In response to the Aug. 18 Herald article by Los Angeles Times reporters Maria La Ganga and Stephen Braun entitled, “Ad challenging Kerry’s war record raises furor”:
I am a Navy veteran of the Vietnam conflict and served in Vietnam for six campaigns over several years, including service in the “brown water navy” and the Run Sat zone.
What disappoints me about John Kerry is his attack on our troops after his return from Vietnam implying that we routinely committed atrocities.
My fellow sailors and I searched thousands of sampans, jinks, boats, sailboats and small merchant ships. At no time did we open fire on unarmed civilians like the scene in “Apocalypse Now,” or anything remotely similar. Indeed, I never even heard a rumor of that happening.
As for his silver star, it was much harder for enlisted to get awards for heroism. More than once I heard a commanding officer say, “I am accepting this medal on behalf of all of you; you deserve it!” regarding a Silver Star. We enlisteds would get nothing or, at best, a commendation medal.
Show me an officer from Vietnam with a silver star and I’ll show you someone who probably does his paperwork well; show me an enlisted man with one, and I’ll show you a real hero.
And as for the Purple Heart, what is the big deal? You win wars by whacking the enemy and not by getting whacked. Quite frankly, I give greater credence to those who have a Navy Achievement Medal or higher with the “Combat V.” Believe it or not, the Purple Heart used to rank below those medals until God knows who moved it up in status in the awards precedence, sometime around 1968, so that it now ranks above some awards given for good performance under fire. One more little straw in the creation of a nation of victims.
DAVID P. MEYERING
Arlington
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