posted 10-29-2004 11:20 AM         

Revisionists are trying to change history, claiming the returning Viet Nam
veterans didn't suffer all that much when they returned home. All that
talk of being labeled animals has been exaggerated over the years. But the
veterans know better. They were there.

On the radio last week, one man related that he had unpacked the uniform
that he wore home from Viet Nam all those years ago. It had not seen the
light of day for over 30 years. He showed it to his children and grandchildren
and, for the first time, spoke of the day that he returned home from war
and was spat on, cursed at, and literally had to run a gauntlet of protesters who
threw human waste and rotten fruit on him and his fellow vets. With the
words "baby killers" ringing in his ears he was warned by laughing policemen not
to retaliate or he would be arrested. So he ran. The able-bodied helped the
wounded as they do on any battlefield because those on crutches or in
wheelchairs were not spared the profanity and bags full of feces that were
thrown at them by the raging anti-war protesters.

This now middle-aged vet went on to tell his family that he had hid in the
bathroom at the airport for over two hours, bewildered and afraid. He
wondered if he had landed in some foreign land where Americans were hated.
Finally, he cleaned up the uniform he was still proud to wear as best he
could and made his way to his plane, where he suffered more insults from
the passengers. When he got home, he packed up his medals and his dirty
uniform, just as it was, and he knew that one day, he would take it out again and
he would have his say. That day has come.

One POW stated that he had never put a face to the name until he heard the
words "Genghis Khan" pronounced only as John Kerry does and suffered his
first flashback to the time he was being tormented by Kerry's words in a North
Vietnamese prison camp.

They buried their anger and the bitterness --and they waited. Most of
them didn't know who or what would be the signal to make their move, but they
knew they would recognize it when it happened.

On July 29, 2004, it happened. John Forbes Kerry came to the podium at
the Democratic Convention and uttered three words that made many Viet Nam vets
skin crawl: "Reporting for Duty!" At last the time had come for these
long-suffering veterans.

The past was staring back at these wrongly disgraced vets from their
television sets. The face it bore was that of John Kerry, the man who had
shredded their honor without a thought and climbed over the bodies of their fallen
friends to launch a political career. Kerry had stripped them of their
dignity the day he sat before Congress in his fatigues and portrayed them as "baby
killers" and "murderers." Kerry did the unspeakable. He had publicly
turned on his fellow vets while they were still in harm's way and American prisoners
were still in the hands of the enemy. Kerry accused them all of being
out-of-control animals, killing, raping, and pillaging Viet Nam at will.
The anti-war movement--the protesters--had their hero and he was a Viet Nam
War veteran, an officer, a medal winner, a wounded warrior:
John Forbes Kerry.

Many Viet Nam vets buried the memories of their less-than-welcome
homecoming, and John Kerry moved off the national scene. The feelings of
betrayal had faded, but they were never resolved. The unprecedented injustice
inflicted on the Viet Nam vets has always lain just under the surface, waiting for a
chance to be uncovered. The war had stolen their youth and innocence and
John Kerry stole their dignity a nd rightful place of honor in history.

Like an unlanced boil, the anger festered but there was nothing that could
ease the pain. These vets didn't ask for "forgiveness" because they had
done nothing wrong in serving their country. They never asked to be treated as
heroes, just good soldiers. All they have ever wanted was the respect due
all the men and women who have worn the uniform of this country. Being
allowed to march in a few parades wasn't enough. A long over-due memorial was not
enough. The Viet Nam Veterans moveable wall only brought back the
suffering as they searched for the names of their fallen friends whose memory had been
defiled and disgraced by people who considered them rampaging killers
instead of men who died with honor for their country.

Now before them stands this man who would be president--this man who holds
his service in Viet Nam up as a badge of honor now that it suits his
purposes.

This man Kerry brags about his medals and his tiny wounds and demands the
respect they were denied, yet he offers no apologies for what he did to
them.

"I will be a great leader!" Kerry proclaims, because of his brief and
self-proclaimed valiant service while wearing a uniform--the very same
uniform that they wore and were spat upon because of it.

All across America, soiled uniforms and memories of being shamed and
humiliated have resurfaced and Vietnam vets demand their rightful place in
history.

John Kerry seems bewildered by the reaction of his "fellow vets."
He has become defensive and angry because now his service and honor are
being questioned. Kerry seems oblivious to the pain he caused three
decades ago when he stole all honor and dignity fro m those same "fellow vets" for
personal gain. Now he wants to use them again, for the same reason.

All across America, Viet Nam vets are smiling. At last, perhaps they can
bury their demons. These angry vets are demanding that this man who
sentenced them to being shunned as criminals, tell the world that he was wrong and
that he is sorry for what he did to them. Kerry must admit that he lied about
them.

For many, it would still not be enough. Satisfaction and hopefully peace
will come when Viet Nam vets see and hear John F. Kerry give his
concession speech the night of November 2, 2004 with the knowledge that it was their
votes that helped defeat him. There are approximately 2.5 million Viet Nam
veterans in America and they have not forgotten.

posted 10-29-2004 02:39 PM         

...I do vividly remember landing at Sea-Tac, thrilled to be on American soil once again.... and I also remember being spit at and cursed at in the airport....but I was so happy to be back in "the World" again I didn't let it phase me....I was home....

...living in San Antonio the next 18 months wasn't the best experience during that period either, but at least it was a military town and there was plenty of company....we were taunted and ridiculed, but I knew it would end someday as all things do, good or bad......