McCain in '08

"Skylune" wrote in message
I agree with Gatt, except that Kerry HIMSELF opened up his war record for
inspection when he ran a "I'm not W, and I am a Vietnam war veteran"
campaign. Remember the DNC?: "John Kerry: reporting for duty" was his
opening line.

In that case I'd say it's fair so long as the interpretation of those
records is truthful by all parties, which is to say, the people claiming
he's a hero and the people claiming he's a fraud. If you make the claim, it
should be subject to review and verification.

You never hear McCain bragging about being a war-hero.

It frequently takes Ex-POWs three or four decades to begin talking much
about their experience at all; many never do. In my experience with old
warriors I've come to the opinion that the harder they struggled, the less
inclined they are to discuss it.

-c

It frequently takes Ex-POWs three or four decades to begin talking much
about their experience at all; many never do. In my experience with old
warriors I've come to the opinion that the harder they struggled, the
less

inclined they are to discuss it.

-c



Yes, or never. My dad was a vet, and briefly a POW in WWII. He died a
few years ago, and only once or twice did he ever discuss his war
experiences with me. He would not watch war films which he said glorified
combat and did not capture the horror. The only stories I heard were from
my mom, who would recall what little he told her.

When "Saving Private Ryan" came out a few years back, I got him to go see
it with me. He left within the first three minutes and said something to
the effect that there was no good reason to watch this film.

My guess is that McCain will not want to discuss his POW experiences ever.
If he starts to use them for political advantage (ala Kerry), I would
certainly not support the man.

Take care, Skylune out.

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...

Yes, or never. My dad was a vet, and briefly a POW in WWII. He died a
few years ago, and only once or twice did he ever discuss his war
experiences with me. He would not watch war films which he said glorified
combat and did not capture the horror. The only stories I heard were from
my mom, who would recall what little he told her.

That's unfortunately too common. I've spoken with vets of my grandfather's
crew. Two loved telling the stories, possibly embellished a bit. The
copilot became angry when I suggested the notion that B-17s were ever NOT
olive drab, (the surviving '96th plane is bare aluminum), and the pilot won
the DFC, served in the Berlin Airlift, flew in Korea and Vietnam and after
he died, when I spoke to his daughter, I discovered he'd told me more about
his service on the phone one time while waiting for my grandfather to come
to the phone than he had ever told anybody in his family.

Similarly, I found out recently that my uncle is a retired Sgt. Major and he
won't even discuss which units he was in. Bronze stars from different wars,
PHs, we know he was captured by the Germans and escaped twice, and his wife
says he has two old footlockers filled with photos he took in Anzio or
somewhere, but his adult children have never seen them.

Sad, but, I figure they've earned that right if they choose to bury all of
it.

-c

That's unfortunately too common. I've spoken with vets of my grandfather's

crew. Two loved telling the stories, possibly embellished a bit. The
copilot became angry when I suggested the notion that B-17s were ever NOT

olive drab, (the surviving '96th plane is bare aluminum), and the pilot
won
the DFC, served in the Berlin Airlift, flew in Korea and Vietnam and
after

he died, when I spoke to his daughter, I discovered he'd told me more
about
his service on the phone one time while waiting for my grandfather to
come

to the phone than he had ever told anybody in his family.

Similarly, I found out recently that my uncle is a retired Sgt. Major and
he
won't even discuss which units he was in. Bronze stars from different
wars,
PHs, we know he was captured by the Germans and escaped twice, and his
wife
says he has two old footlockers filled with photos he took in Anzio or
somewhere, but his adult children have never seen them.

Sad, but, I figure they've earned that right if they choose to bury all
of

it.

-c



Agreed again Gatt. Having never served myself, I nevertheless think it is
despicable that people have the audacity to criticize a soldier's actions
in combat. My dad was just a kid when he served, and I can't possibly
imagine the horror he witnessed and endured.

He earned the right to take whatever he witnessed and participated in,
privately, to his grave. Even though I only indirectly understand the
effects that combat can have on a man, I can do get upset with those that
try to use their military service for political opportunism, and would
never vote for such a person. McCain, to me, does not fit into that
category, from everything I've read about the man...

gatt wrote:

"Skylune" wrote in message
I agree with Gatt, except that Kerry HIMSELF opened up his war record for
inspection when he ran a "I'm not W, and I am a Vietnam war veteran"
campaign. Remember the DNC?: "John Kerry: reporting for duty" was his
opening line.

In that case I'd say it's fair so long as the interpretation of those
records is truthful by all parties, which is to say, the people claiming
he's a hero and the people claiming he's a fraud. If you make the claim, it
should be subject to review and verification.

Kerry realized that he didn't have an anthills' worth of accomplishments in 20
years of being a US Senator plus being a state lieutenant governor etc. The
only thing he could come up with was to play up his four (4) months in Vietnam.

"Owen Hiller" wrote in message
...

Kerry realized that he didn't have an anthills' worth of accomplishments
in 20
years of being a US Senator plus being a state lieutenant governor etc.
The
only thing he could come up with was to play up his four (4) months in
Vietnam.

I don't claim to know what motivated Kerry to decide to do it 'cause I
wasn't in his campaign headquarters, either.

-c

gatt wrote:

"Owen Hiller" wrote in message
...

Kerry realized that he didn't have an anthills' worth of accomplishments
in 20
years of being a US Senator plus being a state lieutenant governor etc.
The
only thing he could come up with was to play up his four (4) months in
Vietnam.

I don't claim to know what motivated Kerry to decide to do it 'cause I
wasn't in his campaign headquarters, either.

Well put yourself in his handlers' shoes. He hadn't done anything remarkable
in 24+ years as a professional politician and was looking for a big
promotion. Voting attendance record? Not good. Intelligence committeee
attendance record? Deplorable. Voting record? All over the map. They
needed some angle to build the campaign on.

"Owen Hiller" wrote in message
...

I don't claim to know what motivated Kerry to decide to do it 'cause I
wasn't in his campaign headquarters, either.

Well put yourself in his handlers' shoes.

That requires experience, a paycheck, and half a damn to give about John
Kerry in the first place, none of which I possess.


-c

I don't claim to know what motivated Kerry to decide to do it 'cause I
wasn't in his campaign headquarters, either.
Well put yourself in his handlers' shoes.

That requires experience, a paycheck, and half a damn to give about John
Kerry in the first place, none of which I possess.

Perfect spot for the POL prepend. I'll start it, even though I have
nothing to say politically.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jose" wrote in message
. net...

That requires experience, a paycheck, and half a damn to give about John
Kerry in the first place, none of which I possess.

Perfect spot for the POL prepend. I'll start it, even though I have
nothing to say politically.

Well, sir, you're leading by example anyhow and I commend you for it!

-c