I ran across this little article awhile ago and it struck me, as a vet. It was written by a career naval aviator & Vietnam POW. I will add my name to this list. John Kerry served honorably and with distinction. As a Republican I am proud to say I am behind Kerry 100% for president.

Veterans Rally Behind Kerry
t r u t h o u t | Statement
Veterans for Kerry

Monday 18 October 2004


Phillip Butler, Vietnam veteran, says:

"I was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for almost eight years. I was a career naval aviator, and I support John Kerry for President. Kerry is a leader with proven courage, integrity, intelligence, and commitment. He served with distinction in the Vietnam war. After returning home he saw how our great nation was misled by our leaders' destructive policies, resulting in a monumental national tragedy. It took great personal integrity and special courage to testify before Congress, and to face his fellow veterans, many of whom were, and still are, in denial about the truth about that war.

"Some former Vietnam POW's have said their treatment was affected by Kerry's testimony in the Senate in 1971. I was there, in the same cells and camps with those men. No information on John Kerry ever came to us during those years, and his actions had no effect on our treatment, or on the length of the war.

"John Kerry did the right thing then, as he will now. That's why I support him for President of the United States."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We veterans support the Butler statement, and urge the election of the Kerry-Edwards ticket:
William K. Stewart
Ed Foley
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Bill Dallmann
Nick Alaga
Peter C. Worden
John Pomkinson
Victor Henry
Winston Elstob
Colleen Anderson
John Miller
Bill Kaplan
Richard Miller
Dan Turner
Ed Jarvis
Howard Brunn
Russell Czarnecki
Earl R. Cauley
Ken Dursa
Jean Stallings
Jeff Whitmore
Frank Ledesma
Ken Armstrong
Abe Hernandez
Rolland Fletcher
Jeffrey Phillips
Steve Bradford
Barbara Nelson
Gordon Smith
Ralph Nonella
Jamie N. Fox
Jerry Eppler
Steve B. Fox
Ed Leeper
Timothy C. Kretch
Robert Downey
Robert C. Hoskinson
Chuck Carter
Mary Jane Grace
Pete Monteforte
Bob Holtrop
Randy McKendry
William F. Griffith
Seraphino H. Bianchini
Bill Hunt
Richard Bailey
Robert Gwinn
John Kimber
Ed McKean
Eric Bernhart
Dan J. Williams
Vaughn McIlrath
Larry Bordan
Harvey Kuffner
Ron Swan
Charles Schafer
Nick Sousa
A.W. Beam
Michael Willey
Doug De Young
Carl Pohlhammer
Nick Alaga
John Pomkinson
David Wright
Kelly O'Brien
Michael Bobay
Sallie A. Savage
Pam Bridges
. . . a partial list
Veterans for Kerry, Box 621, Monterey, CA 93942

Something happend to the contents of my post. It din'nt make sense, sorry.

[edit on 21-10-2004 by Kriz_4]

Let me just say that those are alot of supportive veterans.

It doesn't have to deal with this thread per se, but I was wondering...

I have no idea who will win the election, I assume it will be somewhat close either way...

But Bush barely won the 2000 election. Some argue he didn't even win it, but that's neither here nor there.

If you barely could win the 2000 election when you were seen as a likable, honest, just type of guy, why do some people assume it's a given that he will win this time? When he's alienated so many over the last four years thru his policies and his actions?

I always wonder that everytime I see another thread pop up like this describing how some new group is against George Bush's re-election. Seems like new groups of people speaking out against Bush just proves my point. Guess we'll see for sure on November 2nd.

I have never been in doubt that many veterans supports kerry I wonder if the ones that hate him has been pay to do so or perhaps they had been hit with the realities of the statement he did when he became anti war.

My best friend is a Vietnam vet. (He's a Democrat, but I convinced him to vote for Bush in 2000. Like me, we're now very sorry we voted for him. He has not been remotely the leader we expected him to be. Anyway, my friend loathes Bush.

He gets really bent outta shape with this whole swift boat controversy, as do I. As veterans we both know that in war, nasty shyte happens. Especially in illegitimate wars like Vietnam and the Iraq war. (To call them illegitimate is NOT to bad mouth the troops, either. It's to call it like it is.) He says he saw and heard every bit of what Kerry testified to.

The way I see it, those vets who hate Kerry and who are so embittered and blinde to the truth know deep down that atrocities happened. They were either REMFs (rear echelon mofos) who never got out into the action; or, they are themselves guilty of said crimes, or maybe just sat idly by as they were being committed. They were too chickenshyte to speak up. I think if that were burrowed down into my psyche, I'd be a little hostile myself. The Vietnam vets I know personally roundly despise the Bush administration and opposed the Iraqi invasion from the beginning.

My brother's national guard unit largely supported Bush, too until they were faced with reality and the fact that we were lied into this quagmire. Now, he reports, Bush is despised near unanimously by them.

[edit on 19-09-2003 by EastCoastKid]

I have a few questions about John Kerry, if someone would be so kind as to answer them if you have the info...

Was Kerry a registered Democrat, or leaning Democrat when he appeared before the Senate in 1971 to denounce government policy in Vietnam?

How far back in time did Kerry's accusations go?

The reason I'm asking is... Nixon just picked up and intensified a war that had been started and fought primarily by his DEMOCRATIC predecessor, Lyndon Johnson. I don't know if the Democratic party was as divided on the war in 1971 as it was in 1968, but if it was, it would mean that Kerry went up against some people in his own party who had defended the war in Vietnam - powerful people like Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Robert McNamara, etc.

If that's so, it sounds pretty gutsy to me.

25% of veterans supporting Kerry is NOT good. Kerry hates the military, and the military hates him right back!

No one doubts that some veterans will support Kerry. No one doubts that some veterans will sell out their own for personal benefit, just as Kerry did.
No one doubts that some veterans are intellectually impaired.

But, nothing will change what Kerry did and the impact he had on the lives of every individual who served in Vietnam.

That's really tastelss GradyPhilpott. That's like showing a flag-draped coffin and saying, "Veterans against Bush".

Originally posted by curme
That's really tastelss GradyPhilpott. That's like showing a flag-draped coffin and saying, "Veterans against Bush".

Curme you already know grady fanatical distate fo kerry so anything he does should not surprised you anymore.

Originally posted by Carseller4
25% of veterans supporting Kerry is NOT good. Kerry hates the military, and the military hates him right back!

Kerry hates the military, huh? That's the most idiotic and pathetic charge I've heard yet.

Safe bet he'll get more than 25% of the veterans vote.

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by Carseller4
25% of veterans supporting Kerry is NOT good. Kerry hates the military, and the military hates him right back!

Kerry hates the military, huh? That's the most idiotic and pathetic charge I've heard yet.

Safe bet he'll get more than 25% of the veterans vote.

When you make that kind of charge, it helps to be able to quote the person. So, unless you want to come off simply as the partisan sycophant you are, give us a quote from Kerry backing up your statement.

You won't because you can't.

ECK,

Thanks for that list, and the link as well. And add another, as Grady calls it "Intellectually Impaired" vet to your list. What a schmuck I served during the first gulf war, AND I SUPPORT KERRY! Did you hear that Grady?

Originally posted by Kidfinger
ECK,

Thanks for that list, and the link as well. And add another, as Grady calls it "Intellectually Impaired" vet to your list. What a schmuck I served during the first gulf war, AND I SUPPORT KERRY! Did you hear that Grady?

I hearya, man. You and me both.

So how many of the military/vets do you see voting for Kerry?

ECK, of course some Vietnam Vets support Kerry, all his friends from the VVAW are sure to support him, as well as Jane Fonda, can't forget the Viet Cong, he is in their hall of hero's. Even ABC went to Vietnam and found some more Vietnamese veterans who support Kerry. just as Ted Koppel.

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by EastCoastKid

Originally posted by Carseller4
25% of veterans supporting Kerry is NOT good. Kerry hates the military, and the military hates him right back!

Kerry hates the military, huh? That's the most idiotic and pathetic charge I've heard yet.

Safe bet he'll get more than 25% of the veterans vote.

When you make that kind of charge, it helps to be able to quote the person. So, unless you want to come off simply as the partisan sycophant you are, give us a quote from Kerry backing up your statement.

You won't because you can't.

Kerry has stated that if US troops die under UN control it is honorable, but if they die for the United States alone it is not.