EVERY medal given in Viet Nam should be reviewed and investigated!!

[searchingforlight]

We need a petition that asks the Pentagon to investigate EVERY medal given in Viet Nam. I can tell you that at the end they were handing them out by the bagful just to make the poor soldiers feel that what they had done was appreciated but if they are going to investigate Kerry's (and I am not afraid of that investigation) they should investigate all of them.

[clydefrand]

1. I agree whole heartedly! How do we do it?

Contact Larry Clayman and his Judicial Watch? Let's have him investigated too while we're at it.

[searchingforlight]

3. What about Bob Dole's schrapnel wound. I didn't see him turning down

his purple heart or saying he didn't deserve it. AND he certainly didn't refrain from mentioning it in his political life.

[Retired AF Dem]

2. Would this include soldiers that received purple hearts for

being killed in battle?

[searchingforlight]

4. I don't question the sacrifice but this investigation by its very nature

is making a mockery of the whole system. The times are different now. No one can go back and recreate the moment in history that made someone decide that a person should be awarded a medal.

What does this say to the soldiers who are being awarded medals today? Here is a medal for your bravery and sacrifice and Oh, by the way, you may not want to tell anyone about it because in thirty years we will revisit the issue and we may change our minds.

[TakeBackUSA]

5. Kerry - Please Attack Head On!

I think this issue continues to fester because Kerry hasn't attacked it head on in a public way. See my letter to the Kerry campaign.

*** Kerry : Opereation – Sink the Swift Boat Liars ***

It is not too late for the Kerry Campaign to debunk the swift boat Liars in a very public way.

Look, to people who investigate the facts, the Swift Boat Liars are already debunked. But the non-investigative types, meaning most of the population, are waiting for Kerry to make a case in a very public, slam-dunk way (ala the Nixon checkers speech).

Think of a classroom where the teacher gives a false date on an historic battle. 80% of the class will parrot the teacher and repeat false date as true. Maybe 20% will need to look it up and prove it false. They need to spell it out to the rest of the class, for everyone to know the truth. The Kerry campaign needs to spell it out to the people.

OK – Here is my idea of debunking the charges from these bums, or what I call : “Operation – Sink the Swift Boat Liars”

Schedule an hour on OPRAH. This will get a national audience, of the type of people that rely on others to do their research. It also can’t hurt to energize the black vote and women’s vote. Play it up for a few days :
”Kerry to answer swift boat charges – tune in Friday”.

Break the show up into four segments:

Segment 1: - Military Experts
Bring on Military officials to debunk the swift boat liars point by point, making sure they hit the following:
1. A soldier does not put in for his own medal, you are recommended by someone else.
2. Numerous accounts of enemy fire on the river, even in the commendations the other swifties got.
3. Read some of Kerry’s glowing recommendations – by current swifties.
4. Point out the numerous connections to the Bush campaign.
5. Etc.

Segment 2: - Jim Rassman
Have Rassman recount the event that saved his life. (Feel free to get emotional.)
1. Explain he has been a Republican, not connected with the Kerry campaign.
2. Recount the story.
3. Express outrage at the swifties attack, the purple heart band-aids at the RNC, etc.

Segment 3: Band of Brothers
Have the Band of Brothers recount their stories of Kerry’s leadership.
1. Tell their stories – debunk where appropriate.
2. Express outrage at the lies of the swifties.
3. Outrage at the tone of the RNC : purple heart band-aids, etc.

Segment 4: - John Kerry
Kerry comes out, alone with Oprah. Hit the following points:
1. Come out wearing the medals. (Will make for great photos.) He is proud of these medals that he earned fighting for his country.
2. Get mad. Get visibly irritated at the charges. Explain that he volunteered. (He should have done this immediately.) He doesn’t want to be a Dukakis and not get mad when someone speaks of your wife dying. Express outrage at the RNC, band-aids, etc.
3. Get Patriotic. You are attacking my patriotism and love of my country. I volunteered to fight – that was the depth of my commitment to this country. I fought for the flag and the freedoms it represents.
4. Explain his inaction. Explain that he and many in his campaign thought the swifties were so obviously false that they need not be responded to. But that now he feels the duty to explain to the people the true story. He is “turning the swiftboat into the attack”.
5. Bring X-Rays of his shrapnel. Magnify it to fill up 20% of a standard x-ray if necessary. This is the “money shot” the photo that will be replayed on the news, along with wearing the medals, and the Band of Brothers photo with Kerry at the end. “I carry this shrapnel to this day”- and here is the proof.
6. Bush is behind the Attacks. Don’t back off from pinning the attack to Bush. Remind everyone of the attacks on McCain (replay the smears from 2000 if possible). Again explain that he volunteered, and that Bush should be asked why he did not volunteer. Mention the “Champagne Unit”.
7. Attacks are because of his testimony. Explain that he feels many of the swifties are mad at his testimony, which he felt he had to do to protect the vets still in Vietnam.
8. Call for the Campaign back to Issues. Again, he felt this should have been debunked in the press already, but that now the campaign should return to the issues.

Ending Segment: Band of Brothers greeting Kerry (Lots of Hugs)

To ignore the swift boat liars, (or to make a speech that was not carried nationally – which gives the same effect), is ignoring the 2000 pound elephant in the room. People want to see how Kerry “fights back” and reacts under pressure – it doesn’t matter the truth or the circumstances. People want to make sure they are not electing a Carter (locked up in the White House during the hostage crisis), or a Dukakis (unemotional technocrat that can’t get mad at the thought of his wife being killed). He has to look like a fighter after all – that is how he was portrayed at the DNC. The latest tact of only talking about the economy makes Kerry look like he is avoiding the topic. He needs to show his ability to attack and shape the media.

He should do it before the Kitty Kelly book comes out, though. You don’t want to distract from the hornets nest that will stir up.

[newyawker99]

6. Hi TakeBackUSA!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[justgamma]

7. General being charged from actions in VN

Did anyone see the scroll on CNN? Caught the tail end. General to be charged with the death of elderly Vietnamese woman in 1967. What is that all about?