Terry Tate Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R - San Diego) has stated he will not seek another term, saying he's probably not the strongest candidate anymore. He is under investigation for receiving kickbacks from a government contractor. I don't know if it's true, but from what I've read so far it doesn't look good. Duke is a USN Vietnam war ace and MOH recipient. I was privileged to have the opportunity to watch his debriefings about his kills, as well as the debriefings of USAF's Ace, Steve Ritchie. I came away impressed with both mens' skills, but Steve Ritchie struck me as a lot more humble than Duke, who appeared fairly arrogant (which I would point out was not unfounded bravado. If you know any fighter pilots, an amount of arrogance is a common trait - possibly necessarily so). I don't know, maybe I was just prejudiced in favor of USAF pilots. You remember "Top Gun" - the instructors flying Soviet tactics training our pilots? That was also Duke's job. He's contributed quite a lot to our country, and is one of my heroes for all his accomplishments. It would be a shame if his record is tarnished by a kickback scheme at the end of his career. One of my favorite T-shirts way back then - "F-4 Phantom - the world's largest distributor of MIG parts". Anyone know if that is still true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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