[Vision2020] Kerry's military record, redux.
Joan Opyr
auntiestablishment@hotmail.com
Tue, 27 Apr 2004 11:29:52 -0700
------=_NextPart_001_0004_01C42C4A.F54C31F0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Tom writes:
>In June of 1969 I had just graduated from high school. My father and I =
were =20
>not seeing eye-to-eye on alot of things, basically anything that involve=
d me. =20
>My draft number was a high number the year before (325, I think) and I w=
as =20
>afraid that it was going to be alot lower. I felt that I had to get awa=
y from =20
>home. So, I went to the local recruiting office. Being the whimp that =
I was, =20
>I first checked with the Army National Guard. The waiting list was 18 m=
onths. =20
>I then checked with the Navy recruiter. The waiting list was six months=
So, =20
>I walked down the hallway and stood between two doorways, one marked "Un=
ited =20
>States Marine Corps" and the other marked "United States Army", and flip=
ped a =20
>coin. Thirty-six hours later I was in-processing at Fort Ord.
My father was in much the same position in 1965. Fresh out of high schoo=
l, no college prospects, and a low draft number. It doesn't seem to have=
occurred to him that he might have gone to Canada. (He was born in Mont=
real and had aunts, uncles, and grandparents still living there. Residen=
cy wouldn't have been a problem.) Instead, he enlisted in the U. S. Air =
Force and hoped for the best. He was lucky; he spent his time in service=
stateside, stationed first in North Carolina and then later in Alaska. =
He didn't want to go to Vietnam, and he's always said that he chose the A=
ir Force because he thought it offered him the best chance of not being s=
hipped overseas.
I grew up in a working class neighborhood in the late sixties, early seve=
nties. All around us were guys who weren't rich, who weren't privileged,=
who weren't Senator's sons; most had been in one branch or another of th=
e regular service and many had done tours in Vietnam. They rarely talked=
about it and we rarely asked. The adults I knew spoke about Vietnam in =
an embarrassed hush. No one knew how to act or react. Some supported th=
e war, some were opposed, but the topic was generally off limits. Memori=
al Day and the VFW were for veterans of WWII and Korea, wars that you cou=
ld safely talk about or re-enact with toy guns in the backyard. (Those w=
ere unenlightened times; every kid had a cap gun.) Returning veterans we=
re either ignored or treated as potential problems. I remember adults wh=
ispering to one another about whether or not so-and-so had post-traumatic=
stress and consequently might be a danger to himself and others.
Some of this atmosphere of shame and secrecy survives to this day. Opera=
tion Desert Storm was not the cure. We have yet to have a Vietnam vetera=
n in the White House, and at this point that's just damned peculiar. Unl=
ess you consider the fact that we say, or allow others to say, things abo=
ut Vietnam veterans that we wouldn't stand being said about veterans of W=
WII, "the greatest generation." I don't recall anyone questioning Bob Do=
le's bravery in WWII or asking about his withered arm, but Ann Coulter re=
cently published a column arguing that Max Cleland was not a legitimate w=
ar hero because the Viet Cong didn't throw that grenade at him; he picked=
it up when it fell off a fellow soldier's web. (I'm not a violent woman=
, but for that alone I would gladly pinch off Ms. Coulter's head and flus=
h it down the toilet.) =20
The Bush campaign is playing a nasty and hypocritical game, one they bega=
n playing when they attacked John McCain for the one thing in his career =
that should have been sacrosanct: his time as a POW. The Bush play book =
is as obvious as it is disgusting. Pretend to value military service whi=
le slashing veterans benefits and closing VA hospitals. Smear others as =
unpatriotic while hiding your own deferments and/or the strings your fami=
ly pulled to land you a spot in the National Guard. Worst of all, play o=
n the lingering ambivalence many Americans still feel about the Vietnam W=
ar by launching nasty smear campaigns against the men who fought it. Whe=
ther or not you support John Kerry, whether or not you supported the war =
in Vietnam or the war in Iraq, I think you have a moral obligation to rej=
ect this kind of cynical, vicious character assassination. =20
If courage means nothing more than talking tough; if leadership means sen=
ding other people to die while you yourself never leave the safety of you=
r privileged cocoon, then our language and our culture are truly debased.
Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment =20
PS: That's it from me today, I promise. Sorry for once again violating t=
he two-posts rule . . . though I'll be damned if I'm sorry for anything e=
lse.Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.=
msn.com
------=_NextPart_001_0004_01C42C4A.F54C31F0
Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>Tom writes:</D=
IV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>>In June of 1969 I had just graduated from =
high school. My father and I were <BR>>not seeing eye-to-eye on =
alot of things, basically anything that involved me. <BR>>My dra=
ft number was a high number the year before (325, I think) and I was <BR>=
>afraid that it was going to be alot lower. I felt that I had to=
get away from <BR>>home. So, I went to the local recruiting off=
ice. Being the whimp that I was, <BR>>I first checked with the A=
rmy National Guard. The waiting list was 18 months. <BR>>I=
then checked with the Navy recruiter. The waiting list was six mon=
ths. So, <BR>>I walked down the hallway and stood between two do=
orways, one marked "United <BR>>States Marine Corps" and the other mar=
ked "United States Army", and flipped a <BR>>coin. Thirty-six ho=
urs later I was in-processing at Fort Ord.<BR></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <D=
IV>My father was in much the same position in 1965. Fresh out of hi=
gh school, no college prospects, and a low draft number. It do=
esn't seem to have occurred to him that he might have gone to Canada=
(He was born in Montreal and had aunts, uncles, and grandpar=
ents still living there. Residency wouldn't have been a problem.)&n=
bsp; Instead, he enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and hoped for =
the best. He was lucky; he spent his time in service stateside=
, stationed first in North Carolina and then later in Alaska. =
He didn't want to go to Vietnam, and he's always said that he chose the A=
ir Force because he thought it offered him the best chance of not be=
ing shipped overseas.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I grew up in a working=
class neighborhood in the late sixties, early seventies. All aroun=
d us were guys who weren't rich, who weren't privileged, who weren't Sena=
tor's sons; most had been in one branch or another of the regular service=
and many had done tours in Vietnam. They rarely talked about =
it and we rarely asked. The adults I knew spoke about Vie=
tnam in an embarrassed hush. No one knew how to act or react.&=
nbsp; Some supported the war, some were opposed, but the t=
opic was generally off limits. Memorial Day and the VFW were f=
or veterans of WWII and Korea, wars that you could safely talk =
about or re-enact with toy guns in the backyard. (Those were u=
nenlightened times; every kid had a cap gun.) Returning vetera=
ns were either ignored or treated as potential problems. I rem=
ember adults whispering to one another about whether or not so-and-so had=
post-traumatic stress and consequently might be a danger to himself and =
others.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Some of this atmosphere of shame and=
secrecy survives to this day. Operation Desert Storm was not the c=
ure. We have yet to have a Vietnam veteran in the White House, and =
at this point that's just damned peculiar. Unless you consider the =
fact that we say, or allow others to say, things about Vietnam veterans t=
hat we wouldn't stand being said about veterans of WWII, "the&n=
bsp;greatest generation." I don't recall anyone questioning Bo=
b Dole's bravery in WWII or asking about his withered arm, but Ann C=
oulter recently published a column arguing that Max Cleland was not =
a legitimate war hero because the Viet Cong didn't throw that grenade at =
him; he picked it up when it fell off a fellow soldier's web.&n=
bsp; (I'm not a violent woman, but for that alone I would gladly pinch of=
f Ms. Coulter's head and flush it down the toilet.) </DIV> <D=
IV> </DIV> <DIV>The Bush campaign is playing a nasty and hypocr=
itical game, one they began playing when they attacked John McCain f=
or the one thing in his career that should have been sacrosanct: his=
time as a POW. The Bush play book is as obvious as it is disgustin=
g. Pretend to value military service while slashing veterans b=
enefits and closing VA hospitals. Smear others as unpatriotic while=
hiding your own deferments and/or the strings your family pulled to land=
you a spot in the National Guard. Worst of all, play on the linger=
ing ambivalence many Americans still feel about the Vietnam War =
;by launching nasty smear campaigns against the men who fo=
ught it. Whether or not you support John Kerry, whether or not=
you supported the war in Vietnam or the war in Iraq, I think y=
ou have a moral obligation to reject this kind of cynical, vicious c=
haracter assassination. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If coura=
ge means nothing more than talking tough; if leadership means sendin=
g other people to die while you yourself never l=
eave the safety of your privileged cocoon, then our language and our=
culture are truly debased.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Joan Opyr/Auntie=
Establishment  =
; <BR></DIV> <DIV>PS: That's it from me today, I promis=
e. Sorry for once again violating the two-posts rule . . . tho=
ugh I'll be damned if I'm sorry for anything else.</DIV></BODY></HTML><br=
clear=3Dall><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : <a =
href=3D'http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>
------=_NextPart_001_0004_01C42C4A.F54C31F0--