 |
SwiftVets.com
Service to Country
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
kurtsprincess
Seaman Apprentice
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 80
|
 Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 10:52 pm Post subject: California Assembly Blocks Vietnam War Hero From Speaking |
 |
|
| Quote: | California Assembly Blocks Vietnam War Hero From Speaking
By Leslie Wetzel
Talon News
July 5, 2004
SACRAMENTO, CA (Talon News) -- Republican Assemblyman Jay LaSuer of San Diego had arranged for Vietnam War hero Admiral Jeremiah Denton to come to California to be a part of a 4th of July ceremony held on the Assembly floor. Admiral Denton introduced the world to the fact that the prisoners of war in Vietnam were being tortured.
Denton's plane was shot down flying a combat mission over North Vietnam, becoming the first captured A-6 pilot of the war. Denton was brutally tortured and suffered through four years in solitary confinement. He went on to become a leader of the American resistance in the Communist prison camps.
According to his book, "When Hell Was In Session," it was "because of his faith in God and America that he survived interrogations with closed lips." He spent a total of 7 years and seven months as a prisoner of war.
Admiral Denton reached legendary status when he was being interviewed for a Communist propaganda video, according to the Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation (web site). Throughout the interview, while responding to questions and feigning sensitivity to harsh lighting, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse code, repeatedly spelling out "T-O-R-T-U-R-E." The interview, which was broadcast on American television on May 17, 1966, was the first confirmation that American POWs in Vietnam were being tortured.
During the interview, after the journalist's recitation of alleged U.S. "war atrocities," Denton was asked about his support of U.S. policy concerning the war.
He replied, "I don't know what is happening now in Vietnam, because the only news sources I have are North Vietnamese, but whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live."
Denton was released on February 12, 1973, when he again received international attention as the spokesman for the first group of POWs returning from Hanoi to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Denton was advised that as the senior POW onboard, he might be expected to say something on behalf of the group upon arrival.
As he stepped from the plane, Denton turned to the microphones and said, "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our commander-in-chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."
Denton went on to serve his country as a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama in 1980. He became the first Republican ever elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate from Alabama, the first resident of Mobile elected to the U.S. Senate, the first retired military officer and the first Catholic elected to any statewide office in Alabama, and the first retired admiral or general elected to the U.S. Senate by any state.
Following his U.S. Senate term, he was appointed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan to be Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense which he led throughout its two-year mandate.
As preparations were made for this year's 4th of July celebrations, the Democratic-controlled California Assembly decided to block Admiral Denton's appearance at the festivities. A memo from the Democratic speaker's office cited "problems ... with regards to the spirit, content and participation of various individuals with regard to the ceremony."
Golden State Assembly Republican John Campbell told the Sacramento Union that Assembly Democrats "didn't like the policies [Denton] supported as a United States senator," especially on issues like the separation of church and state.
"Therefore they would not allow him to be on the Assembly floor or to speak," Campbell said.
Admiral Denton has been very vocal on his views of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and the Democratic Party.
In an editorial in the Mobile Register titled "Who's Kerry," Admiral Denton said, "Knowing that I served in the U.S. Senate with John Kerry and that, like him, I am a veteran of the Vietnam War, many people have asked me what I think of him, particularly now that he's the apparent presidential nominee of the Democratic Party."
"When Kerry joined me in the Senate, I already knew about his record of defamatory remarks and behavior criticizing U.S. policy in Vietnam and the conduct of our military personnel there," Denton added. "I had learned in North Vietnamese prisons how much harm such statements caused. To me, his remarks and behavior amounted to giving aid and comfort to our Vietnamese and Soviet enemies. So I was not surprised when his subsequent overall voting pattern in the Senate was consistently detrimental to our national security."
Admiral Denton goes on to say, "I believe our political leaders, educational system, parents, and opinion-makers must all return to teaching the truth most emphasized by our Founding Fathers. George Washington called religious belief indispensable to the prosperity of our democracy. William Penn said, 'Men must choose to be governed by God or condemn themselves to be ruled by tyrants.' And when asked what caused the Civil War, President Lincoln said, 'We have forgotten God.'"
"Though Rome and other empires have decayed and fallen, the cultural war in the United States can and should be won by the majority of Americans -- a majority to whom Kerry and the Democrats disdainfully refer to as the 'far right.' They are people who believe in God and in the original concept of 'one nation under God,'" Denton added.
Denton goes on to criticize both Kerry and the Democratic Party on the subject of national security.
"John Kerry is not among the good guys," Denton said. "The Democratic Party isn't, either."
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made his meeting room available for use last Monday for a ceremony with Admiral Denton, as soon as he was informed of the actions of the Assembly Democrats.
According to Campbell, "The room was overflowing with people. Only one elected Democrat was in attendance. A number of veterans of the last 4 wars were present."
Campbell continued, "Admiral Denton gave a very moving speech about the 4th of July and about the undeniable commitment of our founding fathers to their faith in God. He talked about how the war on terrorism may be the most difficult war we have yet fought. And he went on to say that he fears that partisan attacks on our mission and our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan sound too familiar to what he experienced in Vietnam."
After the ceremony, Gov. Schwarzenegger met with Admiral Denton privately.
Campbell expressed his dismay at the disgraceful conduct of his Democratic colleagues, noting that the Assembly has hosted celebrations in the past for Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, and Chinese New Year.
"But never once have we celebrated America's Independence Day," he lamented.
Admiral Denton, once again from his column "Who's Kerry," said, "As a nation, we are now at the point of no return. The good guys are finally angry enough to join the fray, and I pray we are not too late. And George W. Bush and the Republican majority -- not John Kerry and the Democrats -- can lead us to victory in the war on terrorism." |
_________________
KP
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
nakona
Lieutenant
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Posts: 242
|
| Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Original link?
I want to post that elsewhere and I like to use source material.
_________________
13F20P |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kurtsprincess
Seaman Apprentice
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 80
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
coldwarvet
Admiral
Joined: 03 Jun 2004
Posts: 1125
Location: Minnetonka, MN
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 12:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
God bless Denton and his family. If something does not break soon this pent up Kerry anger will erupt into something much larger then we experienced with the VVAW crowd. "For every action there is an equal or greater re-action". This one has been building for 35 years now and all hell is about to erupt.
_________________
Defender of the honor of those in harms way keeping us out of harms way.
"Peace is our Profession"
Strategic Air Command - Motto
USAF 75-79 Security Police |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kurtsprincess
Seaman Apprentice
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 80
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 12:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
| coldwarvet wrote: | | God bless Denton and his family. If something does not break soon this pent up Kerry anger will erupt into something much larger then we experienced with the VVAW crowd. "For every action there is an equal or greater re-action". This one has been building for 35 years now and all hell is about to erupt. |
AGREED!!!
_________________
KP
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 1:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
I had seen that article.....they rebuffed a man with these::
Navy Cross
Dept. of Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Three Silver Stars
Distinguished Flying Cross
Five Bronze Stars
Two Air Medals
Two Purple Hearts
Combat Action Ribbon
Numerous combat theatre, campaign, and occupation awards.
http://www.nff.org/Jeremiah%20Denton.htm
what a %**^% insult
_________________
.
one of..... We The People |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nakona
Lieutenant
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Posts: 242
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 3:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thank You.
_________________
13F20P |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
