A thought from a veteran: Service or Self-service?

[Drbio]

I had to take a late lunch today and went alone to eat. While in line, I struck up a conversation with an older man who ended up having lunch with me. It was a very interesting conversation which started out on the Rangers, shifted to the Cowboys (He hates Q-caine too so I was hooked) and then turned to politics. The man served in Vietnam and was a 26 year veteran of the US Army, now employed in a sales field.

As we talked politics, I listened intently to this gentleman who had many very thoughtful opinions and seemed to me to be fairly middle of the road politically. When the conversation turned to Kerry and his claims of being in Cambodia, my new friend's face quickly turned to a grimace. He and I talked about all the inaccuracies of Kerry's claims and that conversation was going well, but I continued to notice his grimace. I asked him what he thought about Kerry. After asking me if I were a dimocrap and being assured that I was not subject to any such affliction, he told me that Kerry was unfit for command in his opinion.

He spoke of many of the concerns that dude, LRB and others here talk about (as well as the national blogs). At one point he asked me how a soldier could fight for a commander-in-chief who sold out on the men that he fought wiht by throwing his medals away and protesting against his fellow soldier when he returned home. He regurgitated some canned points that would have made Rush Limbaugh proud. But then he hit me with a point that has had me thinking all day since. This man questioned how a man could serve for less than four months and be awarded three purple hearts, a bronze star and other accolades. He spoke of men that he served with for years who did heroic things and were never recognized. He spoke of those men fondly and by name and city of origin. At one point I thought a tear swelled in his eye.

This U.S. veteran, himself a purple heart winner himself (for the obvious long healed wound in his neck), questioned how Kerry could "earn" those kinds of medals when men he fought with who lost arms, legs, eyes, even their lives, failed to collect even a letter of appreciation. It made me think. The question is not whether Kerry lied about his service in Vietnam...we know he has done that. It is well established. The new question should be:

Did Kerry or some supporter set Kerry up for success and medals for future accolades?

It is an interesting thought. This man asked me if I thought a man who would reenact war events on tape was there for service or for self service (great quote huh?). He stated that the only cameras he ever saw were those held by military reporters. Not video cameras, but regular cameras. He stated that he couldn't even remember seeing a video camera back then and questioned if many were ever even brought into Vietnam and other areas. Was Kerry set up to be a medal winning hero? It sounds like a possibility.

This veteran for the record, voted for Bush senior, Clintoon (the first time - didn't state the second time) and dubya the last election. He will vote for dubya this time around too for his (dubya) "commitment to taking care of this country".

Before leaving, I thanked this man for his service to his country, thanked him for a wonderfully enjoyable conversation, swapped cards and then excused myself from the table. Before leaving the restaraunt, I paid for his lunch and hoped he would enjoy the surprise when he went to pay. Small pieces of goodness like a free lunch are a small price to pay for the opportunity to spend time with a man who truly served his country for honor and duty. I know that our children are safer today because of men like this.....true heros who unfortunately will likely never recieve more than an occassional free lunch from an appreciative American.