SwiftVets.com

[olympian2004]

Good interview by Mike Rosen on KOA 850am today with Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward and Deborah Johns of Northern California Marine Corps Moms.

In the final minutes of their one hour appearance a caller from Colorado Springs called in to argue against the two guests and the mission of our military in Iraq. He started the call by stating that he had served for ten years in the Army during the first gulf war in Kuwait / Iraq. The caller was unhinged during his 5 to 7 minutes 'debating' with Mike and Melanie Morgan, totally undisciplined. He was upset that liberals are being branded as unpatriotic and constantly tried to talk over Mike.

Come to find out in the next hour of the show that someone had called in who recognized the caller's voice and informed the call screener that the caller with 'military' experience had not ever served in the military at all.

I observe this all the time listening to talk shows. People call in to argue against the mission of our military and try to buttress their argument based on the fact that they served in the military. Just by the manner in which these callers debate, interupt and become unhinged it's always obvious they never served in a structured environment that demands discipline like the branches of our armed forces. You just do not hear military veterans become unhinged when talking about our military.

Some one called into the Gunny Bob Newman show earlier this week to argue against the mission in Iraq. He started off by stating that he was in the Navy Seals. You could tell that Gunny Bob had doubts right away, but decided to play along until his very final question for the caller. Gunny asked him about a specific piece of diving equipment that every Seal is trained how to use because it's part of what they use to accomplish an underwater mission. The caller stumbled for an answer and finally said I do not know. After hanging up Gunny pointed out that this caller was an imposter.

Typical liberal leftist just like in the Vietnam era protest days. Wacko leftists posing as military veterans to give their arguments against the mission of our military more credence. Pathetic to say the least!

Talk show hosts have to start asking callers who say they have served in the military exactly which branch of the military and unit they served in. If they did serve this information will be on the tips of their tongue and a reply will be instantaneous without delay.

Just my humble opinion on this matter having never served in the military. One note, now having listened to our local talk show host here in Denver, Gunny Bob Newman, former Marine of 20 years+, I now have one regret in life, not joining the Marines right out of high school. (Or the Rangers, etc.)
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Tony in Boulder, Colorado

[Uisguex Jack]

In this same vein a question came to me today.

My little town had a insipid ----- 'co sheehan- ---- silent vigil last week. Our newspaper covered it extensively. Reading thru the article a few things came to light. Only two of the people interviewed were actually from this locale.

Secondly one person they interviewed the most extensively also stated he was a veteran. The thing is you could clearly tell by what he was saying that he very likely was not a veteran.

Two questions: 1) is it against the law to say you are a veteran when you are not?

2) is there a way for the public at large to confirm or deny the veracity of such statements?

[mtboone]

[blue9t3]

Tony,Ive never met a younger vet than myself, so I think I got a handle on the age stuff. I saw some d******d the other day with a sign saying "viet vet, needs 2 tacos", he looked about 35 years old. If you have any knowlelge of the happenings of vn, you can usually bust thier asses in the first couple of questions. If you dont, you can usually get a good read on thier reactions. I was thinking about putting up a sign that would say---Dont feed the Bums!
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MOPAR-BUYER

[PhantomSgt]

It is pathetic when you see the lengths some people go to either claim military service or to embellish a less than heroic military career.

Over the years I have met many Air Force Pilots that never sat in a cockpit, Navy Seals that probably couldn’t swim, Special Ops types who were never Special at anything, Marines who were soft, and more Generals/Colonels that were most likely privates if they were associated with the military at all.

Growing up in Maine I had heard the best BS tellers of tall tales so it was easy for me to uncover the BS I heard from these folks. Let me give you one example:

A retiree presents a Enlisted Retired Air Force ID Card to sign up for a MAC flight. The ID Card is stamped “Medal of Honor” and the clerk at the counter not ever seeing this before brought it back to his E-8. He looks at the date of retirement and walks to the door to look at the individual who presented the card. He then walked back to his desk and called the Security Police to come pick up this guy.

Now this unfortunate soul was a 100 percent medically retired E-3 who had changed his ID Card to reflect an Air Force Master Sergeant Medal of Honor Holder. Since he was never afforded the opportunity to test for promotion in the Air Force he would never know that the one enlisted Air Force Medal of Honor holder from Vietnam was John Levitow whom the E-8 had studied about each time he tested for promotion and heard speak in-person at his Senior NCO Academy graduation.

The sad part about this story is this airman had used this ID for a couple of years to fly around the system. Being 100 percent disabled he was not even authorized to fly Space “A”. I guess the other MAC NCOs that were testing for promotion skipped over the History chapters in their study guides.

Just in case you would like to read about a real American hero who has left us behind, here is the link:

http://www.mishalov.com/Levitow.html
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Retired AF E-8

Independent that leans right of center.

[JN173]

I believe without a doubt the best source of information regarding "wannabees" is

Stolen Valor : How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History
by B. G. Burkett, Glenna Whitley
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A Grunt
2/503 173rd Airborne Brigade
RVN '65-'66

[olympian2004]

[wwIIvetsdaughter]

I have a question for a Navy veteran. Recently I saw a WWII movie entitled "They Were Expendable". In one scene, a PT boat came back to base with a broom on the mast. It was never explained what this meant. Help?

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

It indicates a "clean sweep" of enemy forces on the mission from which the ship is returning.

Thanks for the question - I never tire of learning about Navy traditions.
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~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[I B Squidly]

vetsdaughter,

The broom is a bragging point. It means the ship/boat returning from a combat patrol or an engineering inspection had 'swept the seas or the competition', a complete success with no points against.

Some trivia about "They Were Expendable": The director, John Ford ragged on Wayne mercilessly. Wayne had never been in the service and didn't know how to salute, how to wear a uniform and on and on. It got so bad that Montgomery, a combat veteran got in Ford's face to ask what the hell a pushbutton Commander knew about anything.
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"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"

-Wlm Shakespeare