JFK's out of print 'The New Soldier'

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
JFK's out of print 'The New Soldier'
36
Thu, 08-26-2004 - 6:06pm

"Just after JOHN KERRY came back from Vietnam, he wrote the book THE NEW SOLDIER.

The book is out of print. John Kerry does not allow the publisher to reprint it.

To make a rational decision on November 2, you need to have all available facts.

You can now read John Kerry's THE NEW SOLDIER online for FREE."



http://www.johnkerrythenewsoldier.blogspot.com/

Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2004
Fri, 08-27-2004 - 11:55pm


Actually from what I've been able to find I have to stand corrected. I think the context and the mocking reference to Iwo Jima is intended to convey more than a simple distress signal though, if we are to be honest with ourselves.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 3:02am

OHH!!

Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 11:55am
Here's what one of the veterans who was present when the picture was taken had to say about the Iwo Jima aspect (it's pretty clear he's not mocking the WWII soldiers):

"It was Thursday night, after the candlelight march, when the guys came bck and were o teh stage with the flag. There was this spontaneous feeling of pride. I sort of drew a parallel with Iwo Jima. I guess you had to, because it was with the same type of pride that they put up the flag in Iwo Jima. And when that was done...instead of burning the flag, they took it and they folded it up because as Phil Lavoie, one of the vets with the flag said, 'We love America, we're not here to destroy it."

Michael Roach - Vietnam Veteran

That's from the book which whren posted in the first link. Have you read any of it? It's very moving and powerful. As President Bush might say, you can't judge a book inside-out.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 12:14pm
Here's a great quote from the book:

"America's Vietnam generation isn't up against the wall; it's bricked in. Going to Vietnam is a war crime, refusing to go is a domestic crime, and just sitting still somewhere or somehow in exile or limbo is a moral crime. It is a terrible time today to be American and young. In fact, it apparently is a crime."

Jan Crumb

Vietnam Veteran

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2004
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 12:19pm
<"America's Vietnam generation isn't up against the wall; it's bricked in. Going to Vietnam is a war crime, refusing to go is a domestic crime, and just sitting still somewhere or somehow in exile or limbo is a moral crime. It is a terrible time today to be American and young. In fact, it apparently is a crime.">

That is a great quote. It's people like John Kerry who made it a war crime to volunteer to serve the country in Vietnam, by portraying all of our soldiers and our entire nation the same as an atrocious few. That's exactly why vets are so angry with him-because he took the honor out of what they did in the eyes of a lot of people.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 12:21pm
Hey, why didn't the soldiers in Vietnam just refuse to commit atrocities or report them to their superiors?

From the book: (note: a "free fire zone" is an area outlined by the US military where soldiers are authorized to shoot at anything that moves, civilian or not.)

Terry Williams

E-4

129th Assault Helicopter Co.

238th Aerial Weapons Co.

March '69 - Dec. '69

I was the door gunner in Vietnam and one day I was flying convoy cover between An Ke adn Pleiku. We were over a free-fire zone and there were three women on bicycles, and the pilot told the crew chief and myself just to blow them away. I refused. I told them my gun was jammed and I could not fire. They ordered me again to unjam it and do 'em in. And I refused. So the copilot did it with rockets. God, I thought I was going crazy! I cried. I'm not ashamed to say it. It made me sick. Then after we got back they gave me an Article 15 for disobeying a direct order.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 12:28pm
Why didn't guys like Kerry, who thought they committed war crimes, turn themselves in when they got home?

From a photo caption in the book (photo omitted)

"A contingent of veterans tried to turn themselves in as war criminals. Brigadier General Daniael James agreed to see three of the veterans. He told them, "I'm sorry but we don't accept American prisoners of war here - why don't you try to the Justice Department?"

You see, if the US government actually charged these guys, it would open up the biggest can of worms in the world. The government would have to admit that their tactics were in viiolation of international laws, and they were fighting a dirty war.

I'd also like to point out that the author of the Swift Boat Veteran's book and long time Kerry antagonist, John O'Neill, has admitted that he took part in firing in free fire zones. He just wasn't aware that was in violation of the Geneva convention. So let's just string up the people who understand the law and have a conscience, right?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2003
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 3:02pm
"Hey, why didn't the soldiers in Vietnam just refuse to commit atrocities or report them to their superiors?"

Has John Kerry answered that? He is one that has claimed to commit these atrocities, and now running for president, with the memory of the Vietnam War being waged again here in the US, he certainly has center stage.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Sat, 08-28-2004 - 4:10pm
Don't shoot the messenger. What happened in Vietnam happened - whether or not John Kerry talks about it. Is shooting civilians and pushing prisoners of war from helicopters only a crime if John Kerry mentions it to Congress?

<< It's people like John Kerry who made it a war crime to volunteer to serve the country in Vietnam, by portraying all of our soldiers and our entire nation the same as an atrocious few.>>

What you and Kerry's fellow veterans repeatedly choose not to understand is that he wasn't accusing the men in the field. He was accusing the leadership. He couldn't be more clear about that and yet people focus on a paragraph or two out of context and make him out to be ratting out his peers. I can only conclude that people don't like his accent.