Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66
Kerry's Salute
It should come as no surprise that the liberal media has ignored the
Kerry incident at the Vietnam Memorial, where the presidential hopeful's
immature and disrespectful behavior demonstrates once again that he is
unfit to be the commander in chief of a nation at war. To be sure, there
are numerous puff pieces by liberal reporters oohing and aahing about
the Wall being a "touchstone" for Kerry. A less charitable assessment might
be that it served more as a soapbox.
This Memorial Day grandstanding from the man who rebuked the very
concept of war memorials:
"We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small
flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the greater glory
of the United States. We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily
join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars-in fact, we
will find it hard to join anything at all and when we do we will demand
relevancy such as other organizations have recently been unable to
provide. We will not take solace from the creation of monuments or the
naming of parks after a select few of the thousands of dead Americans
and Vietnamese. We will not uphold traditions, which decorously memorialize
that which was base and grim."
John F. Kerry "The New Soldier"
In truth, I trembled with anger when I read the above quote this
morning. We can safely assume from his own words that John Kerry was seeking
something other than solace at the Wall; perhaps another photo
opportunity to remind voters that he served in Vietnam? What crass hypocrisy for the
man who did more to tarnish the reputations of those names on that wall
than any other to now callously use it as a mere backdrop for his pious
pronouncements.
Most of us were able to return and, by words and deeds, refute the
criminal claims Kerry and Fonda and their pseudo-soldiers heaped upon
us. But those, those whose names are etched in that long black stone, those
brave warriors who gave all, they had no way to defend their honor. John
Kerry's very presence at that memorial constitutes a desecration, an
affront he further compounded with his adolescent behavior when he gave
the finger to Ted Sampley, one of the leaders of Vietnam Veterans
Against John Kerry.
Certainly, Kerry has reason to dislike Sampley; but Sampley merely
reacted to Kerry's presence at the Wall as many veterans would: he told him he
didn't belong there. Kerry's juvenile response was to give Sampley the
finger. For one Vietnam Vet to be giving another the finger on such
hallowed ground is disturbing. For the offending veteran to be one who
aspires to be Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces is disgraceful
beyond belief.
Hear me Brothers: that middle finger conveyed far more meaning than a
flash of anger at Ted Sampley. That finger is John Kerry's salute to all
of us who served in Vietnam. Combine his words from his book and his
behavior at our most sacred site and it speaks volumes as to what this
charlatan really thinks of us and our memorial. It also speaks volumes
as to his lack of maturity, his poor judgment and, ultimately, his
unfitness to lead.
Mr. Kerry, I return your salute, Sir: FJK!
Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66
