SaysDavid Hackworth:
"Not that these abuses of the awards system are anything new. The U.S. military’s awards program -- designed to recognize both our combat heroes’ valor and the meritorious deeds by those hard-working supporters who bring up the rear -- has never been exactly fair. In the past, Joe and Jill have often gone unrecognized because there was no one left at the end of the battle to bear witness, or the paperwork got lost or wasn’t written persuasively enough, or some eager-beaver officer in the chain of command stole their glory. I know of two Medals of Honor -- one in Korea and the other with a Navy unit in Vietnam -- that shamefully went to still-living former officers when in fact their above-and-beyond deeds "witnessed" by sycophants were actually performed by grunts.
"In the latter days of the Korean War and in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm and Somalia, such abuses of military honors increased with each battle. In Vietnam, a dog was awarded the Bronze Star, and in Grenada, more medals were awarded than there were soldiers on that tiny island. In Desert Storm, Army infantry battalions that never saw a shot fired were awarded the coveted CIB."
On the other hand, Hackworth comes to Kerry's defense on his own website:
"O’Neill and his chorus of haters are still in their get-Kerry mode. I suspect the decades-long fury is still fueled by Kerry’s high-profile anti-war stance when he returned home. That was a position that was taken by hundreds of thousands of other Viet vets, including myself in 1971 – which, according to Joe Califono's recent book, Inside: A Public Life, almost cost me my life.
"McCain has already asked President Bush to distance himself from this “dishonest and dishonorable” attack. Advice that Bush should take one step further by ordering Vietnam draft-dodger Karl Rove and the rest of the character-assassination squad who zapped McCain and Cleland to back off. And then publicly stand tall and say that this type of behavior insults every vet who’s served America in peace and war.
"As our commander in chief, Bush also needs to bear in mind that the U.S. Navy and its high standards for handling awards are now on trial as well. Hopefully, the president’s righteous actions will expedite that institution’s exoneration along with Lt. John Kerry’s heroism."
What does it mean to say that a dog can win the Bronze star, but the Navy's high standards for handling awards are now on trial? Most likely, that Kerry is probably not the only veteran with some questionable medals from Vietnam...
