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Congressman Murtha unmasked... not pretty.
There are very few circumstances under which I'd question the service of a fellow veteran. The only one I can think of, actually, is when that veteran tries to use his service, and particularly questionable past "heroism," as a pedestal from which to attack this nation's warriors. John Kerry did that 35 years ago and John Murtha is doing it today. Under those circumstances the gloves come off. From now on I consider John Murtha worthy of the same benefit of the doubt he's given the Marines involved in the Haditha incident.
I wish I could post the whole email William Page sent me a few hours ago without committing plagiary, but unfortunately I can't. On the other hand I think I can get the message across with excerpts from the links he provided.
"What is a War Hero?
I've been listening to Congressmen Jack Murtha's negative comments about the war in Iraq for some months now. I've heard him repeatedly described as a "war hero". Thirty-seven years in the Marine Corps.
Wow! I visualize a burly ex-marine, his chest bedazzled with medals, the survivor of countless combats in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. A man who knows war and combat from the inside out. A man with the experience that allows him to see that the war in Iraq is hopeless and we should all quit and go home.
Although I've been turned off by Murtha's remarks, I never questioned his war hero status. Nor has our liberal press which is why Murtha has been getting away with his charade! Then the other day, bingo, I suddenly knew something was rotten in Denmark about Jack Murtha's war hero status. I've been bothered by his comments in the past but his latest remarks about Marines killing civilians in cold blood caught my attention. Whether this turns out to be true or not, something just didn't compute. That was the moment when I woke up and said, "Hey, I'm going to check this guy out." No real Marine who's "been there" would prejudge combat troops prior to the release of a military inquiry.
And what did I find? Did I find a man of vast operational experience with an extensive combat record?
No. I found a man whom fellow congressman Don Bailey of Pennsylvania, silver star and three bronze stars, calls a liar and a phony. ...
[Read on.]
Now read this:
Murtha's War Hero Status Called Into Question
[...]
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'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."
[...]
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.
[...]
"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.
[...]
While we're on the subject, don't forget to click here and read Congressman Bailey's letter to Congressman Murtha in it's entirety.
Follow the links and form your own opinions. My opinion is that Murtha never was a real Marine or he wouldn't be so quick to condemn our Marines today and do his best to undercut their current mission.
***
Promoted from the comments:
As soon as Murtha opened his disgusting mouth the very first time, one could smell Jfnkerry & mccain in his rancid breath.
This information concerning his Non-Earned military awards is as though he plucked a page out of JFnK's book. How many more of these imposters are sucking up air on the Hill?
2ndamendsis
It's past time to call this SOB out. Give him my name and address anytime he wants it. I would advise anyone who can to help defeat him in the upcoming election. A strong suggestion would be to help this challenger:
DIANA IREY FOR CONGRESS
600 PARK AVENUE MONONGAHELA, PA 15063
724-258-2300
http://www.irey.com/
Thanks Bill.
William Page
1st Cav Div. (Airmobile) Vietnam
3rd Bde. (Separate)
B 2/5th Cav
D 1/12th Cav
1st Cav
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