Text 3436, 358 rader
Skriven 2007-01-26 11:50:00 av TIM RICHARDSON
Ärende: let's party
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On 01-25-07, BOB KLAHN said to TIM RICHARDSON:


BK>...


RC>>Your bestest of bestest Presidential candidate of the 2004 campaign, the
RC>>esteemed Massachusetts Senator John Fitzgerald Kerry, served in that
RC>>conflict and if I am not mistaken he has at least one or more purple
RC>>hearts (until he through them away over some fence), and he is still
RC>>alive. Now of course you can provide proof that he is deceased, maybe by
a RC>>stroke or some such?


TR> And if memory serves....Murtha was trying to get a couple
TR> of Purple Hearts or something, once.


BK>Murtha did get a purple heart or two.


BK>I just looked it up. Apparently there are military records
BK>indicating he was wounded in action, twice, which qualifies him
BK>for the purple heart, twice.



I said I'd post a reply to this:



Murtha's War Hero Status Called Into Question


By Marc Morano and Randy Hall

CNSNews.com Staff

January 13, 2006


(CNSNews.com) - While Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha
has ascended to the national stage as one of the most vocal critics of
President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, he has also long
downplayed the controversy and bitterness surrounding the two Purple Hearts he
was awarded for military service in Vietnam.


Murtha is a retired marine and was the first Vietnam combat veteran
elected to Congress. Since 1967, there have been at least three
different accounts of the injuries that purportedly earned Murtha his Purple
Hearts.


Those accounts also appear to conflict with the limited military records
that are available, and Murtha has thus far refused to release his own
military records.


A Cybercast News Service investigation also reveals that one of Murtha's
former Democratic congressional colleagues and a fellow decorated
Vietnam veteran, Don Bailey of Pennsylvania, alleges that Murtha admitted
during an emotional conversation on the floor of the U.S. House in the early
1980s that he did not deserve his Purple Hearts.


"[Murtha] is putting himself forward as some combat veteran with serious
wounds and he's using that and it's dishonest and it's wrong," Bailey
told Cybercast News Service on Jan. 9. Murtha served in the Marines on active
duty and in the reserves from 1952 until his retirement as a colonel in
1990. He volunteered for service in Vietnam and was a First Marine
Regiment intelligence officer in 1966 and 1967.


Murtha and Bailey, once allies, were forced to run against each other in
a Democratic congressional primary in 1982 following redistricting. Murtha
won the election.


Murtha has, in the past, publicly dismissed any questions about whether
he deserved his two Purple Hearts, noting during his 1994 congressional
campaign that "I am proud of my service in Vietnam."


In his Friday, Jan. 13, response to the Cybercast News Service
investigation, Murtha again defended his military record.


"Questions about my record are clearly an attempt to distract attention
from the real issue, which is that our brave men and women in uniform
are dying and being injured every day in the middle of a civil war that can
be resolved only by the Iraqis themselves," Murtha wrote in an email
response.


"I volunteered for a year's duty in Vietnam. I was out in the field
almost every single day. We took heavy casualties in my regiment the year that
I was there. In my fitness reports, I was rated No. 1. My record is
clear," Murtha added.


However, another source, World War II Navy veteran Harry M. Fox,
previously indicated that Murtha in 1968 personally asked Fox's boss,
then-U.S. Rep. John Saylor (R-Pa.), for assistance in obtaining the
Purple Hearts, but was turned down because Saylor's office determined that
Murtha lacked sufficient evidence of wounds. Murtha later challenged Saylor
for his House seat in 1968 and lost. Fox said he personally viewed Murtha's
military records in 1968 as Saylor's aide.


When Saylor died in 1973, Fox attempted to succeed his boss in Congress,
but was narrowly defeated by Murtha in a 1974 special election.


"Pretending to be a big war hero and boasting about having medals is a
slap in the face to our veterans who were seriously wounded or killed in
action," Fox was quoted as telling the Uniontown Herald-Standard in the
newspaper's Nov. 1, 1996 edition. "He campaigned as a war hero and I've
never seen any documentation that he earned any of these honors," Fox
reportedly stated.


On Friday, Jan. 13, Murtha's congressional communications director
provided Cybercast News Service with a copy of a letter from the
commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, citing Murtha's request of Sept.
26, 1967, seeking Purple Hearts. Cybercast News Service did not authenticate
the letter.


"The records of this Headquarters show that you are entitled to the
Purple Heart and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Purple Heart for wounds
received in action against insurgent Communist Guerrilla forces on 22 March
and 7 May 1967 in the Republic of Vietnam," according to the letter signed by
an individual identified only as A. Gardoni. Gardoni's title is not listed
on the letter.


Cybercast News Service attempted to contact Fox for this article, but
learned that the health of the 81-year-old was too poor to allow him to
communicate. But in a 1996 newspaper article, Fox questioned whether
Murtha deserved his Purple Hearts, alleging that there was insufficient
evidence of injuries and that Murtha was never confined to a hospital.


"Of course Congressman Saylor wanted to help if he could, but there was
nothing in the service record to indicate the wounds were of any
severity and the documents specifically indicated that next of kin was not
notified in either instance," Fox told the Herald-Standard in 1996. "We were
amazed that Mr. Murtha was asking for Purple Hearts for superficial
lacerations," he added.


Murtha's accounts of his Vietnam War wounds may also conflict with the
available U.S. Marine medical records obtained by the media.


The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 12, 2002, reported that "Marine Corps
casualty records show that Murtha was injured in 'hostile' actions near
Danang, Vietnam, on March 22, 1967, and May 7, 1967.


"In the first incident, his right cheek was lacerated, and in the
second, he was lacerated above his left eye. Neither injury required
evacuation," the Post-Gazette reported.


But an Oct. 26, 1994, article in the Herald-Standard quoted Murtha as
describing two different injuries.


"I was wounded in the arm with shrapnel from a bullet that hit the motor
mount of a helicopter. In the other, my knee was banged up and my arm
was banged up when a helicopter was shot down from a very few feet," Murtha
told the Herald-Standard.


A June 1, 1967 report in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat quoted a letter
that the newspaper indicated was sent by Murtha to his wife that same
year. The letter apparently detailed yet another version of how Murtha
qualified for one of his Purple Hearts. According to the Johnstown
Tribune-Democrat, Murtha's injuries involved his being "struck in the
ankle" by a "shot that ricocheted off the helicopter."


Murtha, a 16-term congressman from southwestern Pennsylvania and the
senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, drew national
attention on Nov. 17, 2005, when he called for an immediate withdrawal
of American forces from Iraq.


The Vietnam veteran even took a swipe at President Bush and Vice
President Cheney, neither of whom have actual combat experience.


"I like guys who've never been there, who criticize us who've been
there," Murtha said. "I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and
never been there and sent people to war and then don't like to hear
suggestions that what may need to be done."


Murtha discussed his own combat experience as a marine intelligence
officer in his 2004 autobiography, "From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front
Lines of National Security."


"I had been awake more than twenty-four hours by the time we landed. A
few hours into the battle, an on-again-off-again event, I could no longer
keep my eyes open. I curled up next to a bunker and fell into a deep sleep
for about an hour. Even the noise of frequent gunfire didn't wake me up.
(One of my fellow officers told me the next morning that when he hadn't seen
me for an hour or so, he assumed I was dead,)" Murtha wrote of one of his
Vietnam combat experiences on page 14 of the 2004 paperback edition of
his book. Murtha's two Purple Hearts are referenced on the back of the book.


In addition to his Purple Hearts, Murtha received the Vietnamese Cross
for Gallantry and the Bronze Star with combat "V" for service in the 1st
Marine Division in Vietnam. Murtha also served in the Marines during the
Korean War but did not serve in Korea, according to his book.


'He's a phony and a liar' Bailey said during the time Murtha was being
investigated for his role in the Abscam FBI sting in 1980, Murtha made a
confession on the House floor.


... you admitted, back in our corner, that you didn't earn your purple
hearts (sic) (you indicated you had small scratch on your cheek that
wasn't even directly related to an APC [Armored Personnel Carrier] that
ran over a small antipersonnel mine that was behind you). The other
purple heart [sic] you even declined to explain," wrote Bailey in an open
letter dated May 5, 2002.


Bailey is also a decorated Vietnam combat veteran. He served in the U.S.
Army's 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and was awarded a Silver Star
and three Bronze Stars.


"At the time (of Murtha's alleged admission), you were feeling
particularly vulnerable because it wasn't too long after you had called
me crying and sobbing, thanking me for 'saving your life' before the ethics
committee (on Abscam-related charges). There was no doubt in my mind
that you were expressing to me that you did not believe you did anything
sufficient to earn the purple heart [sic] and that you didn't want to be
active in my efforts to laud Vietnam veterans that served with us,"
Bailey wrote in his May 2002 letter.


"You may deny that all you wish -- but you and I know that that
conversation took place," he added.


In the Jan. 9 interview with Cybercast News Service Bailey affirmed the
contents of his 2002 letter.


"The issue here is this idea or pretense that [Murtha] knows combat and
he's got two Purple Hearts. He's a phony and a liar," Bailey said.


Bailey also questioned why Murtha has thus far declined to release his
full military records in order to clear up the controversy.


"The Marine Corps ought to be able to produce all the orders, the
medical stuff, the citations and the orders granting [the Purple Hearts] and
everything else. Where is that stuff?" he asked.


According to a May 16, 2002, edition of the Washington, Pa.,
Observer-Reporter, Murtha "produced military paperwork indicating he was
entitled to the awards," and a Murtha spokesperson was quoted as saying
that "the media for years has investigated 'and found nothing.'"


But Murtha's paperwork did nothing to sway Bailey's opinion.


"You may fool a few reporters into believing that merely because you got
some perfunctory paperwork made out by a friend, that that means you
earned the purple hearts [sic]. But even if you were awarded the medals
later, there should be affidavits from witnesses. These things should be
easy to get," Bailey wrote in his letter while demanding an apology from
Murtha for questioning his credibility.


Murtha could end the controversy at any time, Bailey added, simply by
calling a press conference and producing the evidence of his wounds.


"Explain where you were and what you were doing when you got the purple
hearts.[sic] Explain who was with you and treated your wounds, but most
important, Jack, describe your wounds or the lack thereof, as you did
for me, years ago," Bailey wrote.


"Unless the Marine Corps gives out medals for unsubstantiated
noncombat-related telltale scratches, procured for use in political
campaign -- then show me the money, Jack," Bailey added.


Murtha: 'I'm proud of my service in Vietnam'


During the 1994 congressional campaign against GOP opponent Dr. William
Choby, Murtha's two Purple Hearts became a political issue.


"Explain your Purple Hearts. He (Murtha) used them to get elected,"
Choby charged in 1994.


In responding to the charges, Murtha claimed that he "didn't ask for the
Purple Hearts.


"I'm proud of my service in Vietnam. I don't know if he (Choby) served
in the service at all. I left my family and my business to serve in
Vietnam.


My family made great sacrifice for me to make that service in Vietnam,
so I'm very proud of that," he told the Uniontown Herald-Standard in the
newspaper's Oct. 26, 1994 edition.


"I am disappointed that a guy (Choby) would say something like that when
I volunteered in the reserves and I felt it was important that I go.


What's the point in all this? It's irritating," Murtha added.


Choby also challenged the validity of Murtha's Bronze Star with Combat
'V' during the 1996 congressional campaign.


"I find it very curious that Combat 'V' doesn't even exist in any of the
materials he had distributed," Choby was quoted as saying in the
Herald-Standard of Oct. 13, 1996. "His military record improves over the
years," he added.

The Murtha controversy is reminiscent of the flap surrounding the war
record of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. But while
critics like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacked Kerry in 2004
because of his anti-war activism of the 1970s, Murtha's three chief
accusers all made their allegations years and in some cases decades
before Murtha emerged last November as a prominent anti-war activist.


Choby told Cybercast News Service on Jan. 5 that Murtha's entire
political career is based on his war record. "Without that credibility of
those combat medals, he would have never been elected to office," Choby said.

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