My response to a Comment on this Veteran's Day

A comment came in, which I have chosen to put here, rather than let it remain 'hidden' in the archives, and perhaps not seen.

On 11/10/06, Nathan

Nathan has left a new comment on your post " Senator Kerry, I have less respect for you every t...":

WICatholic, I don't think that you honestly understand how incredibly out of context his remark was taken by any and all media. You can't honestly expect a Medal of Honor recipient to say anything negative about his country and those that serve (emphasis by WI Catholic) it not to mention the years of public service that he has given as a United States Senator! It is an absolute insult that you would state, as a side not, that Senator Kery (sic) "Even was in 'Nam for a while". There have been less than 3,500 medal of honor's awarded in the history of our country. It is one of the most coveted and revered medals ever and is only given to those who unconditionally deserve it. If anything you deserve an apology to Senator Kerry for questioning his devotion to our country.

My response?

Nathan,

I heard the justifications all over the place, and it does not sit at all well with me. I owe him no apology for what I have written. HE owes our generation of veteran's apologies. He has done great disservice to those men that served our country in Vietnam, especially those injured who stayed to complete their tour of duty and sometimes returned for second and third tours, as well as my generation who were drafted in 69 and 70 and sent there to serve at the tender age of 19-26. And yes, Nathan, he HAS on numerous occasions said "anything negative about his country and those that serve".

Remember his April 22, 1971 Ghengis Khan comments??

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads,
taped 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 countryside 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.

I have little respect for his time there, even less respect for his actions AFTER his tour of duty, and even less for his brand of Catholicism. My respect for his time as Senator, which was low to begin with based on the things he said and did back then, declines nearly every time he opens his mouth, as I said.

As for your statement -- "You can't honestly expect a Medal of Honor recipient " (bolded and colored font, underlining is done by this writer) :

The tales of this man's "bravery" get more outrageous all the time. Kerry is NOT a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient.

For you to even attempt to include him in the list of those recipients is, to me, an insult to those who truly ARE.

Kerry's awards were 3 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star , and a Silver Star .

Now, Nathan, please show me where you find that he has the Medal of Honor, AND the citation he received for it.

I can show you some REAL Vietnam Era heroes, but the one I really want you to read about ALSO deserved 3 Purple Hearts , for three separate injuries, each serious, the final one resulting in his death. Each successive injury was serious enough to take him out of action! And they were all on ONE DAY, Sept 4, 1967. He IS a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient.

Unlike Kerry's claim of 'two terms of service' over there, THIS hero DID serve an extended first tour, and then signed up for more. Additionally, while he COULD have hung back from the actual battles, he would not leave the men he called his Grunts, including on that final day.

I am speaking of Fr Vincent Capodanno, known as the "Grunt Padre", a Navy chaplain, a Maryknoll priest, KIA 9/4/67 on his second tour of duty while ministering to the men IN BATTLE.
THIS man is a hero, and he DOES have the Medal you attribute to Kerry, presented posthumously. His citation can be found here, and here, as well as at the two sites listed above. And MANY have written tributes to him, some taking years of healing in order to do so.


Among those INJURED, I include Dave Roever. THIS man waited 34 years for his Purple Heart!! He never disparaged his comrades, and has been working to HEAL others. He went back to Nam in 1993, not as one who tore down his fellow men in arms, but as one who had survived a HORRIBLE injury 8 months into his tour of duty, and was there to help others heal!!

Another man, though NOT Vietnam era is Audie Murphy. And he is only one example from the WWII era. Scroll down that page and see HIS list of medals. Another from WWII is Matt Urban. He had even more than Audie Murphy.

I also include my own father, who has NEVER gotten his Purple Heart, now deceased since 1987. Dad was injured in WWII in Europe.

And there are so many, many more!

I suggest that you, Nathan, read The Grunt Padre by Fr Daniel Mode, who is also a Navy Chaplain, active duty, last I heard, in Afghanistan. There you will read of a true hero, ordinary man who did the extraordinary.

Below is from this site :

Lieutenant Vincent R. Capodanno, Chaplain Corps, United States Naval Reserve

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Chaplain of the 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in connection with operations against enemy forces in Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam on 4 September 1967. In response to reports that the 2d Platoon of M Company was in danger of being overrun by a massed enemy assaulting force, Lieutenant Capodanno left the relative safety of the Company Command Post and ran through an open area raked with fire, directly to the beleaguered platoon. Disregarding the intense enemy small-arms, automatic-weapons, and mortar fire, he moved about the battlefield administering last rites to the dying and giving medical aid to the wounded. When an exploding mortar round inflicted painful multiple wounds to his arms and legs, and severed a portion of his right hand, he steadfastly refused all medical aid. Instead, he directed the corpsmen to help their wounded comrades and, with calm vigor, continued to move about the battlefield as he provided encouragement by voice and example to the valiant Marines. Upon encountering a wounded corpsman in the direct line of fire of an enemy machine gun positioned approximately fifteen yards away, Lieutenant Capodanno rushed forward in a daring attempt to aid and assist the mortally wounded corpsman. At that instant, only inches from his goal, he was struck down by a burst of machine gun fire. By his heroic conduct on the battlefield, and his inspiring example, Lieutenant Capodanno upheld the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.

And from here:

The following is an eye witness account of his final moments.

"We had a chaplain, a Maryknoll priest named Capodanno, who had been over here for 16 months. Usual tour of duty in Vietnam is 12 months but the good padre had it extended on condition that he would be allowed to continue with the "grunts" (term applied to marine infantry men) ... He appeared, in spite of his quiet unpretentious manner, to be a veritable thorn in the Division Chaplain's bald head. The D.C. wanted Fr. C. to live at Headquarters from where he could "spoke" out to all the battalions in the division - but Fr. C. would have none of that.

His mission was to the grunts, fighting in the front lines whom he felt really needed a chaplain. His audience was always a small group of 20-40 marines gathered together on a hill or behind some rocks, hearing confessions, saying Mass. It was almost as though he had decided to leave the "other 99" in a safe area and go after the one who had gotten in trouble.

Over here there is a written policy that if you get three Purple Hearts you go home within 48 hours.

On Labor Day our battalion ran into a world of trouble. When Fr. C. arrived on the scene it was 500 marines against 2,500 N. Vietnamese. We were constantly on the verge of being overrun and the marines on several occasions had to "advance in a retrograde movement". This left the dead and wounded outside the perimeter as they slowly withdrew.

Early in the day he was shot in the right hand - one corpsman patched him up and tried to evacuate him to the rear but Fr. C. declined, saying he had work to do.

A few hours later a mortar shell landed near him and left his right arm hanging in shreds. Once again he was patched up and again he refused evacuation.

There he was, moving slowly from wounded to dead to wounded, using his left arm to support his right as he gave absolution, when he suddenly spied a corpsman get knocked down by a burst from an automatic weapon. The man was shot in the leg and couldn't move. Fr. C. ran out to him and positioned himself between the injured boy and the weapon.

The weapon opened up again and this time riddled Fr. C. completely, and - with his third Purple Heart of the day - Father went Home."


Do not try to equate Senator Kerry's 'bravery' with that of these men or any of the OTHER 'few good men' who received this prestigious award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Do not denigrate the memory of this man by trying to put them into the same category.

Nor of THIS man, Corporal Jason Dunham, the most recent recipient whose actions speak LOUDLY of John 3:16,

"QUANTICO, Va. -- An emotional President Bush said yesterday that he would present the Medal of Honor -- America's highest military decoration -- to a Marine who died when he jumped on a grenade in Iraq and saved the lives of two comrades."


Nor of THIS man, Sergeant First Class Paul R Smith, who also gave his life in order to save the lives of other with him.

If you can find any citation, any reference to Senator John F Kerry having been a recipient of the prestigious award, I will not remove this post from my blog, but will note it here.

There can be no comparison of the service to this country by any of those honorable recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor and that of Kerry.

God bless!

May these men and all other men and women who have given their lives in service to our country rest in peace.

May ALL who have served our Country in ANY branch of the military know that we honor their service. Thank you!