Purple Haze

I wrote this back in April when the Republicans first started their campaign to smear John Kerry. Bob Dole's asinine statements about Kerry's Purple Hearts brought it back to mind, so I thought it would be worth posting.

Only a Flesh Wound

Let’s see if I understand this correctly. Republican National Committee Chair Ed Gillespe claims that John Kerry is a fraud because one of his Purple Hearts is for a minor wound. He said Kerry’s commanding officer questioned whether the wound merited a Purple Heart and only submitted the recommendation after Kerry badgered him to do so. Therefore, Kerry is a phony who has falsely embellished his resume. His heroism is a sham. George Bush, in contrast, is honest and true. At least, I think that’s what he is saying.

What an insult! John Kerry may have faults but he has every right to claim his three Purple Hearts and Silver Star. He meets my definition of military hero. So do his crewmen. He fought aggressively and acted decisively. He took risks to accomplish his mission. If his first wound was minor, so what? The Navy recognized it. More important, Kerry continued to fight. Hard. He earned his medals and the respect of the men whose lives he risked. As a veteran, that tells me a lot.

Now come the Republican operatives saying it’s not that much, it’s only a flesh wound. This kind of sliming is Bush’s hypocritical low point. (So far. Republican tactics never fail to amaze me.) Four years ago, Bush simply shut off any questions or discussion about his own behavior and actions before 1986 when he quit drinking and was born again. This year’s Bush campaign would prefer to do the same but can’t ignore the fact of John Kerry’s service. Instead, the Republicans are doing everything they can to marginalize it. They imply that he sought medals he did not deserve.

What these critics don’t understand, since so few of them were in Vietnam is that medals were a fact of life in there. This was especially so for officers but even I, a lowly enlisted man, sought any medals I was entitled to. Most came automatically. I earned a Combat Infantryman’s Badge for being in the field 30 days, an Air Medal for making 25 helicopter assaults (more like shuttle flights, actually) and a Bronze Star for service. I can’t say that I distinguished myself in any particular way but I was there. I risked my life, however reluctantly. The medals were, at least, some recognition.

Even Purple Hearts were automatic in my unit. Unlike all other awards, our company commanders didn’t even sign them. Purple Heart citations were generated by higher headquarters based on casualty reports. Any but the most minor wound merited a Purple Heart in my battalion. So it doesn’t surprise me that John Kerry sought a Purple Heart after his first wound. And, even if one commander had questions, three more commanders recognized Kerry’s subsequent actions. And no doubt, Kerry knew their future value in politics. That doesn’t change what John Kerry did in Vietnam or his claim to those actions in his personal history.

But the Republicans would have us believe that Kerry is a fake because his first wound was “slight”. After portraying candidate Kerry as a slick, calculating politician for weeks, they tell us now that Lieutenant Kerry was only out to claim personal glory to build a political career. Their message: Kerry is a fake now. He was then, too. He put in for the slightest wound so he could obtain the three Purple Hearts that were his ticket out of Vietnam. Then he came home to protest against his country. You see, he’s always been a flip-flopper.

These claims and innuendos insult not just John Kerry but the American people as well. Does the Republican Party really expect us to believe Kerry is a fake when Bush has been the Ultimate Fake his entire adult life? From his National Guard “service” to his business career, his selection as president, to “Mission Accomplished” and the fake turkey, nothing about George W. Bush has been real. And that’s what angers me. Here is George Bush who never accomplished a thing on his own in life, trashing Kerry’s military record. Neither Bush, Cheney or any of their many minions know what combat is like. John Kerry does. So do many others who served. I do. Bush, Cheney and the rest of that crew have absolutely no credibility to question Kerry’s service. None whatsoever.

All of this is minimally relevant to the presidential campaign. Neither Kerry’s medals nor Bush’s missing National Guard days offer solutions to the problems facing America in 2004 and beyond. But those episodes do offer some insight into the character of the two men who seek the presidency this year. John Kerry comes across as a man of conflicting emotions and beliefs, a man willing to use his record to his best advantage. In that, he is like many office seekers but I believe he his genuine. He made the best of a difficult decision in a difficult time and conducted himself with courage and honor. George Bush suffers dearly in comparison. Bush has no conflicts and has never changed his mind because he does not think. He poses as a war leader but has little understanding of what war means. He and his campaign managers are cynically hypocritical and manipulative, more than willing to attack the patriotism and motives of anyone when it serves their purposes. Last time, it was John McCain.

It’s a cheap shot that insults this veteran.