The Ashford Zone Blog

This [Swift Boat Veterans] group asked for my signature on their "open letter" because I also commanded a Swift Boat in Vietnam in 1969 and served alongside many of them and John Kerry. I refused. I knew that what they were doing would only degrade the heroic actions of all Swift Boat veterans. You cannot challenge the process by which one person received recognition without making everyone else’s medals and awards suspect as well.

Many people who served on Swifts performed many acts of heroism and courage but were never recognized for it because no one took the time necessary to submit an award recommendation for them. Over the years these men have shared vicariously in the honors given to select, fortunate individuals. Now with the relentless mudslinging from the Swift Vets for Truth, we are all sharing in the shame that they are bringing on our community. I would prefer that they spend their energy and their money promoting the positive attributes of their candidate rather than trying to settle a 35-year-old score.

Right on, brother.

(Read it all here)

The truth is that atrocities were committed in Vietnam. The worst and most horrendous atrocity was officially sanctioned. The American command coldbloodedly set about to deprive the Communists of the recruits and other assistance the peasantry could provide by emptying the countryside. Peasant hamlets in Communist-dominated areas were deliberately and relentlessly bombed and shelled. Free Fire Zones – anything that moved, human or animal, could be killed – were redlined on military maps.

By 1968, civilian deaths, the great majority from air strikes and artillery, were estimated at about 40,000 a year and seriously wounded at 85,000. The wholesale killing cheapened the value of Vietnamese life in American eyes. It created an atmosphere that fostered the massacre at My Lai hamlet on March 16, 1968, when 347 Vietnamese old men, women, boys, girls and babies were butchered. That same morning another 90 unarmed Vietnamese were slaughtered at a nearby hamlet by a second army unit.

In Vietnam, America the exceptional joined the rest of the human race and demonstrated that it could do evil as easily as it could do good. Mr. Kerry undoubtedly said some intemperate things in 1971. That is the way of youth. But he also showed the moral courage to try to persuade his fellow citizens to halt actions that were disgracing their nation.

— Neil Sheehan (author of 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner "A Bright Shining Lie", here)

Morally, militarily, politically, strategically — there were many lessons to be learned from Vietnam. However, many — from Rush "Abu Ghraib is just fraternity antics" Limbaugh to, regrettably, many of the Swift Boat veterans — have not learned this particular painful lesson of Vietnam: that, yes, even America and Americans are capable of singular evil.

I don’t fault them for that — it is, after all, human nature to pretend that such atrocities do not exist.

But I just don’t think we should pay attention to the voices of people who deny realities. I don’t think we should place credibiliy in those who demonize truth-tellers simply because they don’t like the truth.

A patriot isn’t someone who turns away on those rare occasions when America acts evil. A patriot is someone who fights that evil, who says "no more".

Anyone who thinks patriots must experience a shot fired in anger during wartime is simply wrong. Sometimes a person can be a patriot by taking action in the streets, and bucking governmental authority.

Kerry did both. Bush did neither. Kerry showed up for the 1960’s; Bush drank and chased girls. If we must go back 30 years to decide "character" issues, THAT’S the bottom line, my friends.

Thanks to this post by Instapundit, I came across an out-of-print hard-to-find book called "The New Soldier". Although the book purports to be "by" John Kerry, it is simply a compilation of quotes and memories from various Vietnam veterans (Kerry didn’t even compile the quotes).

In fact, Kerry’s only "new" contribution toward the book was the epilogue. I read it, and was struck most by the last paragraph. Within those few sentences — written more than 30 years ago — flowered the salient differences between John Kerry and George Bush, both as men and as leaders. I will emphasize the key sentences below. Here’s what John Kerry, reflecting on his war experience, wrote:

I myself went into the service with little awareness of the people in the streets. I accepted then and still accept the idea of service to one’s country. But because of all that I saw in Vietnam, the treatment of civilians, the ravaging of their countryside, the needless, useless deaths, the deception and duplicity of our policy, I changed. Traditional assumptions and expectations simply were not enough.

Note to Bush supporters: When people experience things which cause them to change their views, it is not a "flip-flop". It’s called growth and experience. Something the current President lacks.

Going on . . . .

I still want to serve my country. I am still willing to pick up arms and defend it — die for it, if necessary.

Difference #1: Kerry was still willing to pick up arms and defend his country . . . even after going through the Vietnam experience. Bush, on the other hand, who supported Vietnam, wasn’t willing to pick up arms and defend his country.

You can do the song-and-dance about "whether or not Kerry was in Cambodia on Xmas 1968 as opposed to January 1969", and I can do a song-and-dance about whether Bush actually completed his Air National Guard duties, and so on. But . . . we’re all men here (well, most of us), right? Get real and ask yourself: What defines a "patriot"? And which candidate’s life experience more closely fits that definition?

Going on . . .

Now, however, I will not go blindly because my government says I must go. I will not go unless we can make real our promises of self-determination and justice at home. I will not go unless the threat is a real one and we all know it to be so.

Difference #2: Kerry learned the folly of sending troops to fight against a "threat" which is not real. He was talking about this stuff 33 years ago — waaaaay before he was a politician, and waaaaay before he ever ran for President. He was talking about it from first-hand experience.

President Bush, on the other hand, even with the benefit of hindsight, still has not learned that lesson (remember, Bush doesn’t make mistakes).

I recognize that even experienced politicians must endure a learning curve when they enter the Oval Office. But Bush isn’t into learning, and never has been. As a young man, he wasn’t putting himself through the same life experiences as Kerry. And as a older man, he’s still not interested in learning from mistakes, or even getting input from those who might enable him to be make more well-informed decisions.

Pre 9/11, it may not have mattered, but now we can’t afford that amateur-ism in the White House anymore. The above passages show that Kerry is serious about defending the country, but equally serious about not wasting soldiers’ lives needlessly and without just cause. Unlike Kerry, Bush didn’t learn this lesson 33 years ago. What is worse, he is steadfastly refusing to learn that lesson as President — and that’s simply tragic.

Sure, there’s plenty of flaws with Kerry. But in these dangerous times, all of them pale in comparison to the substantial differences between Bush and Kerry that I have raised here. Differences as men. This is a serious time in this country’s history — we should want a serious President with a trunkful of real lifetime experiences relating to the serious issues we face and will continue to face.

WTF??

Roy F. Hoffmann, a retired rear admiral and a leader of the [Swift War Veterans for Truth] group, allowed that he had disagreed with Mr. Kerry’s antiwar positions but said, "I am not going to say anything negative about him." He added, "He’s a good man."

In a profile of the candidate that ran in The Boston Globe in June 2003, Mr. Hoffmann approvingly recalled the actions that led to Mr. Kerry’s Silver Star: "It took guts, and I admire that."

Mmmmmm.

George Elliott, one of the Vietnam veterans in the group, flew from his home in Delaware to Boston in 1996 to stand up for Mr. Kerry during a tough re-election fight, declaring at a news conference that the action that won Mr. Kerry a Silver Star was "an act of courage."

George Elliott, if I recall correctly, is the one who recently did 2 or 3 flip-flops about Kerry’s war record in the same week — first saying that he regretted signing the affidavit that accused Kerry of lying . . . then apparently reaffirming the affidavit that he regretted signing . . . and then going on what I am sure is a loooooong-overdue vacation (to the flip-flop funny farm?)

Adrian L. Lonsdale, another Vietnam veteran now speaking out against Mr. Kerry, supported him [in 1996] with a statement about the "bravado and courage of the young officers that ran the Swift boats."

"Senator Kerry was no exception," Mr. Lonsdale told the reporters and cameras assembled at the Charlestown Navy Yard. "He was among the finest of those Swift boat drivers."

Well, you get the idea. But read the full story. Not only will you learn about the flip-flops, but the money trail behind the Swift Boat ads. I won’t give it all away — but let’s just say that Bush’s shadowy network ain’t that shadowy anymore . . . ’cause now there’s some light on it.

Heh.

From this NY Times op-ed piece:

State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

Nice to see the Republican machine isn’t waiting until the last minute.

. . . if only he’d stop saving the lives of Republicans.

First, we heard about Rassmann (the Vietnam Special Forces dude Kerry plucked from the water, a Republican), and now this guy:

Former U.S. Sen. Chic Hecht of Nevada is a staunch Republican, but he thanks his lucky stars for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

On July 12, 1988, Hecht was attending a weekly Republican luncheon when a piece of apple lodged firmly in his throat.

Hecht stumbled out of the room, thinking he might vomit but not wanting to do it in front of his colleagues. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., thumped his back, but Hecht quickly passed out in the hallway.

Just then, Kerry stepped off an elevator, rushed to Hecht’s side and gave him the Heimlich maneuver — four times. The lifesaving incident made international news, and Dr. Henry Heimlich, who invented the maneuver in 1974, called Hecht to say that had Kerry intervened just 30 seconds later Hecht might have been in a vegetative state for life.

"This man gave me my life," the 75-year-old Hecht said Thursday.

Compare and contrast the heroic, life-saving, Heimlich-maneuvering Kerry, with this guy:

Bush lost consciousness for a brief time in the White House on Sunday evening while eating a pretzel and watching a professional football game on television. He fell from his couch and has a scrape and large bruise on his left cheekbone, plus a bruise on his lower lip, to show for his troubles. His glasses cut the side of his face.

(Source)

Okay. It’s s cheap shot. I know it. Just having a little fun, is all.

Matt Yglesius has the definitive post on Kerry’s Christmas in Cambodia, to wit:

This much we know to be true:

(1) John Kerry was in Vietnam serving in the vicinity of the Cambodian border

(2) John Kerry has said repeatedly that he crossed into Cambodia

(3) Some U.S. forces were crossing into Cambodia during the period in question

(4) During the period in question it was being officially denied that U.S. forces crossed into Cambodia

(5) The disjoint between (3) and (4) was the point of the story John Kerry has told

(6) Official records seem to deny that Kerry crossed into Cambodia.

So, either Kerry made this up, or else the official records we’ve seen to date reflect the contemporaneous official lie that no one was in Cambodia, or else it’s somehow in between (like Kerry was immediately adjacent to Cambodia supporting a cross-border incursion and misrepresented his precise location in order to make the point). Which is true? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, the usual suspects on the right have lept to the conclusion (a) that Kerry was definitely lying, and — even more preposterously — that (b) voters choosing on the honesty factor would be well-advised to vote for George W. Bush, a man who has never — ever — sold a policy initiative without misleading the American public about the nature of the initiative.

The remarkable thing to me — and everyone glosses over this — is that even if Kerry WAS bolstering his own story, the UNBOLSTERED version still beats Bush, who was several thousands miles from Cambodia AND Vietnam on Christmas Eve 1968.

WASHINGTON — A week after Senator John F. Kerry heralded his wartime experience by surrounding himself at the Democratic convention with his Vietnam ”Band of Brothers," a separate group of veterans has launched a television ad campaign and a book that questions the basis for some of Kerry’s combat medals.

But yesterday, a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry’s former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a ”terrible mistake" in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star — one of the main allegations in the book.

***

Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said he regretted signing the affidavit and said he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star.

”I still don’t think he shot the guy in the back," Elliott said. ”It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I’m the one in trouble here."

Elliott said he was no under personal or political pressure to sign the statement, but he did feel ”time pressure" from those involved in the book. ”That’s no excuse," Elliott said. ”I knew it was wrong . . . In a hurry I signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake."

The affidavit also contradicted earlier statements by Elliott, who came to Boston during Kerry’s 1996 Senate campaign to defend Kerry on similar charges, saying that Kerry acted properly and deserved the Silver Star.

Heh.