/dev/null Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 several coworkers and i were discussing last weeks debate. and i found out that one of them is an actual swiftboat vet. i knew he was enlisted during 'nam, but i didn't know what he did exactly (tho i did hear him mention several times how he lost a chunk of his intenstines to an ak-47) i can say without a doubt the man is not part of any grand political conspiracy, just want to get that out of the way don't wanna speak for the man, but from what i gathered... he is no fan of kerry. according to this swiftboat vet, it's kinda odd that it was skippered by a lieutenant as most he was involved with were skippered by chiefs. he also doesn't buy into kerry being a war hero. thinks kerry getting wounded so many times in so short a period means he's either: a. self inflicted b. trying to get wounded c. really bad at war Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goober Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 several coworkers and i were discussing last weeks debate. and i found out that one of them is an actual swiftboat vet. i knew he was enlisted during 'nam, but i didn't know what he did exactly (tho i did hear him mention several times how he lost a chunk of his intenstines to an ak-47) i can say without a doubt the man is not part of any grand political conspiracy, just want to get that out of the way don't wanna speak for the man, but from what i gathered... he is no fan of kerry. according to this swiftboat vet, it's kinda odd that it was skippered by a lieutenant as most he was involved with were skippered by chiefs. he also doesn't buy into kerry being a war hero. thinks kerry getting wounded so many times in so short a period means he's either: a. self inflicted b. trying to get wounded c. really bad at war 56932[/snapback] a, b, or c - any way his war record pales next to the great dubya's ... go dubya true american hero! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Aren't vets a cranky bunch? My wound is bigger than yours. Your war was not a "real war". Yada yada yada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Funny, my father is a vetran, as is my brother. Neither is a huge Kerry fan. However, both find it extremely offensive that other vetrans would dare to question the validity of someones metals. My dad sees it as not just disrespect for Kerry, but for all men in the service. I for one am sick of hearing about swiftboat vets, who didn't serve with Kerry, say he is a liar. Do you think it could be that your friend, and many of the others, are motivated by the fact that Kerry very vocally questioned what was going on it Viet Nam? Why is it that the only vetrans opinions that seem to matter, are those that oppose Kerry? You can criticize the man for a lot of things, but I too think this kind of crap is very tasteless.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Funny, my father is a vetran, as is my brother. Neither is a huge Kerry fan. However, both find it extremely offensive that other vetrans would dare to question the validity of someones metals. My dad sees it as not just disrespect for Kerry, but for all men in the service. I for one am sick of hearing about swiftboat vets, who didn't serve with Kerry, say he is a liar. Do you think it could be that your friend, and many of the others, are motivated by the fact that Kerry very vocally questioned what was going on it Viet Nam? Why is it that the only vetrans opinions that seem to matter, are those that oppose Kerry? You can criticize the man for a lot of things, but I too think this kind of crap is very tasteless.... 57012[/snapback] My father is also a vet. What you posted he would totally agree with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tux of Borg Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Funny, my father is a vetran, as is my brother. Neither is a huge Kerry fan. However, both find it extremely offensive that other vetrans would dare to question the validity of someones metals. My dad sees it as not just disrespect for Kerry, but for all men in the service. I for one am sick of hearing about swiftboat vets, who didn't serve with Kerry, say he is a liar. Do you think it could be that your friend, and many of the others, are motivated by the fact that Kerry very vocally questioned what was going on it Viet Nam? Why is it that the only vetrans opinions that seem to matter, are those that oppose Kerry? You can criticize the man for a lot of things, but I too think this kind of crap is very tasteless.... 57012[/snapback] I agree... when the country called on him to serve, he was there. I personally don't care for the man's politics but will praise him for that. Did Kerry deserve the medals he received? Who knows, but is it really our place to question it. I find it curious why the swift boat veterans have an ax to grind with Kerry. Usually guys you serve with on a deployment become closer then family. As in most cases... the truth lye's somewhere in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Funny, my father is a vetran, as is my brother. Neither is a huge Kerry fan. However, both find it extremely offensive that other vetrans would dare to question the validity of someones metals. My dad sees it as not just disrespect for Kerry, but for all men in the service. I for one am sick of hearing about swiftboat vets, who didn't serve with Kerry, say he is a liar. Do you think it could be that your friend, and many of the others, are motivated by the fact that Kerry very vocally questioned what was going on it Viet Nam? Why is it that the only vetrans opinions that seem to matter, are those that oppose Kerry? You can criticize the man for a lot of things, but I too think this kind of crap is very tasteless.... 57012[/snapback] Your father is more like most vietnam vets. Many of my closest friends are combat nam vets, and I do volunteer work at the VA across the street, as well as being a nam vet myself. For the most part we have no use for the weasel "swiftboat vets" for the same reason as your father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Funny, my father is a vetran, as is my brother. Neither is a huge Kerry fan. However, both find it extremely offensive that other vetrans would dare to question the validity of someones metals. My dad sees it as not just disrespect for Kerry, but for all men in the service. I for one am sick of hearing about swiftboat vets, who didn't serve with Kerry, say he is a liar. Do you think it could be that your friend, and many of the others, are motivated by the fact that Kerry very vocally questioned what was going on it Viet Nam? Why is it that the only vetrans opinions that seem to matter, are those that oppose Kerry? You can criticize the man for a lot of things, but I too think this kind of crap is very tasteless.... 57012[/snapback] You know I served for a long time and I never got a single "metal". No wonder they B word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 You know I served for a long time and I never got a single "metal". No wonder they B word. 57240[/snapback] I don't think they give medals for serving a long time. They do give pensions for that kind of thing though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 I don't think they give medals for serving a long time. They do give pensions for that kind of thing though! 57288[/snapback] Tenny, look at the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCow Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 thinks kerry getting wounded so many times in so short a period means he's either:a. self inflicted b. trying to get wounded c. really bad at war Yeah, you think THAT's bad, look at Bob Dole. I'm what a bad soldier, he's a few weeks in Italy and he gets himself blown to pieces. I mean, the guy was just trying to get wounded or wasn't good enough soldier to dodge an artillery attack. Loser. Oh, don't even get me started on George the First, man, the guy got his plane all full of holes the had the temerity to jump out of it. He couldn't even protect the all the other pilots. That goes, too, for those 58,000 guys on the wall and 300K+ wounded who really sucked in Vietnam. Looks like 58K just didn't know "how to get wounded." Yeah, Kerry played it right. Volunteering to go to Vietnam, volunteering for dangerous swift boat duty, then cleverly finding a few ways to get wounded but not maimed. Or perhaps he just didn't know how to correctly play war -- didn't know how get a proper wound or avoid all them bullets and shrapnel altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Sounds like the coworker has medal envey. He only got one medal for getting wounded while Kerry got 3. I respect each and every person who has gone to war for this country - doesn't matter if they are republican, democrat, got wounded or not, fought at the front line or worked in the mess hall. You would think that every veteran would have at least the same level of repect for other vets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 You would think that every veteran would have at least the same level of repect for other vets. 57455[/snapback] Rarely, from what I've read. In fact, I'd expect veterans to be the more disrespectful to other veterans who they consider "bad soldiers" or bad leaders. Especially bad leaders...poor combat leadership gets people killed. Even the "Greatest Generation"...there are many recorded instances of bad officers in the South Pacific getting shot in combat...from the wrong direction. Good soldiers know the difference between good and bad leadership, and have little tolerance for that sort of thing...even years after the fact, as veterans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Rarely, from what I've read. In fact, I'd expect veterans to be the more disrespectful to other veterans who they consider "bad soldiers" or bad leaders. Especially bad leaders...poor combat leadership gets people killed. Even the "Greatest Generation"...there are many recorded instances of bad officers in the South Pacific getting shot in combat...from the wrong direction. Good soldiers know the difference between good and bad leadership, and have little tolerance for that sort of thing...even years after the fact, as veterans. 57638[/snapback] How would you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Wars are stupid and men are stupid for starting them. And this injury thing is just another version of "mine's bigger than yours" which is another stupid thing about men. As Joan Rivers says "grow up!". Those Swiftboat Liars for Bush exist ONLY for two reasons: Kerry made an ass of O'Neill or whatever his name is back in the 1970's and there's a rich Texan who benefits from Bush's business-friendly policies and has nothing better to do with his money than fund someone with a personal vendetta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 How would you know? 57646[/snapback] What part of "from what I've read" did you not understand? I included that specifically so people could judge the source of my statement and consider it accordingly. I've read plenty of anecdotes to support it...but they're only anecdotes. You served. If you can rationally dispute my claim...great, go for it. Chance for me to learn something new... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 What part of "from what I've read" did you not understand? I included that specifically so people could judge the source of my statement and consider it accordingly. I've read plenty of anecdotes to support it...but they're only anecdotes. You served. If you can rationally dispute my claim...great, go for it. Chance for me to learn something new... 57667[/snapback] Well let me put it this way. I have had a statement in my fitrep that said "Doesn't suffer fools even his seniors". What's that tell you. Also, when I turned down my commision to WO and got out instead, I had a very good friend tell me "Probably a good idea, as an officer the colonels in the fleet would have thumped you when you give them the attitude that you do now." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Rarely, from what I've read. In fact, I'd expect veterans to be the more disrespectful to other veterans who they consider "bad soldiers" or bad leaders. Especially bad leaders...poor combat leadership gets people killed. Even the "Greatest Generation"...there are many recorded instances of bad officers in the South Pacific getting shot in combat...from the wrong direction. Good soldiers know the difference between good and bad leadership, and have little tolerance for that sort of thing...even years after the fact, as veterans. 57638[/snapback] Does your first hand knowledge of this "disrespect" extend from soldiers of one conflict to others soldiers from different conflicts. I guess they would say some wars were just more "real" than others? I guess Vietnam wasn't a real war since it wasn't the "Big one." It all boils down to cranky vets with envy trying to "one up" each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Does your first hand knowledge of this "disrespect" extend from soldiers of one conflict to others soldiers from different conflicts. I guess they would say some wars were just more "real" than others? I guess Vietnam wasn't a real war since it wasn't the "Big one." It all boils down to cranky vets with envy trying to "one up" each other. 57687[/snapback] Tell you what? Go ask someone who as a military person was part of the Vietnam memorial dedication ceremony. Some of vietnam vets were complete !@#$s who were throwing things at us and saying things like we didn't deserve to represent the military since we never served in a war. Yeah all the people who died in Beirut, Grenada, etc... Yup their blood doesn't count right. I respect a lot of the Vietnam vets but there were more than fair share of bad ones also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 I respect a lot of the Vietnam vets but there were more than fair share of bad ones also. 57693[/snapback] No way. I saw Rambo. All Vietnam vets were just wronged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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