Fort Worth Star Telegram- Veteran says Anti-Kerry Ad Is Untrue

[mourningdove92]

Veteran says anti-Kerry ad is untrue

By Bob Ray Sanders

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

When my longtime friend Anthony Lyons called to invite me to breakfast the other day, I knew that he wanted to talk politics.

He particularly wanted to converse about the flap over Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's war record.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, a group of Vietnam veterans calling themselves the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have claimed -- through TV talk shows and a political ad -- that Kerry's account of an incident for which he received a Bronze Star was exaggerated at best, and that the medal was unearned.

These men claim that they "served" with Kerry, although they were not on the same boat.

In discussing Kerry's war exploits and those who would try to tarnish his military record, Anthony ended up talking about something he had never told me before -- his own feats in Vietnam, for which he received a citation.

Oh, I knew that Anthony had been a Marine and had been to Vietnam, but as long as I've known him (since his days as a student leader at the University of Texas at Arlington), he had never gone into any detail about his military service.
"Listen," he said as he excoriated the senator's critics. "Kerry couldn't give himself a medal. He couldn't recommend himself for a Bronze Star."

Anthony went on to explain how he knew.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/9466570.htm?1c

[SoFlaJet]

1. yea but

you can't tell that to the stupid southern accented voices that call Alan Colmes'radio show.It amazes me how they parrot everything that Rush tells them to.Another one is the "4 month thing" It was 4 months AFTER his first tour.The refusniks re-fucking-fuse to acknowledge the truth.

[Nevernose]

2. This is Molly Ivins' paper

Not some redneck piece of shit. Hell, California gave us Schwarzeneggger, Reagan, AND Nixon. The South gave us Clinton, Carter, and Truman (if you inclusde Missouri). PLEASE don't blame the South.

[WilliamPitt]

4. Hear hear

[SoFlaJet]

5. I'm not blaming the south

what I've notices is the sounds of the voices and the messages that get on say Colmes' show and C-Span the all havethe same tone.I'm not judging I'm just sayin........

[peacetalksforall]

3. This article is loaded with logic - it's a story and a statement

that makes sense. Any organization that would rely on the recommendation of a single person to initiate and process a recommendation would be dishonest and the presentation of medals would have resulted in a loss of integrity in the process. A ladder of endorsements and verifications seem logical. We haven't had a history of laughing at or demeaning the awarding of medals related to military performance.

There has to be common knowledge around that medals are a fraud and there isn't any knowledge out there that I've heard about in an overall and general way. How could they recruit if we didn't believe in and smirked at the validity of medal awards?

To imply that one could create their own story and give themselves an undeserved one as easy as is implied, is a classic example of how to slime the facts. The claim of O'Neill and buddies is unwholesome and unamerican fraud.

These men are pathetic fools.

[A_Possum]

6. Frankly, it reflects a lot worse on Hoffman, Elliott and Zumwalt...

That they are now questioning the medals of a man THEY GAVE THE MEDALS to.

:eyes: