Caption:
"You know, son, I, having been in Vietnam, used to have some medals like that, becuase I was in Vietnam, see, but then I took it into my head that I..."

I have been wondering. If I taught a four month course as a sessional lecturer thirty years ago could I call myself a professor? Getting shot at makes the two professions qualitatively different but I am wondering what else people did for a season decades ago that would still go at the top of their resume.

My Dad and my Uncle were both decorated veterans of WW2. Until I'd served a combat tour in a different war I never knew how they'd gotten the scars on their bodies. It wasn't until after their deaths that ever we saw the citations for their medals, crammned into boxes of old stuff.
There is a reason that it's mostly been veterans digging into Kerry's (self)service in Viet Nam. We've served with all three kinds of servicemen, the ones just putting in their time, the self-serving and the minority of warriors and heros. We know the difference. We've served with heros and Hee-rows.
I knew some heros, I named my oldest boy after a Navy Corpsman who, as his last act on this earth covered a wounded Marine with his own body and stopped a burst of AK fire. My daughter is named Stephanie after a fellow named Steve, he died taking out a machine gun that had an entire squad caught in the killing zone of an L-shaped ambush.
My two other boys are named for men who never grew old.
I might be just one of the guys that just put in his time but one thing is certain.
I've known heros, I've served with them. Senator Kerry, you are no hero.

"So can you believe he gets an honorable discharge for "serving" in the national guard during Vietnam as a campaign worker and alcoholic. Do they give medals for those types of sacrifices?"

John Kerry--Panderer in chief

"I used to come to Wendy's all the time when I was between wives, and I'll tell you, they have the best pie."

Nice shot at Bush, Kurt, but if you notice, I'm not trumpeting Bush's service. That's the point; John Kerry is basing the majority of his resume on what HE did during Vietnam. On the surface, if I were to compare Bush and Kerry's Vietnam experiences as part of their resume, Kerry certainly gets the credit and wins hands down (notwithstanding what he did as a young civilian AFTER he left Vietnam)... but John Kerry is shoving this 4 months of his life - that took place 30 years ago - down our throats.

It's unseemly.

I wonder how many people would let a Doctor perform surgery who'd only gone to Med School for 4 months?

Caption: "Waiter, this is my first time in your dining establishment, can you show me your wine list"

I've already declared Kerry's service fair game, as far as I'm concerned. If he won't meet us on our terms, we'll meet him on his.

The Kerry's "common man" tone-deafness wins out again.

More, please.

"I just wonder if the rest of America (or at least the swing voters) feel insulted by this shameless self-promotion as much as I do. And if they aren't angered by it, do they at least find it ridiculously funny?"

That is the opportune phrase. What does his constant recognition of his Vietnam service do to the swing voters. I ran a tally of the menions on my sight and came up with extraordinary numbers. In prime-time speeches alone, it went 7, 6, 8 and only god knows how many on Thursday.

The crux of the matter is that he is running on his vietnam record because he wants to be thought of as a conservative Democrat, not the Liberal bomb-thrower he really is. Even McAullife and crew are taking pot-shots at Bush's record to pump up Kerry. Where were these shots when they endorsed Clinton over Bush 41 and Gore?

Kurt, plenty of people served honorable time in the National Guard. By demeaning his service, you demean everyone who served in the Guard.

As for boozing, it's what pilots used to be notorious for among other things. Granted Tailhook pretty much put a stop to some of the shenanigans. Active duty, or on reserve, flying jets in those days was risky business.

Bush gets credit for volunteering and been a better than average pilot, even if he didn't go to 'Nam. And if his unit was deliberately held back because of his daddy, it was because of what his daddy was involved with within the government that the risk of enemy political hay that could be generated from Dubya getting captured. And yes, kids of important daddies were held back, or overly protected from combat duty on both sides of the aisle.

Besides, look at the timeframe he served, Nam was winding down. In any case, Bush was never called up to prove his bravery or cowardice, hence, no one can state what he woulda, coulda done.

Cheney's waiver is completely legit as he was up there in age and already had a family. Better that waivers are granted accross the board, than reserved exclusively for the "privileged".

Otherwise, Slick wouldn't have been able to get off scot free, since he was nobody important, just a poor hillbilly kid.

Finally, even you never served in any form or fashion, then you of all people have no right to question the service of others.

It must have required a great deal of self-control for that Marine to stand there while that jackass poked him in the chest.
I don't know that I could've shown such restraint.

People keep talking about Kerry as if they had already heard he was in Vietnam, but this was news to me.

For those of you interested in knowing more about Kerry's 4 months of service in Vietnam and his anti-war activites Please visit http://www.swiftvets.com and http://www.wintersoldier.com

At Swiftvets we lay out our case against Kerry as CinC. There is also active Bulletin Board for the exchange of ideas.

Riverrat Tom, BM1 USN RVN Nov '68 to Nov '69

RiverRat - search on "swift veterans" on my search box on the righthand tool bar, and you'll see my coverage.

You should see this story...

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/KerryEdwards_menu-31Jul04.htm

Hat Tip: Wizbang

There is no way four months of combat makes up for decades of votes against our military and intelligence services.

My caption: "I wouldn't even give you 87 cents."

Someone else's caption: "I fought against Vietnam, before I fought for it."

Semper Fi.

Captions:
"Do you know where I can get another one of those ribbons. I accidentially threw mine away and I need it now!"

"I'll buy you a Big Mac, I mean single with cheese if I can have that ribbon!"