Thirty years on, GOP spits on veterans

There is an apocryphal story of Vietnam veterans being spat on by ungrateful peace activists as they returned from service. This story turns out to be a myth. The claims of these acts that did not occur seem alive still today, apparently as part of the psychological damage to our country caused by the Vietnam War.

This year is the first presidential election where both candidates could have served in Vietnam and the question of Vietnam service is a campaign issue. Gore and Bush in 2000 were of the right generation, but chose to ignore the topic. In 1996 Clinton faced Bob Dole, who is of the WWII generation. The same is true of Clinton's opponent in 1992, Bush Sr. Prior to that elections have all been between pre-Vietnam War generation candidates.

This campaign, this year, sees the GOP doing everything they can to spit on Kerry's service as a Vietnam veteran, in a figurative sense. Kerry is a man who volunteered for duty in Vietnam and served his country with distinction. Being awarded three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star should be all that needs to be said. These medals are not given away like a pack of cigarettes. The military has stringent guidelines and a review process before awarding medals. Vets can be angry at Kerry for his efforts to bring the Vietnam War to an end but his service is real, his medals are legitimate and he has a right as an American to speak out on his positions. By attacking Kerry's service, Republicans are undermining the status of veterans who have received medals. It is plainly a case of disrespecting the uniform.

The latest insult to the veterans of this country is Bob Dole, who now is claiming in essence that John Kerry did not bleed enough to deserve one of his three Purple Hearts. Never mind that he still carries the shrapnel in his leg. And never mind that spinning hunks of metal flying through the air could have just as easily been lodged in his neck as his leg, or that his femoral artery could have been nicked. What seems like a minor injury thirty years in hindsight could just as easily been a fatal wound in combat. This, I believe, is the philosophy of the Purple Heart. As respected veteran David Hackworth says:

The awards system has always been fraught with abuse, but for anyone who has ever served in combat, the difference between earning a Purple Heart and death is, indeed, very slim.

What is most disgusting about Bob Dole's attacks, and the Swift Boat Liars in general, is how the Republican Party is willing to undermine the “band of brothers” for their own political expediency. Maintaining their grip on power is more important than the institution of the military in this country, and they will destroy it if they need to in order to achieve their objective. It is also a sad commentary that these veterans would voluntarily corrupt their own institution, or allow themselves to be coerced into doing so. I think most people who identify themselves as republicans are decent people with different views on issues from democrats, but those running the GOP are the worst kind of slime I've ever seen in my life. Even Nixon would not have gone this far.

kherr @ 15:10 CDT | link | war