"Kerry Smeared A Hero-My Dad

[David]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WAR AND THE PRESIDENCY | GUEST COLUMN
Kerry smeared a hero: my dad

By CAROL CROWLEY
Published on: 09/20/04

Many of you believe dirty politics is the motivation of Vietnam veterans speaking out in opposition to John Kerry. Let me tell you the real motivation.

In the movie "We Were Soldiers," the story about the battle of the la Drang Valley in Vietnam in 1965, a young sergeant, Jack Gell, cried as he died, "Tell my wife I love her . . ." and my family relived the death of my dad. He told my mother in letters that he and those he served with believed they were doing the right thing, fighting to help a sovereign nation defend its freedom.

Before the movie was filmed, I heard my father's dying words from retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and journalist Joe Galloway, who were with him in the Valley of Death. I met Mel Gibson, who played Col. Moore in the movie, showing him family pictures and letters to help him learn the essence of these young men serving their country in a difficult time. Gibson said my father was a true hero.

I remember when the movie was released witnessing the healing of men and family members who clung to this story with a new pride after decades of being vilified. Finally, they talked about it. Finally, many were proud to be Vietnam veterans.

And then Kerry was nominated as a presidential candidate.

I don't blame Kerry for my father's death, and I don't much care if he shamelessly chased after medals. But I do care that when he returned from Vietnam he gave aid and comfort to the enemy while our soldiers were still dying. I care that he smeared my father and a generation of our armed forces with false charges of war crimes while posing himself as a hero. I care that Kerry's false charges encouraged our enemy who was pressuring our POWs in inhumane ways to confess to imaginary war crimes. I care that he went to Paris to meet with the Viet Cong in 1970 while still an officer in the Navy Reserve, returning to publicly advocate for their position and against America's position.

This isn't about politics. It's about honor and betrayal and protecting our country. And for me it is deeply personal, as it is for countless vets. Thirty-nine years later, my mother still cries on Nov 14. Thirty-nine years later, we miss my father every day. Thirty-nine years later, Kerry poses as a hero. As children of Vietnam veterans, many of us feel an unwelcome emotional strain as the arguments about what really happened in Vietnam are tugged back and forth, often by people who were not there. We deeply resent the suggestion that our fathers were war criminals as that theme inevitably seeps into the argument.

We are educated and grown. We have children of our own, some in the service. We know in our heart and soul the scars of war that will never go away. But we are not weak, and we will not be silent. I will stand with the Vietnam veterans who speak out, and the voice of my father will be heard through me.

As long as I have breath and Kerry seeks the office of president, I will speak out against him. Others like me are too many to count.

While we are dismissed as dirty politics, the truth is we would be doing the very same things if Kerry were a Republican. President Bush has never had anything to do with our opposition to Kerry, and if the president makes a personal appeal to us to stop, we cannot and will not do so, because there are some things that can never be forgiven, can never be forgotten. John Kerry is one of those things.

Carol Crowley lives in Charlotte, N.C.

[Osiris]

The melding of the political with the acts of those in war, cries out to be separated. For too long, the political policies of the Vietnam era, have been foisted onto the shoulders of those who served in that war. The words that flowed from the mouths of those who protested the policies of the war, were frequently pushed onto the backs of they who served, because they were there, they were available to the general public. The policies that sent them to Vietnam, to carry out their orders, to fight that war, were all laid upon their backs. The politicians were not so easily available, thus escaped from direct tarring and feathering. Kerry has admitted that the words he chose were not really his finest, and that they could have been more direct

But many seem to be leaving out that part where he was directing his remarks to the political leaders, to the military leaders in the Pentagon, who sat behind their comfy desks, issuing orders from half a world away, and then going home to their families. Kerry's detractors are more than willing to cite his words about some who fought, but were not exactly following orders about combatants. But they always seem to leave out his critiques of the policiy makers, why is that?

Maybe Kerry's words were harsh, but so is war, and so are they who committed the atrocities, and there were atrocities. That cannot be denied, although some do their best to cover that over through ommission and obfuscation.

And here, we have the continuing dilema. Accounting correctly for the atrocities by our military leaders, and accounting for all those who served with full honor. Still today, decades later, the fog is continues to shroud all who served. And that is including their families. Children of those who served, living or dead, should not have to be made to feel that the whole of the Vietnam War was an atrocitiy. That the real atrocitiy were the politics that drove the war machine. The atrocities that Kerry referenced in 1971, was not all inclusive of they who served in uniform, but were a number of incidents, large and small, that did happen, and were the result of a failure of leadership.

One only need to look back at the Vietnam War years, not in Vietnam, but here in the US, and see how divided the nation was during those years. And at how Veterans were treated upon their return, not just by fellow citizens, but by our own government, which is where I stand. Looking back at how the Veteran was treated by our own government. And here, I would include at the time, those claimed veteran organizations, that placed the Vietnam Veteran alongside the Korean War Veteran, as untouchable so to speak. Even today, we see frequently, the attention paid on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, upon the WWI and WWII Veterans, and a mention of those from Korean and Vietnam Wars.

From 1975 until 1985, Vietnam Vets were not really a part of the parades. That was ten years of being kept out. Now it seems to be 'chic' to be included, with the frequent statement, 'welcome home'. But I still feel the chill, the emptiness. And in exchanging words with the Vets of the Korean War, I find kindred spirits, and have to wonder why? Was it because we did not find final success? It is still a cold day in America.

[rachel]

Kerry has admitted that the words he chose were not really his finest, and that they could have been more direct

A tepid, vague admission that one could have said things differently is not an apology, it is a slap in the face to all those soldiers that Kerry portrayed as monsters.

If he was so strongly directing his words at the leaders "sitting behind their comfy desks" then he should have done so in clear English, making it clear who he was attacking. He is articulate enough to have said what he really meant without smearing the "brothers in arms" he left behind.

He is certainly articulate enough to offer those still alive a sincere, clear apology now.

But they always seem to leave out his critiques of the policiy makers, why is that?

Because what they're ticked off about is the smearing of our soldiers. Let the "policy makers" defend themselves if they care to.

Maybe Kerry's words were harsh, but so is war, and so are they who committed the atrocities, and there were atrocities.

Maybe? Maybe? Kerry portrayed the American Soldier as ravening, psychotic beasts, raping, torturing, and murdering innocent civilians on a daily basis and you're not even sure if his words were harsh?

So there were atrocities. There always are in war. At least Americans are honorable enough to be ashamed of them when they happen. But most of us realize that they represent the worst few in us, not the totality of who we are.

Kerry's words weren't just harsh, they were horrifically exaggerated condemnation of men he wasn't fit to lick the shoes of. He climbed up a political stairway built of the bodies and spirits of the soldiers he served with and now has the gall to claim the heroism for himself that he spat on in them.

[Osiris]

A tepid, vague admission that one could have said things differently is not an apology, it is a slap in the face to all those soldiers that Kerry portrayed as monsters.

Theatrics does you well doesn't it?

If he was so strongly directing his words at the leaders "sitting behind their comfy desks" then he should have done so in clear English, making it clear who he was attacking.

Didn't really read all of his remarks did you? That was in there!

Maybe? Maybe? Kerry portrayed the American Soldier as ravening, psychotic beasts, raping, torturing, and murdering innocent civilians on a daily basis and you're not even sure if his words were harsh?

It happened!

At least Americans are honorable enough to be ashamed of them when they happen.

Bull! Look at how long it took the My Lai incident to come out. And look at how long it took for the Tiger Company to become more publicly known, but yet it is still unresolved.

[rachel]

Theatrics does you well doesn't it?

It is not theatrics to call a spade a spade. The fact is, Kerry has never apologized for the hurt he caused countless thousands of soldiers in his quest for political prominence.

Didn't really read all of his remarks did you? That was in there!

Yes Os, as a matter of fact I have read the entire testimony. And while he indicted all levels of command, the specific atrocities he cited were ones supposedly being committed by American soldiers on a daily basis.

It happened!

Not the way, or to the vast extent that Kerry claimed. "On a daily basis" was his assertion. People in this country and around the world were led to believe by his accusations that American soldiers were raping, torturing, killing and razin on a daily basis, Os. That was you, the American soldier! Were you involved in your pet examples, My Lai and Tiger Co? Was anybody you knew? On a daily basis Os. It was a viscious, purposeful exaggeration by an unscrupulous, ambitious man who cared nothing for the "brothers in arms" he left behind.

At least Americans are honorable enough to be ashamed of them when they happen.

Bull! Look at how long it took the My Lai incident to come out. And look at how long it took for the Tiger Company to become more publicly known, but yet it is still unresolved.

Bull? We as a nation have been indulging in an orgy of self-flagellation about the actions of a comparatively few soldiers in Vietnam ever since I can remember. I for one am tired of it. War is bad. Bad things happen in war. Soldiers are human beings who don't always behave the way they should. When we catch them, we punish them, and when we find their victims we do what we can to help them. This nation has a long history of being gracious in victory and extending the hand of friendship and aid to old enemies almost the second hostilities cease. My Lai and Tiger Co. are aberrations, that you seem to want to elevate to the standard by which this country and it's citizens are measured. Horrible things to be sure. Horrible things that happened over 30 years ago. Get over it.

[Osiris]

The fact is,

Prove it!

Yes Os, as a matter of fact I have read the entire testimony. And while he indicted all levels of command, the specific atrocities he cited were ones supposedly being committed by American soldiers on a daily basis.

Ok, you read it, but you didn't get it did you? Kerry did point out the atrocities didn't he, but why did they happen? That was the real gist of his words, which you, and so many others seem so willing to gloss over.

Not the way, or to the vast extent that Kerry claimed. "On a daily basis" was his assertion.

Tiger Company roamed their area for almost eight months, doing in anyone they saw. "Free fire zones" were operated on a daily basis. But we may never actually know how many might have carried out atrocities, because no one wants to acknowlege them, understandably so. It does have to be said though, that the majority of soldiers did NOT carry out such atrocities.

We as a nation have been indulging in an orgy of self-flagellation about the actions of a comparatively few soldiers in Vietnam ever since I can remember. I for one am tired of it. War is bad. Bad things happen in war.

Glad that you are tired of it. But you can tell all of that to the victims of the nazis too. And no, I am not comparing the nazis to our military. Only the violations that happened. When atrocities happen, there should be, and I do not believe that there is, any statute of limitations on the time between their occurrence and when they are found out. A murder carried out in 1920, is as approachable as if it were today. War is bad, and we in America pride ourselves on justice and fairness. There is no justice nor fairness when atrocities are carried out. Are you saying though, that even if we learn of more, that we simply forget about it? To let everything be forgotten? The families of those victims may not agree with you all that much.

Get over it

NO!

[joe]

NO!

Careful, Rachel. The next step is a severe warning that you won't like his next opinion.

[rachel]

Prove it!

You are really going off the deep end, aren't you Os? Seriously, you want me to "prove" that Kerry didn't say something that he never said? Go Google on the subject...query any variation you can think of along the lines of "Kerry apologizes to vets" and see what you find.

Ok, you read it, but you didn't get it did you? Kerry did point out the atrocities didn't he, but why did they happen? That was the real gist of his words, which you, and so many others seem so willing to gloss over.

Kerry's testimony was quite straight forward and I understood his words well. He pointed of atrocities and made mention of them being condoned all the way up the ladder. But the supposed committers of said atrocities were still maligned with his insistance that they happened on a daily basis, regardless on his suggestion of encouragement from "above".

So he attacked the chain of command for their policies, he still maligned and slandered thousands of Americans who's only "crime" was offering their life up in service of their country to do so.

Tiger Company roamed their area for almost eight months, doing in anyone they saw. "Free fire zones" were operated on a daily basis. But we may never actually know how many might have carried out atrocities, because no one wants to acknowlege them, understandably so. It does have to be said though, that the majority of soldiers did NOT carry out such atrocities.

Whatever Tiger Co did or did not do, and whether or not "free fire zones" can be condemned in that particular situation, it DOES have to be said that the majority of soldiers did NOT carry out such atrocities. So why doesn't it burn your butt that Kerry basically accused the majority of soldiers for doing just that? Perhaps you read his testimony more carefully than I, so can you tell me where he made even token acknowledgement that the majority of American soldiers were honorable, good men who were serving their country as best they could under difficult conditions?

Glad that you are tired of it. But you can tell all of that to the victims of the nazis too.

I have tried very hard not to believe it, but you really are nothing but a knee-jerk America hating libbie ingrate, aren't you Os? Or are you just spending too much time around people of that level of idiocy? Playing the Nazi card? My Lai and Tiger Co are comparable to the systematic, government approved and implemented murder of millions of people? An attempt to protect a country from an oppressive, murderous regime (however poorly carried out) that unfortunately carries the taint of atrocities committed by a few soldiers/leaders is of the same level of evil as the planned, systematic attempt to annihilate an entire population of "undesirables"?

And no, I am not comparing the nazis to our military.

Excrement of male bovine, you just did. :angry:

There is no justice nor fairness when atrocities are carried out. Are you saying though, that even if we learn of more, that we simply forget about it? To let everything be forgotten? The families of those victims may not agree with you all that much.

Where did I say anything like that? Saying that one (or a nation) need not beat themselves up endlessly for the exceptions is not the same thing as saying they should be forgotten or excused.

Get over it

NO!

Then you will end up a bitter old man, unable to love yourself or the country that has succored you all your life. I didn't say forget, I didn't say excuse, I said "get over".

The United States of America is the fairest, most noble, most righteous country on earth. Do we fail in our aspirations? Yes. But we keep trying, keep offering help, keep spending our blood and tears for the causes of others. In all the wars, with all the accusations against us and the empty accolades afforded us, nobody can rightfully accuse us of going to war to directly profit from the defeat of our enemies. All the claptrap about "Imperialism" and "War for Oil", and "Colonialism" is just that, claptrap. When another nation in the world spends as many lives as we have spent liberating other nations and peoples, and goes it one better by doing it all with not one instance of a soldier snapping under the strain or succumbing to his basest qualities and committing an act condemned by all the rest, come back and argue with me again about how awful America is.

[Osiris]

So he attacked the chain of command for their policies, he still maligned and slandered thousands of Americans who's only "crime" was offering their life up in service of their country to do so.

Perhaps, through extension of his remarks, you might have a point. But still, his words reflected what was told. And perhaps the words may have been also overly broad, but there can be no denial, none, that atrocities were happening in Vietnam, and that the leaders did not always follow the rules of any legal source, the US, nor the Geneva Convention. There are many stories of heroism and such that happened, but if you also look in the library, you will find more stories as well, about the atrocities that occured, in various small ways. Following, are the words of Kerry from that 1971 deposition, and you will no doubt, make reference to the fact that there were phonies amongst some of those who did give testimony in that "Winter Soldier" investigation, but of the 150 who testified, how many were phonies and how many were not? What I know of now, is that only about 31 were found to have never been in combat, or even in any service at all. That would still leave 119 men who spoke about their experiences. Would you deny all of those too?

Kerry's testimony and question & answers 1971

Winter soldier Investigation
I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.

It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room, the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam, but they did. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do.

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.

Mr. Kerry: My feeling, Senator, on Lieutenant Calley is what he did quite obviously was a horrible, horrible, horrible thing and I have no bone to pick with the fact that he was prosecuted. But I think that in this question you have to separate guilt from responsibility, and I think clearly the responsibility for what has happened there lies elsewhere.

I think it lies with the men who designed free fire zones. I think it lies with the men who encourage body counts. I think it lies in large part with this country, which allows a young child before he reaches the age of 14 to see 12,500 deaths on television, which glorifies the John Wayne syndrome, which puts out fighting man comic books on the stands, which allows us in training to do calisthenics to four counts, on the fourth count of which we stand up and shout "kill" in unison, which has posters in barracks in this country with a crucified Vietnamese, blood on him, and underneath it says "kill the gook," and I think that clearly the responsibility for all of this is what has produced this horrible aberration.

Now, I think if you are going to try Lieutenant Calley then you must at the same time, if this country is going to demand respect for the law, you must at the same time try all those other people who have responsibility, and any aversion that we may have to the verdict as veterans is not to say that Calley should be freed, not to say that he is innocent, but to say that you can't just take him alone, and that would be my response to that.

So why doesn't it burn your butt that Kerry basically accused the majority of soldiers for doing just that?

Because it happened more often than you realize. And as I said, read the words written by many who did serve, and came home to tell their own stories. Some can be seen in their small pocket book sections in bookstores. But more can be seen on the shelves of the libraries. Not just the stories of My Lai, or of the Tiger Company, but many others on far smaller scale. It is true, that most were not so engaged, but many did, if only once, it happened.

I have tried very hard not to believe it, but you really are nothing but a knee-jerk America hating libbie ingrate, aren't you Os? Or are you just spending too much time around people of that level of idiocy? Playing the Nazi card? My Lai and Tiger Co are comparable to the systematic, government approved and implemented murder of millions of people?

Your insulting reaction is typical, and I pretty much knew that no matter how I would phrase it, you would deny it. Problem with you is, that you seem to have a complete inability to separate the soldier from the activity and it's historical implications. My Lai and the Tiger Company's actions in Viet Nam, were NOT government approved per se, but when the lights were turned on, the government did try to gloss over those events. And in fact today, nothing has been done in concern to the activities of the Tiger Company.

Excrement of male bovine, you just did.

Sexist insults do not bother me Rachel. It simply shows that you failed to grasp the deeper implications. That you still cannot rise above the situation and see what was true then.

Where did I say anything like that? Saying that one (or a nation) need not beat themselves up endlessly for the exceptions is not the same thing as saying they should be forgotten or excused.

Most particularly with your other quote, "Get over it"! If we in America really want to show our internal strength and justice, then we do not leave justice for others, and not our own.

Then you will end up a bitter old man, unable to love yourself or the country that has succored you all your life. I didn't say forget, I didn't say excuse, I said "get over".

It is also the country that ignore us when we came home, with exceptions for a few small places. I am not a "bitter old man", but I will not leave unfinshed, what I believe to be wrong, to be corrected. You say "get over it", and that doesn't mean forget, nor excuse, but to tell you the truth, it is a very slim line between them. What you ask for, is to allow history to fall into the dust bin. Much of the world carry's thier history around from day to day. But here in America, if it involves anything unpleasant, people tend to come up with ways to ignore it, to "get over it".

When another nation in the world spends as many lives as we have spent liberating other nations and peoples, and goes it one better by doing it all with not one instance of a soldier snapping under the strain or succumbing to his basest qualities and committing an act condemned by all the rest, come back and argue with me again about how awful America is.

There is no doubt, that we have gone to the defense of many, but in your chest beating pride, you cannot absolve the fact that we also have not always acted in such a way. You cannot know the good of our history in truth, if you seek to deny, or to hide away from the bad. Wave the flag Rachel, I will always salute it. But when you do wave it, just try to also remember that it represents humans working an idea, still unfolding. And that at times, the human fails to uphold the ideal. Thus, we as fellow humans try to rally around the one who slipped, and try to help them. We cannot do that through denial.

[Fox]

Kerry: But I think, having done what we have done to that country, we have an obligation to offer sanctuary to the perhaps 2,000, 3,000 people who might face, and obviously they would, we understand that, might face political assassination or something else. But my feeling is that those 3,000 who may have to leave that country-

Senator Aiken: I think your 3,000 estimate might be a little low because we had to help 800,000 find sanctuary from North Vietnam after the French lost at Dienbienphu.

Kerry lacks the judgement to be President and his attacks against our troops have been proven wrong. Millions of of people have had to pay the price for his poor judgement. We do not need a President who is so Anti-American that he actually believes people are better off with oppressive terrorists or communist dictators than with an American military presence. This man is Unfit for Command.

BTW Osiris, can you tell me who Kerry was quoting when he said that our troops "razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan"? I have searched his book and the archives I can find of the Wintersedition hearings in Detroit and I cannot find anyone who said that.

[jtdc]

Osi, you're starting to sound like Bile Unworthy. You seem to make inflammatory statements just to get a reaction.

I have heard it explained that a "hero" is not the person who faces danger fearlessly. A hero is the person who acts in spite of their fears to do something brave. My observation has been that genuine heroes seldom brag about their heroism.

Kerry is no hero. He is too fixated on telling people he is. President Bush does not boast of his accomplishments. Yet, when faced with the challenges of the world, he took a path that was less popular, knowing that it could cost him the Presidency. He didn't follow the polls to try to be all things to all people.

Originally Posted by Osiris

but there can be no denial, none, that atrocities were happening in Vietnam, and that the leaders did not always follow the rules of any legal source, the US, nor the Geneva Convention.

Although a cowardly act, the leaders up the chain of command may have known atrocities were taking place, but that doesn't mean they ordered them nor condoned them. I'm sure there were many conflicted opinions by military brass in prosecuting a war with ridicules restrictions on the military. Steam was bound to be blown off by the front line troops. But each troop is responsible for their own actions. Kerry smeared the many who did not cross that line.

I was courts-marshalled twice in my 4 years. I defied officers on a few occasions and even refused direct orders. Funny thing is I never studied the UCMJ to see if I had the right to refuse. However, that fact was brought out in my trial much as that right to disobey an illegal order was brought out in the Mi Lai Courts-martial of Calle and Medina. Humans know right from wrong. It is up to the individual to do the right thing.

You go on and on trying to defend what Kerry said. He did claim to have committed atrocities personally on the Dick Cavett show. Was he trying to face justice or try, as he does today, to show that he is one of us? He shot his mouth off, and now he is facing the music because he brought it back to the forefront. He has to promote himself as a hero because he perceives that it is not apparent to those around him.

For a guy who objects to something that happened 30 years ago being reopened, you sure diligently try to keep it alive. You have said you haven't got time to lookup some current things like Kerry's votes in the Senate. But you clearly are living in the Vietnam era, studying every sentence of Kerry's testimony. Why, if it is inconsequential?

Originally Posted by Osiris

Most particularly with your other quote, "Get over it"! If we in America really want to show our internal strength and justice, then we do not leave justice for others, and not our own.

Are you now calling for a torrent of war crimes trial for Vietnam Veterans? Let's start with Kerry's claimed war crimes!

You've been influenced by Kerry, obviously. "Let's not drag up the past."
"If we in America really want to show our internal strength and justice, then we do not leave justice for others, and not our own." Flip-flop Osi? :?

[Osiris]

Millions of of people have had to pay the price for his poor judgement.

And who would these millions be Fox?

We do not need a President who is so Anti-American that he actually believes people are better off with oppressive terrorists or communist dictators than with an American military presence.

I don't think that is quite what he said, unless you can show those exact words.

I have heard it explained that a "hero" is not the person who faces danger fearlessly. A hero is the person who acts in spite of their fears to do something brave. My observation has been that genuine heroes seldom brag about their heroism.

Pretty much that would sum it up. On the other hand, I have heard lots of Veterans who sit and tell their stories.

Although a cowardly act, the leaders up the chain of command may have known atrocities were taking place, but that doesn't mean they ordered them nor condoned them.

Not unless we are made known of the facts. My Lai and Tiger Company did not come to anyones knowledge, until someone decided to speak out about it. But the responsibility runs up the command chain jt. They may not have, or may have condoned such things, but the final resting place of the responsibility falls onto their desk.

I'm sure there were many conflicted opinions by military brass in prosecuting a war with ridicules restrictions on the military. Steam was bound to be blown off by the front line troops. But each troop is responsible for their own actions. Kerry smeared the many who did not cross that line.

And many more are smeared in the attacks upon Kerry. I notice that no one is saying anything about the Veterans who sereved directly with Kerry, and suppor t him and his version of events. If Kerry is lying, so are they, and so are the official records.

You go on and on trying to defend what Kerry said. He did claim to have committed atrocities personally on the Dick Cavett show.

I haven't listened to that yet, guess now I have to.

For a guy who objects to something that happened 30 years ago being reopened, you sure diligently try to keep it alive.

I suppose so, but then even though I object generally, and will not use it to render my own decision, I do enjoy the give and take.

You have said you haven't got time to lookup some current things like Kerry's votes in the Senate. But you clearly are living in the Vietnam era, studying every sentence of Kerry's testimony. Why, if it is inconsequential?

Time is short supply for me around here. But eventually I do try to get to the things that I think I need to as soon as I am able. On thematter of Kerry's 1971 words, they are readily available, and do not require a whole lot of time to skim through.

Like many of us who went there, Vietnam War happens to be an important part of our lives. It was how we, some of us, came of age, fast. I don't live every day, more like just when it is a part of the discussion. And as I said, it is an interesting discussion. I do have my own ways, but sometimes someone clicks on something I had not thought of, and that makes me do a 'rethink' on a matter. Also as I said a long time back, or so it seems now, that one cannot learn a whole lot by hanging with people who believe the same as you do. I learn much more by interacting with people who come from a different line of thought.

I can say that there is not one person here, who I would not mind sitting down to dinner with, or just talking over a cup of coffee.