On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 22:07:21 GMT, Michael Wise wrote:

In article ,
Ed Rasimus wrote:

Burkitt reserves a lot of space in his book to discuss the VA.


Meaning what? Does he claim combat vets and/or disabled vets working for
the VA are less than honest?

"Stolen Valor" is a very worthwhile read. It covers a lot of urban
myths about the war--things like the average age of the combatants
being only nineteen or predominantly minorities. It covers the poseurs
and wannabes--folks claiming distinctive service, high level awards,
and special status. It also talks extensively about the VA's interest
in perpetuating PTSD to the point of falsifying diagnoses for the
purpose of maintaining high funding levels.

(Please do not jump ahead and suggest that I'm all wet if I deny PTSD.
I certainly do not. Read the book and see what Burkitt documents.)


During Rolling Thunder, I got up each day and went to a briefing with
25 other guys. On average, each and every day for six months, one of
those 25 would be lost. Some days, none. Some days three or four.
Average, one a day. Keep going to the briefing and one day you will be
the one.

Well my hat goes off to you and to all those who paid in blood or risked
that blood doing what their country told them to do. I find it next to
impossible to understand how any vet (especially a combat vet) would
make statements about not "****ing on somebody if they were one fire"
when that somebody also risked their all and shed blood for their
country.

It isn't Kerry's combat experience that can speak for itself whether
you respect it or find it self-serving. It is his conduct during the
Winter Soldier testimony, his categorization of the military still in
harm's way as criminals and guilty of atrocities, his throwing of
someone else's medals over the White House fence, his alignment with
VVAW and offering of aid/comfort to the enemy.

He now seeks to turn the clock back and trade on his combat experience
as that seems to offer more traction in a nation at war.

The odds of completing a 100 mission NVN tour were poor. In '66 an
F-105 was lost every 65 missions over NVN. For every five that started
a tour, three of the five would be lost. 40% survival rate.

There are definitely ground units from the war that suffered similar
rates, but that is the exception.


I don't doubt what you're saying for a minute. Never having been in
combat, I can't speak from experience, but numbers on paper be
damned...I'll take fighting from above over eyeball to eyeball at close
quarters any day.

So will I.

Didn't you say a while back that you were in the CSAR business? Never
got to employ your skills?



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8