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"It is very difficult to know people and I don't think one can ever really know any but one's own countrymen. For men and women are not only themselves; they are also the region in which they are born, the city apartment or the farm in which they learnt to walk, the games they played as children, the old wives' tales they overheard, the food they ate, the schools they attended, the sports they followed, the poets they read, and the God they believed in. It is all these things that have made them what they are, and these are the things that you can't come to know by hearsay, you can only know them if you have lived them."
~~ W. Somerset Maugham ~~

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Who is Bud Day and Why Should You Know or Care?

Yesterday, Mudville Gazette had a long post about Bud Day. Do you know who he is?

You have heard of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, right?

You are now hearing the word “swiftboating” as if it is a dirty political word and ploy. Obama is being “swiftboated.” Kerry was “swiftboated.” It is used by dems. and especially the media to connote some kind of false charge to besmirch an otherwise stellar reputation.

To understand what the Swift Boat Veterans and their supporters are/were all about, you have to understand how John Kerry’s actions after his return from Vietnam angered millions of veterans and besmirched their reputations. I’ve detailed on many occasions how our own military family was adversely affected after Kerry’s Congressional testimony in such a way that the negative feelings are still strong after all these years. You should remember that when Kerry was lying to Congress, Bud Day was being tortured as a POW. You should remember that Kerry caused those prisoners, including John McCain, to be treated much worse and that that testimony and the actions of many of his supporters, who are now friends of Obama (See: Obama’s Boys of Summer and this post, as examples], were actually prolonging the war and giving the Vietnames communists new resolve.

Bud Day is the most decorated living military man in the country. He served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, where he was also shot down and held prisoner for 6 horrible years. He started service as a 17 year old Marine and ended it as an Air Force Colonel. He received the Medal of Honor for his heroism. He is a man held in high respect and one whose word carries weight, as it should.

Read the entire post on Bud Day for more on his background and heroism.

[Emphasis added] Col Day wasn’t much interested in John Kerry’s Vieltnam career. His issue with the Democrat’s choice for President was related to Kerry’s post-war conduct. Day explained his position in 2004:

Letter from Col. George E. “Bud” Day regarding John Kerry

Dear Joe:

The major issue in the Swiftboat stories is, and always has been, what John Kerry did in 1971 after he returned from Vietnam. Kerry cast a long dark shadow over all Vietnam Veterans with his outright perjury before the Senate concerning atrocities in Vietnam. His stories to the Senate committee were absolute lies..fabrications..perjury..fantasies, with NO substance. That dark shadow has defamed the entire Vietnam War veteran population, and gave “Aid and Comfort” to our enemies..the Vietnamese Communists. Kerry’s stories were outright fabrications, and were intended for political gain with the radical left..McGovern, Teddy and Bobby Kennedy followers, Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, and the radical left who fantasized that George McGovern was going to be elected in 1972. Little wonder that returning soldiers from Vietnam were spit upon and castigated as “baby killers”.

A returned war hero said so. Kerry cut a dashing figure as a war hero, lots of medals, and returned home because of multiple war wounds..even a silver star. His Senate testimony confirmed what every hippie had been chanting on the streets.."Hey hey LBJ..How many kids did you kill today”????? He obviously was running for political office in 1971.

Until Lt. John O’ Neil, himself a Swifboat commander, spoke out before the 1972 elections against Kerry’s outright deceptions, there was no one from the Swiftboat scene that could contradict Kerry’s self serving lies.

I was a POW of the Vietnamese in Hanoi in 1971, and I am aware that the testimony of John Kerry, the actions of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden, and the radical left; all caused the commies to conclude that if they hung on, they would win North Vietnamese General Bui Tin commented that every day the Communist leadership listened to world news over the radio to follow the growth of the anti-war movement. Visits to Hanoi by Jane Fonda and Ramsey Clark gave them confidence to hold in the face of battlefield reverses. The guts of it was that propaganda from the anti-war group was part of their combat strategy.

While the Commies were hanging on, innumerable U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Force members were being killed in combat. Every battle wound to Americans after Kerry’s misdirected testimony is related to Kerry’s untruthfulness. John Kerry contributed to every one of these deaths with his lies about U.S. atrocities in Vietnam. He likewise defamed the U.S. with our allies and supporters. His conduct also extended the imprisonment of the Vietnam Prisoners of War, of which I was one. I am certain of at least one POW death after his testimony, which might have been prevented with an earlier release of the POWs.

My friend and room mate Senator John S. McCain denounced the Swiftboat video by John O’Neil. I have a different take on the Swiftboat tape and disagree with my good friend John.

John Kerry opened up his character as a war hero reporting for duty to the country with a hand salute...and his band of brothers..of which he was the chief hero. Most of his convention speech was about John Kerry..Vietnam hero, and his band of brothers. John Kerry’s character is not only fair game, it is the primary issue. He wants to use Bill Clinton’s “is”, as an answer to his lack of character.

The issue is trust. Can anyone trust John Kerry?? “Never lie, cheat or steal” is the West Point motto. When a witness perjures himself at trial, the judge notes that his testimony lacks credibility. Should we elect a known proven liar to lead us in wartime??

I draw a direct comparison of General Benedict Arnold of the Revolutionary War, to Lieutenant John Kerry. Both went off to war, fought, and then turned against their country. General Arnold crossed over to the British for money and position. John Kerry crossed over to the Vietnamese with his assistance to the anti-war movement, and his direct liaison with the Vietnamese diplomats in Paris. His reward. Political gain. Senator..United States. His record as a Senator for twenty years has been pitiful. Conjure up, if you will, one major bill that he has sponsored.

John Kerry for President? Ridiculous. Unthinkable. Unbelievable. Outrageous.

Col. Geo. “Bud” Day, Medal of Honor, Vietnam POW 1967- 1973, USMC- USA- USAF- Attorney 1949-2004

So you say, “well that war is over, those times are past.” No, they are not. Here is Bud Day in 2007:

[Emphasis added] Bud Day may have retired from the Air Force, but he has never ended his battle:

A Message from MOH Recipient Col. Bud Day
October 4, 2007
My Dear Fellow Americans:

For the last few weeks, the “Liberal’s War on America” has gone badly.

* MoveOn, the New York Times, and Senators who accused Gen. Petraeus of being a traitor and a liar have been exposed and repudiated;
* The media’s attempted flim-flam to portray Iran’s Terrorist Dictator as a “Statesman,” tripped on Columbia University’s red carpet;
* The brave combat Marines whom Congressman Murtha and the press eagerly charged with “cold-blooded murders” in Iraq are being found innocent, acquitted one by one.

The “War” is not going well … the “War On America,” that is.

Those who claim they “Support the Troops” are finally being unmasked, shown for being the cowards they are. But, it won’t be long before they regroup, begin their own “Surge” in this decades-long “War On America.” We won’t stand by quietly when they do; nor, should you.

My fellow POWs and I have long known the contempt the extreme Left has for our military. We felt the crush of rifle butts in our faces, beatings and unspeakable torture in the Hanoi Hilton Prison when we refused to kowtow to American traitors who traveled to these countries for propaganda “photo-ops” with our Communist jailors.

The so-called “anti-war movement,” lead by the likes of Lt. John Kerry and his mentor, Sen. Ted Kennedy, also said they “supported the troops”. What they didn’t say is whose “troops.”

We knew the answer then, we were witnesses and victims. It’s the same today. They “support” America’s enemies, any Communist Regime, Dictator or Terrorists that vow to kill and maim American soldiers and innocent civilians.

American soldiers in Vietnam were falsely accused of being a “barbarian horde,” “rapists,” “murderers,” “drug addicts” and “baby killers.”

Today, their sons, daughters and grandchildren serving in uniform stand accused of being “terrorists,” “Nazis,” “cold-blooded murderers,” people who wantonly conduct “air raids on villages” bombing and killing civilians.

Every one of those spurious accusations were spewed from the Halls of Congress, most often by the same men and women who voted to send America’s youth to war, only to denounce, vilify and abandon them later, when the opportunity for personal, political advantage presented itself.

When I and my fellow veterans — POWs, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Navy Swift Boat combat veterans alike — attempted to warn America about one of the most notorious turncoats from the Vietnam era, we were initially ignored by the mainstream media.

When the press and TV networks could no longer cover-up for John Kerry’s very public treasonous conduct, we were accused of being “serial liars,” shouted down by Leftist political campaign operatives disguised as “journalists.” All the while the networks kept the film evidence of Lt. Kerry’s betrayal under lock and key, where it remains hidden from the American public even today.

The recent treatment accorded Gen. Petraeus by the same radicals in Congress and the media was strikingly similar to our experiences in 2004. Before he uttered a single word, this highly decorated combat veteran, a man of great honor who has risked his life many times in the defense of our country, stood accused, disparaged and berated by a pack of power-hungry shirkers and slackers unworthy to polish his combat medals. Contribute

Veterans who attempted to expose Sen. Kerry in 2004 were treated no better. But, Kerry and his band of Leftist comrades had something special in store for me and my fellow POWs and their wives. We were sued repeatedly for three long years, forced to spend $1 million just to defend ourselves in several frivolous lawsuits.

What did we do to cause such a prolonged, vindictive assault? We told the truth no Mainstream Media news operation wanted the American public to know, then or now.

Dozens of my fellow POWs and their wives participated in a documentary, “Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal.” In that film we said Kerry and his anti-war followers were liars and frauds working on behalf of our brutal Communists captors. Their collaboration with the enemy prolonged our captivity and the Vietnam War itself by years. Their vicious lies accusing us and all U.S. servicemen of being “war criminals” put our lives and the lives of Americans still fighting on the battlefield in grave danger.

Worse of all, Kerry’s self-aggrandizing, false accusations against American soldiers who had born the brunt of the bleeding and dying in Vietnam, spawned the myths our young men and women in Iraq today are forced to defend against, even as they fight for their lives on the battlefield each and every day.

You can draw a straight line from the deceitful Leftist tactics used to bring America’s defeat and dishonor in Vietnam to Iraq today.

America’s military didn’t lose the Vietnam War. Congress declared defeat, voted to abandon South Vietnam nearly two years after our last combat troops left. That sell-out, not only of our South Vietnam ally, but the nearly 60,000 Americans who gave their lives on the battlefield, ignited a genocidal holocaust throughout Southeast Asia that can still only be measured in the millions, an estimated three to five million innocent civilians brutally murdered.

We cannot let that happen again. We will not let that happen. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with us to prevent that from happening. [Note: some of us (me) have sworn never ever to let it happen again and will fight to the day we die to prevent it.]

Three years ago, I and my fellow POWs and Vietnam combat veterans created a non-profit organization, ” The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation”. Our mission was simple, to set the record straight about the Vietnam War and those who served and fought there. Little did we know then we’d be slapped with multiple lawsuits for daring to uncover the layer upon layer of lies that constitute the false Vietnam History.

Nor, could we know then the Left’s plans to use the same Vietnam blueprint for defeat in Iraq. Little wonder Kerry and his followers wanted to sue us into silence! But, we prevailed. We successfully defended against each of those lawsuits, all have now been withdrawn. And, we will not remain silent any longer.

Our research into the Vietnam War, most especially, those individuals and organizations responsible for creating the completely false history of Vietnam, is voluminous, factual and compelling. We have amassed a virtual library of records, documents and eyewitness testimony that proves, conclusively, the popular history of Vietnam is pure bunk, propaganda.

Once we get the truth out to the American people, there will be winners. Those winners will be every man and woman who has served in our Armed Forces. To them and their families, this is a war we cannot lose.

The “War On America” is just heating up again. What we do now will dictate America’s future, whether it is one of victory over terrorism, or, decades more of defeat, humiliation in a lost, but noble cause.

God Bless You and America,

Col. Bud Day