a wounded teenage VC, but not a medal for saving someone’s life. If I were that Green Beret, I would be a little more than put out with the thought that saving my life meant so little to my rescuer.
As far as throwing someone else’s medals away that day, that is cowardly and despicable, even if the owner of the medals asked you to do it. I also wonder what his VVAW brothers thought of him when he tried to explain away his guilt for throwing away his medals? On Medal Throwing Day: I’m with you men! (Throwing his medals over the White House fence.) Urrrrhaammph! There take that you nasty White House! Showed them didn’t we boys! Then later: “They were not my medals.” Just goes to show you can’t trust this man, no matter what side of the fence he is currently standing on. I heard somewhere that if Kerry is elected he plans on instituting a National Medal Throwing Day, sometime around Benedict Arnold’s birthday, however that might just be a rumor.
Everyone in the military knows that the ribbons they wear are symbols of the medals they have earned and that the ribbons deserve the same respect as the medals themselves. Military personnel only wear the actual medals for special occasions. Otherwise if everyone wore all those medals all the time we would all be running around looking like a French General at a cocktail party. So whether Kerry threw away his medals or his ribbons it still represented the same thing. He was saying to hell with America. He dishonored our Country, our military, the men who had earned those same awards; especially the memory of those who had earned them posthumously, and he shamed himself. He threw them away once and should be ashamed that he now flaunts them as proof of his heroism.
Kerry was a busy man, but still not too busy to unlawfully meet with our enemies in Paris, along with his VVAW brothers, and discuss terms for ending the war. Consenting to every one of their points for an end to hostilities, including no guarantee of when our POW’s would be released. In other words, he was admitting to the Communists that the war was our fault and was giving them our unconditional surrender. He unlawfully negotiated while our government was already conducting peace talks with the NLF representatives. (National Liberation Front or, as we knew them, the VC or Viet Cong.) One would have to believe that he and his cohorts’ unlawful interaction with the NLF at this delicate time had to interfere with the legitimate negotiations by the United States. At any other prior time in our history, that act alone would have had him imprisoned. Never mind that he was probably still a Naval officer in the inactive Reserve, which by itself could have resulted in his death under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice.) As a civilian doing thus, it was a treasonous act as described in our Constitution; wherein, no American private citizen will treat with a hostile foreign power with whom the United States is at war. It also states that the war does not need to be declared. We certainly were at war with North Vietnam and I am a witness to the fact that they certainly were hostile. Why were Kerry and the others not charged with treason? If not a charge of treason, then why were they not charged with sedition?
"The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one."
- Adolf Hitler
Kerry’s Senate Testimony: http://www.nationalreview.com/document/kerry200404231047.asp
If you have not read Kerry’s testimony, then you should before you vote. What a love fest that was, half a dozen anti-war Congressmen listening intently, when they were not excusing themselves to hustle out to the Senate floor for more important business, and praising this courageous new voice of our generation. All packed into a room with Kerry’s anti-American brothers applauding, as if on cue.
Kerry: “I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.
It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room, the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam, but they did. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do.
They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.”
He continues on. But he really didn’t have to. In these three paragraphs John Forbes Kerry condemns an entire generation of American Veterans. With his words and actions he proudly joined the ranks of Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Ramsey Clark, Doctor Spock, the present day media, Hollywood film makers and too many others in perpetrating the myths and lies of the Vietnam War and it’s Veterans.
When Kerry stated, “………war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.” He knowingly implicated every man who ever stepped foot in Vietnam and saw combat. He strongly suggested that if you had not committed a crime yourself, then you at least witnessed them or personally knew of them, thus making the silence of the witness, or the one with the knowledge of these crimes, an accomplice. Only there is one problem with his statement. It is not true.
The questions one should ask begin with, who were these anonymous “over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans " of which he speaks? What were their names, were they really honorably discharged, and were they really decorated, if so how, were they really all Vietnam Veterans? Had they enlisted or were they disgruntled draftees, still angry that they had to go? Why were they admitting to crimes when they could be punished? Why, once they confessed, were they not punished? Why didn’t these Senators ask these questions and so many others? They were all politicians, there had to be a lawyer in there somewhere. Why were there just only over 150 to testify? With 2.6 million men serving in Vietnam and these “….. not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis”, why so few men? There should have been hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands and more! Yet none of these esteemed Senators felt it was necessary to ask these or any other questions of consequence of our accusers. None of them saw fit to take a peek under this blanket condemnation that Kerry had thrown over their accused fellow countrymen. Instead his testimony was accepted without so much as a second thought. Was he not to be questioned because he was, after all, under oath and a decorated hero? Between the media of the day falsely reporting our continuing defeat in Vietnam, and these men led by Kerry, Fonda, and others, the majority of America and the World accepted the lie that those of us serving in Vietnam were a shameless, drugged up, Godless horde of armed mercenaries, killing, raping, torturing and mutilating at random, without pity or remorse. Why, we even went so far as to shoot the family pets for fun. Kerry’s testimony follows to the letter the line of Communist propaganda of that day. 'Pravda' could not have said it better itself. Every immoral and inhumane act is covered but cannibalism, slavery and necrophilia. I would not be surprised if Kerry and his self proclaimed heroes had not at least considered throwing those in as well. With his small group’s alleged confessions the questions Americans were now asking were not: Should we be fighting this war? How can we win this war? Can we get out of this war with honor? The question simply became: My God, how can Americans do such things?
Kerry states, “…with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.” I respect and admire no other Americans more than those men and women who continue to serve our Country as a career in the military. They are the heart, soul and backbone of our military strength. Throughout our history they have been the fire that forges the steel of our 'Citizen Soldiers' with their leadership, experience, moral fiber, loyalty and dedication to duty. As a whole they are highly family orientated and are profoundly religious. They are heroes in every sense of the word. Set aside the moral implications to Kerry’s accusations towards his fellow officers. Now you tell me if you honestly think one of those lifetime Officers or NCOs, who have spent many hard years in their beloved respective services, are going to let someone dishonor their Corps, jeopardize their life’s work, their personal futures and their families’ well being because Private S. Bird, who has been in their Corps for barely a year, decided he wanted to kill a civilian, rape a young girl, or satisfy some sadistic desire to mutilate dead VC or torture a prisoner? Regardless of what you may have seen in a dozen movies or read since that time, the military has no qualms in bringing charges against their own when someone steps out of line. If anything, sometimes they are too quick to indict. The movie scene where the hero steps before his Sergeant or Commanding Officer to bravely tell about how his fellow soldiers had raped or killed some innocent civilian, only to be ordered to forget about it and shut up is all too familiar and untrue. The idea that Officers or NCOs ordered, condoned, ignored or accepted any such conduct from American troops is ludicrous. Kerry’s testimony implies an unspoken conspiracy spreading rapidly and uncontested among 2.6 million men, minus his brave 150. This conspiracy would have had to cover the entire nation of South Vietnam and continue for sixteen years, with every new man who came ashore quietly accepting his role in these crimes, while every man rotating home kept his silence, a conspiracy theory as wide as this would not be heard of again until the L.A. Police Department was accused of such during the O.J. trial. By Kerry’s word, not only are we supposed to believe that the Vietnam Veterans were such wanton criminals, we are to believe that not one man jack of us had the courage or moral integrity to stand up and speak out against these crimes. That is, except for Kerry and his courageous band of 150 admitted war criminals, Kerry again, bravely the hero.
The repercussions of Kerry’s testimony were far-reaching, long lasting and can still be felt today. Mothers, wives, sweethearts, friends and family soon began writing loved ones serving in Vietnam and asking them if these crimes were being committed and were they committing them? These questions and the reports from home of the growing anti-war movement saddened and demoralized the men we had sent there to serve. POW’s, who would not make such statements even under torture, isolation and threats of death where shown, by their captors, Kerry’s and the others’ propaganda statements and the torture, isolation and death threats increased. The incriminations Kerry implied upon all Vietnam Veterans by his testimony cast doubts upon our conduct and honor which has remained suspect by far too many to this very day. Their lies demoralized us while we were serving in country and followed us home into an atmosphere of doubt and implicated guilt. His false statements, under oath, and his continuing protests against the war reinforced the Communist’s propaganda and the lies about the war and guaranteed that those falsehoods would prosper and persist. With the help of his efforts and that of his fellows our military began a long tumble into disfavor with the people of the United States that weakened our defenses in that critical time of peril called the Cold War.
The mythology of the Vietnam War, which persists even today, includes many misconceptions such as rampant drug use by U.S. Forces in Vietnam, that the Vietnam Veterans are ashamed of their conduct and service, that we were mostly uneducated poor draftees, that there was a disproportionate number of minority casualties, that many of us left the service under less than honorable conditions, that once home most of us could not assimilate back into society, that a large number of us became a criminal element and that a high percentage of us have committed suicide because of our guilt. The myth continues that the domino theory had been proven false, that we were in a war we could not win, that we frequently fragged or otherwise killed our officers and NCOs and of course that we were all guilty of either having committed or had knowledge about brutal, vicious crimes against our enemies and the civilian population. Oh yes, and we shot the family pets for fun. All of these misconceptions and lies followed the doctrine of our Communist enemies and they were all untrue.
But the most outrageous part of this mythology is that the anti-war protesters helped to shorten the war. Instead it is in fact true that Kerry, other anti-war protesters and the American press gave the North Vietnamese aid, support and hope for a military victory if they continued to carry on the war, even after the NVA and VC had been badly defeated. Thus resulting in the prolongation of the war and it’s peace talks by the Communists, causing the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of American, Allied, and North and South Vietnamese when the war could have ended.
In American casualties, the ten most costly battles of the Vietnam War were between the battle of the Ia Drang Valley in October 1965, and the siege of Khe Sanh, which officially ended on March 14, 1968. By their own admissions the North Vietnamese did not launch another major offensive against us after Tet in 1968 because they did not have the ability to do so. The American and ARVN forces had so badly damaged the NVA and the VC’s ability to wage a concentrated war after their failure of the Tet offensive in 1968 that General Giap had ordered a conditional surrender to be drawn up and submitted to the United States, which would have brought the war to a conclusion. But this surrender was never offered. To the Communist’s party and military leaders’ amazement, knowing that they had been critically hurt by the losses of their latest offensive, they found that the American press was repeatedly reporting that the Tet offensive and the siege of Khe Sanh had been devastating American defeats. I am sure that they could not believe their ears when on February 22, 1968 Walter Cronkite, 'The Most Trusted Man In America', announced on his CBS nightly news that in his opinion America could not win in Vietnam. The North held on, hoping to kill and maim as many Americans as they could until the anti-war movement in America forced our politicians to withdraw. It was Kerry, the other anti-war protesters and politicians whoring for votes which defeated us in Vietnam.
Although these protesters are wont to take credit for it, I do not owe them a thing for my early rotation date. The people I owe are the men I served with and especially the men who came before me in that war. Those brave men had fought the NVA and VC so fiercely and so completely that by the time I arrived in country my enemy’s might was already broken. Although it still was no walk in the park to be in Vietnam, there would be no major Communist offensives launched while I was there or in fact until America had withdrawn its forces and support. Vietnam had become a war of attrition by the Communists intent on building up the body count of dead Americans and the maiming of U.S. forces. For them it was no longer a war to gain ground or advantages over their enemy. Their soul purpose in the war was now the accumulation of American dead and wounded to destroy the will of a people far removed from the sounds of the explosions and gunfire. Yet America is the one who is condemned for a policy of taking 'body counts'. At the end of 1968, when a ceasefire could have become a reality, there were approximately 36,000 American KIA's. According to interviews given by NVA officers after the war, the American anti-war demonstrators (Kerry) were instrumental in the defeat of the United States by their success in demanding our government remove our troops and end our support of South Vietnam. An additional 22,000 plus names would be added to the war dead on our Wall. God only knows how many more Vietnamese died because of the continuation of the war after 1968.
It is estimated that 3 million Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians were murdered in the years following our withdrawal from Southeast Asia when those countries fell to Communist rule. In addition, an estimated 500,000 Vietnamese boat people perished in their attempt to escape Communist domination. These boat people are the same persons of whom Kerry spoke of in his April 1971 Senate testimony when he said, “We found that most people didn’t even know the difference between communism and democracy…” Well Senator, whether they knew or not, they sure did give their all to avoid living under the yoke of Communism. The battles had been won; the defeat of our enemy was within reach, yet we lost the war. Now, Kerry, a leading propionate in that anti-war movement wants to be President. For a Vietnam Veteran it is an atrocity to think he may be.
Kerry and his VVAW brothers held a meeting in Kansas City where the discussion turned to plans of how to assassinate pro-war Congressmen. Kerry has denied being at this meeting but other VVAW members have said he was there. In fact it was because of these plans of assassinations that Kerry has stated was his reason for quitting the VVAW, he felt it had become too radical. This of course begs the questions: If indeed Kerry was present, as it has been testified that he was, then why wasn’t he guilty of conspiracy? With knowledge of the assassination plans why didn’t he report it to the authorities? As a leader in the VVAW he would have had knowledge of these planned murders even if he was not in K.C., any man with a ounce of moral fiber does not sit idly by while others plan out the killings of other human beings. Lastly, just how radical must a radical be to be considered too radical by other radicals in a radical group? Kerry’s leadership and willing participation in this radical cell, with their secret meetings and their travels around the country trying to disrupt the workings of a democratic government and its society, reminds me of the early years of the youthful stages of Hitler's Nazi Party, when those radicals met in beer halls, and we all know how well that turned out. I for one never want a man in the White House who was a party to such radical behavior even if it was thirty years ago.
“I have learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.”
- James Rhinehart
In the years following the Vietnam War America has held onto the misconceptions of its sons who had served there. For the first time in our history America had lost a war. Even though these warriors had remained unbeaten on the battlefield and the protesters and politicians had lost the war, it was the soldier who would shoulder the blame. America only loves winners. Except for the POW’s who had finally been released and justly brought home to a hero’s welcome, the Vietnam Veteran mostly came home as he had gone to war, one by one. In other wars it had taken weeks and even months for our fighting men to make the passage from the war zone to the home front, thus allowing them to reflect and talk to the others in their units about their shared experiences. With air travel we made the transition from battlefield to our hometown streets in usually less than four days. Discharged or given leave until our next assignment, without a single word about how to cope with what we had been through or what we should expect at home. From the time I left Vietnam, stopping at Okinawa for my orders and dress uniform, I don’t remember saying a single word to anyone, until I said yes to a stewardess when she asked if I wanted a drink on the flight to Chicago. Kill, kill, kill, wait, it’s over, you’re home. We walked into a world that we no longer knew. A father who had served in WW II, who believed we had been right to serve, and brothers, sisters, friends and contemporaries who thought we had been wrong to go. Those of us who went back to school found, that unlike our fathers returning from WW II, we were not welcome, student unrest about the war and the draft was still too fresh in people’s minds. Thanks to the false testimony of men such as Kerry, we were the rapists, torturers, drugged up murdering baby killers of an unpopular war. To others we had just been too stupid or poor to have been able to avoid the service, after all we were all supposed to be draftees. If someone did ask about the war it was usually the question, what went wrong over there? We had no answer. But mostly no one wanted to talk about it, not our families, not our friends, not even ourselves. The war and its warriors were to be forgotten. So while America forgot about us, we tried to forget about the war.
After thirty-one years the mythology hangs on, even though it has proven false. Drug use among Vietnam Veterans was no more prevalent than that of our non-military age group back in the States. Ninety-seven percent of us received discharges under honorable conditions, with ninety-one percent saying that they were glad they had served and seventy-four percent said they would serve again, even knowing the outcome. Eighty-five percent of us settled productively into society, and although at times jobs were hard to find and harder to keep, our personal incomes exceeded non-veterans of our age group by eighteen percent. We married, had children and have grown older, yet the myth lives on. As for that criminal element, only one half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. In the first five years after discharge suicides among Vietnam Veterans were one point seven percent higher than the average of non-veterans but after that five-year period the percentage of suicides among Vietnam Veterans fell below the rest of the population’s. The Vietnam Veteran was the best-educated force our country had ever sent into combat with seventy-nine percent having a high school or better education. Also we had volunteered; two-thirds of Vietnam Vets had enlisted while seventy percent of the brave men who gave their lives were volunteers. Contrary to what our enemies want you to believe minorities were not used as canon fodder as eighty-six percent of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian, while twelve point five percent of this dreadful toll were Black Americans which was proportionate to the Black population in America at that time. Another one point five percent of our fallen Brothers were of other races. As for the domino theory, after America removed its armed forces and support, South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos all fell to the Communist invaders within the next two years. How many dominoes must fall before you say it fits the theory?
"The domino theory was accurate. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. The Indonesians threw the Soviets out in 1966 because of America's commitment in Vietnam. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism." (Westmoreland Papers)
Then of course there was that claim of “…not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis….”
I served for eleven months in Vietnam, Kerry was there for four months. I walked through the villages and countryside for God only knows how many miles and encountered thousands of Vietnamese. I served with numerous Grunt companies, thus serving with hundreds of these men on countless ambushes, patrols and other duties. And in all that time and all those travels and duties I never committed, witnessed or had any knowledge of any atrocities committed by Americans against our enemies or the civilian population. Yes, during the Vietnam War there were crimes committed, by a very few Americans. And as a whole those responsible were held accountable and punished. But they were "isolated incidents" and they were not "committed on a day-to-day basis" as if policy as Kerry testified. Of all the dead and wounded Vietnamese civilians I had the misfortune to see, they had all been killed or wounded by the VC or NVA. If you want to know about atrocities, ask a Green Beret of the Army Special Forces or a CAP Marine (Combined Action Program) for they are the men who worked most closely with the civilian populace. They can tell you of the Viet Cong Death Squads who murdered 36,725 Vietnamese village leaders, schoolteachers, medical personnel and others. They were witness to the abduction by the National Liberation Front (VC) of 58,499 Vietnamese, many of whom were never seen again. This NLF was the same group with which Kerry met and agreed to the terms of our surrender in Paris. Ask the Marines and soldiers who liberated Hue and discovered the “Tet Massacre” where an estimated 3000 South Vietnamese civilians had been slaughtered when the VC and NVA held that city for just a few days. In all the NVA and VC executed an estimated 5000 South Vietnamese civilians during the 1968 Tet offensive. Thanks to the American press we have all heard of My Lai, but how many of you have ever heard of the Tet Massacre? Why do these lies continue to this day? The lies live on because of the false testimony given under oath by men such as John Forbes Kerry, the continued distortion of the war by the American press and movie makers and the disturbingly unquestioned acceptance of these lies by the American media and public.
Kerry: Part Two
“Copyright 2004. Michael E. Tank All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied, faxed, electronically transmitted, or in any other manner duplicated without express written permission of the author.”
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