The Ghosts of War (a Vietnam vet speaks of the 'Swift-Boat Vets')

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/081304X.shtml

The Ghosts of War
John Cory
t r u t h o u t - Perspective

Thursday 12 August 2004

"They say, the first casualty of war is truth. They are wrong. The first casualty of war-is reality. In war, the unreal becomes real, and truth becomes a lie."

- 'The Ville,' John Cory

It haunts us still. Three-and-a-half decades later, America cannot stop picking the scab of Vietnam. The wound has never healed and has now grown infected and poisoned. Plato said: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

The White House could stop this Swift Boat slander, but won't. George Bush needs the venomous attacks on John Kerry to distract the media and public from the failures of his leadership, and from the growing stench of Iraq.

There are veterans of all conflicts, who fall in love with the terrible sweet beauty of war. Men who polish their armor long after the parades have faded. Their glory is not in duty, honor, and country; but in the carnival mirrors of their own warped reflections. These are veterans who march with swagger and blaring brass, like small boys struggling to be seen and heard.

There are veterans who have paid passage through the heart of darkness; who dedicate their lives to eliminating the horrors that hide behind their eyes at night, when they dream. These veterans testify to the unreal and repulsive acts of war that forever wound the soul.

And there are veterans who let it go and never look back again. Not that they forget, they simply choose not to dwell in those memories. They seek peace of mind and hope.

But war is a ghost that haunts the living. Like guilt, war is the gift that keeps on giving, to paraphrase a song.

This GOP-funded anti-Kerry veterans group is getting lots of free publicity by major networks and cable shows, and lots of discussion about "truth" and "facts" and all the focus-group tested words. This is a group that prefers to tongue-polish the buttons of a war dodger and champagne National Guard frat boy in an effort to restore their battle honor by tarnishing a fellow veteran.

...more...

[kentuck]

1. Wow! That's heavy.....

and so true...

[hippiegranny]

2. this is beautifully written

as well as a poignant story.

[PsN2Wind]

3. Forwarded the article

to Colonel David Hackworth and some old Navy buddies, one that thinks like us,one that thinks like them and one that isn't sure.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

4. Tongue polish!

What a wonderful turn of a phrase!

[WilliamPitt]

5. .

[WilliamPitt]

6. !

[WilliamPitt]

7. -

[VOX]

8. A must read!

Kick. :kick:

[Raven]

9. A kick...folks too wrapped up with NJ Gov.

:-)

[skygazer]

10. Beautifully written

And very true. There was a thread earlier that asked what the Swift Boat Veterans For Slander's motivation in all this was - I think this answers that question most eloquently. Thanks for posting.

[RetroLounge]

11. Damn. That's so true it hurts.

THanks for posting this.

RL

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

12. Will, thanks for posting this.

It's beautifully written and so timely.

Loved the part about the poster the author had during the Vietnam War. So true, so true...

:hug: :yourock:

[nomatrix]

13. Beautifully stated Will!

"There were stories of Vietnam veterans returning to America, only to be spat upon by people who viewed them as an evil extension of a dishonest and war-mongering government."

"Now fellow veterans spit upon one another."

Despicable behavior.

Never a mention of how many lives were saved because of John Kerry. The courage to stand up, for your fellow soldiers, and say "ENOUGH!"

[WilliamPitt]

14. John Cory wrote this

[nomatrix]

18. Thanks Will

Stewart is another veteran (who lost his leg in Vietnam). He also makes a great point.

The War Against Vietnam Veterans
By Stewart Nusbaumer

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=648

"Many World War II veterans have a problem with Vietnam veterans, always have. It’s not surprising that when returning home from Vietnam few of us joined traditional veterans groups such as the VFW and American Legion. We just didn’t get along. Maybe the older veterans blamed us for not winning the Vietnam War, or maybe they blamed themselves (subconsciously) for sending their children to a war that was not winnable. Maybe Vietnam veterans were oversensitive to their victory and our, well, not victory. I don't really know, but I do know Joe’s voice carried that old animosity when dismissing John Kerry’s Vietnam War record and defending George Bush’s less than stellar military record. It resonated with a past war that I thought was finished. It’s not."

-snip-

"The political Right wanted that war in Vietnam, but what it did not want was the truth about the war as told by the warriors who suffered in the war. And today this same Right will do anything to shut up these graying warriors who insist upon telling the truth."

-snip-

"But dismissing war heroes contradicts everything the Right supposedly stands for; hiding when the nation calls is exactly what the Republicans supposedly detest. This is why when the Left pointed out that Kerry served in war and Bush did not, and pointed out Cleland’s sacrifices and Bush’s escapism, the Republican Right went berserk. Nothing outrages liars more than truth."

-snip-

"For some people, winning in politics is more important than common decency, more important than genuine patriotism, more important than truth -- even more important than the words of their God. Liberals need to understand this and must realize that attacking the opposition’s policies is not enough, not today. They must go after the Republicans' hypocrisy and immorality. Attack the Right-wing ruthlessness that is now slashing our political culture as it denigrates the reputation of good Americans."

Thanks for doing what you do Will.

[Sparkly]

15. Poignant and powerful

Just when we should learn the lessons of Vietnam, this poison crops up instead. Thanks for posting/linking this.

[PA Democrat]

16. Mr. Cory's words are a powerful expression of exactly why the

swiftboat veterans for "truth" group's actions are so reprehensible.

[Maddy McCall]

17. Kick

[robo]

19. SBV

I was in the Army and what I due know is you take the word of the guys that was in the boat with Kerry over any bullshit from somebody 50 to a 100 yds. away. Only the men on the boat with him can tell you the hole story.
JK and JE all the way !!!!!!!!!

[WilliamPitt]

20. .