"Dudley Henriques" wrote:

[thoughtful responses from both Dudley and Paul Adams snipped]

I wasn't going to answer this because when it comes to assessing something
like this; personal, and directly associated with combat, I usually defer to
those more qualified to speak.

That would kinda' defeat the whole purpose of posting the story on
Usenet , no? If Art wasn't looking for feedback, obviously he should
have posted his story on his website and simply left it at that.

As numerous posters (even including some whom have "seen the
elephant") have pointed out to Art time and time again, Art couldn't
possibly get any more mileage out of his "you weren't there so you
ain't ****" mantra.

The theme of Art's story was "courage" (as is his theme 99.9-percent
of the time). LOTS of people have demonstrated incredible courage --
courage that often goes unnoticed and garners no medals. And courage
doesn't always involve combat. A parent caring for a dying child is
an act of courage, as is speaking up against Art when he
gratuitously ridicules his fellow RAM listmembers simply because
they "weren't there."

As for the story itself, I agree with everything you and Paul said.