Thank you.
The positive replies to my articles continue to outnumber the negative. And, sometimes, they come in from some of the most interesting places.
A retired American sailor wrote from Bangkok, Thailand, to say that he likes my articles. And, I’m very thankful to the kind words from a former Australian “digger” named Jeff. (I presume that a “digger” is an infantryman; what we nickname a “grunt”. It’s a little known fact that the Air Force has its own limited infantry. I know, because that was one of the jobs I had while wearing a Blue Beret.) Among other things, Jeff wrote, “There is no person more honest and able to detect bull**** at a glance than a soldier ….” Thanks, Jeff, and I agree. Jeff wrote that Left-wingers in his country had tried to do away with ANZAC Day, which is their equivalent to our Independence Day. (Old joke: Do they have a fourth of July in England?) Thank you, gentlemen (and to all our troops), for your service to your respective (and respected) countries.
Public “education”The Lefties are at it here, too, Jeff. Back on September 11th, the public schools in Nashville (and elsewhere) had a policy that there would be no mention of the “9-11” attacks. Nothing on the lesson plans, no outside speakers, no classroom discussions … nothing. Has anyone else ever read “1984” by George Orwell?
Semper Fi …
The following story came to be by e-mail. It’s worth sharing.
An atheist professor was teaching a college class and he told the class that he was going to prove that there is no God. He said, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you 15 minutes!"
Ten minutes went by. He kept taunting God, saying, "Here I am, God. I'm still waiting."
He got down to the last couple of minutes, and a Marine — just released from active duty, and newly registered in the class — walked up to the professor, hit him full force in the face, and sent him flying from his platform. The professor struggled up, obviously shaken and yelled, "What's the matter with you? Why did you do that?"
The Marine replied, "God was busy; He sent me."
Semper Fi
John, Jane, and … HenryAnother online publication has done much to publicize the interesting connection between presidential candidate and US Senator John Kerry, and the infamous “Hanoi” Jane Fonda. (A great bumper sticker says, “I’m not Fonda Hanoi Jane.”)
I came upon some of that same source information about Kerry while researching the military background of General Wesley Clark.
It bugs me that Kerry has the gall to challenge George Bush’s record of service in the Air National Guard, while he was a co-organizer of anti-American (not merely anti-war; see photo) protests on American soil during time of war. That same source information notes that Kerry was in command of a patrol boat that operated in a “free fire zone”. By his own admission, Kerry and/or members of his crew killed a number of civilians (including at least one baby) and South Vietnamese (friendly) soldiers in a Mekong Delta operation. To my knowledge, there is no record of Lt. George W. Bush firing weapons from his F-102 fighter jet on any civilians or “friendlies”. Now, one of the members of Kerry’s gunboat crew (Del Sandusky) appears in his campaign TV ads, calling Kerry a “great American”.
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photo
credit: from web site of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry.
Kerry is quoted by the “Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry” Web site as having said, “It is one of those terrible things, and I'll never forget, ever, the sight of that child," about the dead baby. Oh, I see. Senator Kerry is bothered by the thought of one Vietnamese baby that is instantly killed by machinegun fire, but not by over 40 million American babies that are killed, in a torturous manner — not in the heat of battle, but for money — by abortionists. Can somebody help me figure that out?
But, my confusion about Kerry continues. You see, the stories about Jane Fonda’s activities in North Vietnam were numerous and well-known in the early 1970s. As an adolescent at that time, even I knew some of them. (When other boys were reading comic books, I was watching the news. That’s why I have a big-picture historical perspective on things.) Jane Fonda was openly and actively involved with the Communists, against our country, and so was John Kerry. Because the stories about Fonda were so well-known, there is no way that Kerry got involved with her unknowingly. Now, I want to tell you one little-known story about Hanoi Jane.
When I was in the Air Force, I knew an officer named Henry. He had been a fighter pilot in Vietnam. He was shot down, and spent more than six years in Hoa Lo Prison (commonly nicknamed “The Hanoi Hilton”). When a movie was made about life in “The Hanoi Hilton”, the main characters had a running conversation with another prisoner, who was never seen in the movie. That prisoner, as I understand it, was Henry in real life. Regardless of my recollections of who played whom in the movie, Henry was a real officer, a real gentleman, and a real hero. (And, his real name was Henry. I’m withholding his last name, out of respect for his age and privacy.)
While Henry was a POW, he was subjected to many of the rigors — both mental and physical — that have come to typify our memories of the Vietnam War. In a presentation about his experience, he said softly, “Most people don’t think that you can touch your elbows together behind your back. With help, you can. But, you don’t want to.” He said that in 1983, and I’ve never forgotten it. Nor should you. (In 1985, I was “helped” by a parachute malfunction to watch the calf of my leg fly over my outstretched forearm. It was an amazing sight; but, trust me, you don’t want to see it for yourself.)
One of the mental rigors was that of being forced to praise their captors over the loudspeaker system. Henry and other prisoners had found an interesting way to “get over” on their captors in this process. To boost their fellow captive’s morale, daily announcements took advantage of the fact that North Vietnamese prison officers listened to English with accented ears. Thus, for awhile, Henry and his buddies got away with announcements about “Horse S*** Minh” (instead of Ho Chi Minh), and similar deviations from proper enunciation. Then, one day, they got caught. Henry and his friends were beaten, tortured, deprived of sleep, and put into solitary confinement. He was in a cell — made of damp concrete, not quite long enough for his body, and with no toilet — for more than two years alone.
Then, one day, in an excited voice, a camp officer came and told Henry that a visiting American dignitary would be coming to see him. To the best of his hampered ability, Henry cleaned himself up, and stood at attention near the door of his cell. He heard the footsteps of a delegation coming down the hall. He tried to look like the proud fighter pilot that he still was deep inside. The door swung open, and…
Jane Fonda walked in, gave him a disgusted look, spit in his face, and left.
Henry did not see another American face for over two more years. Now, there is a story with many similar elements floating around on the Internet. That other story has been debunked. Not only did I hear this story directly from Henry himself; but, years later, I had the privilege of speaking with one of his fellow prisoners, who confirmed the story. That other prisoner was named in the movie. Unfortunately, because of the hype about the debunked story, it seems that Henry’s story has fallen through the cracks. Shame on us. There should be a building named after him somewhere. (And, I know which building it should be.)
Shortly
before the “downsizing” of my own military career, and years after
that presentation, I had the privilege of speaking briefly with Henry
on the phone. By that time, he had retired from the Air Force, and
had found a nice Federal job. (But, after Bill Clinton became president,
Henry’s job was eliminated in a “pogrom” of known conservatives.
You see, in the mid-1980s, Henry was only two handshakes away from
President Reagan — and “certain people” knew that.)
OK, so the same guy that enabled people like Jane Fonda to start calling our soldiers “baby killers” now wants to enlist those Vietnam veterans to vote for him for president. My suggestion is that, if you want to really know about Vietnam veterans and their views of Senator John Kerry, you should ask people like Henry.
More about ClarkTo my knowledge, no other publication has keyed on the information that I’m about to comment upon here.
In the public examinations of Wesley Clark’s military record, there seems to be a gaping hole. Most accounts leap directly from Vietnam (1970) to Kosovo (1997), with barely a word in between. Well, just what did he do in between?
One of his assignments was that of a White House Fellow. This is a prestigious assignment for any military member. It is one of those jobs reserved for “the best and the brightest”, and Clark was clearly qualified for selection. But, what did he do there?
Clark had two interesting little assignments in his post-Vietnam career. One was: Staff Officer, Plans Group, Office, Special Assistant for the Modern Volunteer Army, Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. The other was: White House Fellow, Office of the Director of Management and Budget, Old Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C. In between, he had a major assignment as: Instructor, later Assistant Professor of Social Science, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York.
Let’s boil this down. For only two months, he worked at the highest level of the Army, working on the Volunteer Army concept. But, this was at the height of the war, while the draft was still in force. And, his publicly-released evaluation report for that period shows only the front side of the form, while most similar reports show both sides. What did Clark do in Washington for those two months? And, how did it relate to the post-Vietnam “draw down” (the term of the 1970s for “downsizing”) of our military?
When Clark returned to West Point after that brief tour at the Volunteer Army office, he briefly taught economics. Was there any connection between the “draw down” concept and teaching economics to our next batch of military leaders?
Then, Clark was suddenly reassigned to teach political philosophy. Even by the report of his superiors at that time, such an assignment was quite rare for a man in the position that Clark was in at that time. But, my question is WHY any military leader in their right mind would allow a Rhodes scholar (with an essential dedication to world Socialism) to teach — of all subjects — political philosophy to the next batch of military leaders, especially during a time of war!! Is there any wonder why our military leaders in the late 1970s went along with the Carter Administration’s severe cutbacks in our military? That’s apparently what they had been taught to do! Another evaluation report specifically states that Clark had been responsible for the design of the course. How could anyone let a follower of Cecil Rhodes design a course for American leaders?!
Clark was clearly “groomed” from an early point in his military career, and his Rhodes background seems to have been the key. He went from an instructor at West Point to a student at the Army Command and General Staff College. Attendance there is a virtual assurance of higher assignments. He went directly from CGSC to the White House Fellows program. There, he worked on high-level tasks at the Office of Management and Budget. And, what did the OMB work on during the latter part of the Ford Administration? Well, it was the beginning of the post-Vietnam “draw down”, which gained even greater momentum during the Carter Administration. And, the drawing down of the American military was a goal of leading globalists (led in large part by Rhodes scholars) since at least 1961.
Kerry and Clark: two American veterans with their sights on a target — our American military! WAKE UP, veterans!! Man your battle stations! Load up your circle of acquaintances with informed voters.
I need to shut down this post temporarily, before my barrel overheats … along with my temper. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr….
