 |
SwiftVets.com
Service to Country
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
|
 Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:41 pm Post subject: From the 2004 Archives: Byron York |
 |
|
Every now and then (and generally in a moment of serendipitous contact with the events of 2004), I'll stumble into an article or commentary that I've somehow managed to overlook (or, perhaps, forgotten) and failed to add to my personal bookmarks for that now historical time.
That Byron York's name might appear on such an item should surprise no one, as his ability to "cut to the chase" on issues surrounding a controversial topic is, to my mind, "journalism" at its profound best.
Such is the case with Mr. York's following commentary...in which he proceeds to journalistically "kneecap" the utter mendacity of the MSM/Dan Rather cabal in their comparative treatment of Bush and Kerry's "military service" and their incessant "Bush was AWOL" drone.
Should you be looking for a definitive treatment of this particular canard (and you needn't look far to find proponents, even today), you need go no further than Mr. York's quite remarkable piece from "The Hill", September 9, 2004. I had to travel to the "Wayback Machine" to retrieve it...and it was well worth the trip...
| Quote: | Bush’s National Guard years
Before you fall for Dems’ spin, here are the facts
by Byron York
The Hill
September 9, 2004
What do you really know about George W. Bush’s time in the Air National Guard?
That he didn’t show up for duty in Alabama? That he missed a physical? That his daddy got him in?
News coverage of the president’s years in the Guard has tended to focus on one brief portion of that time — to the exclusion of virtually everything else. So just for the record, here, in full, is what Bush did:
The future president joined the Guard in May 1968. Almost immediately, he began an extended period of training. Six weeks of basic training. Fifty-three weeks of flight training. Twenty-one weeks of fighter-interceptor training.
That was 80 weeks to begin with, and there were other training periods thrown in as well. It was full-time work. By the time it was over, Bush had served nearly two years.
Not two years of weekends. Two years.
After training, Bush kept flying, racking up hundreds of hours in F-102 jets. As he did, he accumulated points toward his National Guard service requirements. At the time, guardsmen were required to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to meet their yearly obligation.
According to records released earlier this year, Bush earned 253 points in his first year, May 1968 to May 1969 (since he joined in May 1968, his service thereafter was measured on a May-to-May basis).
Bush earned 340 points in 1969-1970. He earned 137 points in 1970-1971. And he earned 112 points in 1971-1972. The numbers indicate that in his first four years, Bush not only showed up, he showed up a lot. Did you know that?
That brings the story to May 1972 — the time that has been the focus of so many news reports — when Bush “deserted” (according to anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore) or went “AWOL” (according to Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee).
Bush asked for permission to go to Alabama to work on a Senate campaign. His superior officers said OK. Requests like that weren’t unusual, says retired Col. William Campenni, who flew with Bush in 1970 and 1971.
“In 1972, there was an enormous glut of pilots,” Campenni says. “The Vietnam War was winding down, and the Air Force was putting pilots in desk jobs. In ’72 or ’73, if you were a pilot, active or Guard, and you had an obligation and wanted to get out, no problem. In fact, you were helping them solve their problem.”
So Bush stopped flying. From May 1972 to May 1973, he earned just 56 points — not much, but enough to meet his requirement.
Then, in 1973, as Bush made plans to leave the Guard and go to Harvard Business School, he again started showing up frequently.
In June and July of 1973, he accumulated 56 points, enough to meet the minimum requirement for the 1973-1974 year.
Then, at his request, he was given permission to go. Bush received an honorable discharge after serving five years, four months and five days of his original six-year commitment. By that time, however, he had accumulated enough points in each year to cover six years of service.
During his service, Bush received high marks as a pilot.
A 1970 evaluation said Bush “clearly stands out as a top notch fighter interceptor pilot” and was “a natural leader whom his contemporaries look to for leadership.”
A 1971 evaluation called Bush “an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot” who “continually flies intercept missions with the unit to increase his proficiency even further.” And a 1972 evaluation called Bush “an exceptional fighter interceptor pilot and officer.”
Now, it is only natural that news reports questioning Bush’s service — in The Boston Globe and The New York Times, on CBS and in other outlets — would come out now. Democrats are spitting mad over attacks on John Kerry’s record by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
And, as it is with Kerry, it’s reasonable to look at a candidate’s entire record, including his military service — or lack of it. Voters are perfectly able to decide whether it’s important or not in November.
The Kerry camp blames Bush for the Swift boat veterans’ attack, but anyone who has spent much time talking to the Swifties gets the sense that they are doing it entirely for their own reasons.
And it should be noted in passing that Kerry has personally questioned Bush’s service, while Bush has not personally questioned Kerry’s.
In April — before the Swift boat veterans had said a word — Kerry said Bush “has yet to explain to America whether or not, and tell the truth, about whether he showed up for duty.” Earlier, Kerry said, “Just because you get an honorable discharge does not, in fact, answer that question.”
Now, after the Swift boat episode, the spotlight has returned to Bush.
That’s fine. We should know as much as we can.
And perhaps someday Kerry will release more of his military records as well.
Byron York is a White House correspondent for National Review. His column appears in The Hill each week. E-mail: byork@thehill.com
The Hill |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Another excellent write-up covering Bush's time and from a non-political site is found at Aerospaceweb.org, F-102 in Vietnam
Although a long read, it does bring out pertinent facts such as Bush volunteering for the Palace Alert program (volunteering for Vietnam), but being denied due to not enough overall points and the war winding down at the time.
| Quote: | | "Fred Bradley, a friend of Bush's who was also serving in the Texas ANG, reported that he and Bush inquired about participating in Palace Alert. However, the two were told by their flight instructor, Maj. Maurice Udell, that they were not yet qualified since they were still in training and did not have the 500 hours of flight experience required. Furthermore, ANG veteran Col. William Campenni, who was a fellow pilot in the 111th FIS at the time, told the Washington Times that Palace Alert had stopped accepting new applicants before Bush would have been eligible." |
_________________
Clark County Conservative |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
1991932
Lance Corporal
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 381
Location: Massachusetts
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
That was a fascinating article, Lew. Thank you for posting it.
At first, I simply looked at the pictures, being a good Marine and all.  But the sentence about 15 F-102's being lost in Viet Nam piqued my interest and I read the entire thing.
Someday, I'm going to orgnize all of my pictures taken from the back seat while taxiing in an F-4. We certainly pulled out all the old stuff to throw at the VC.
In addition to the F-102, I seem to remember an F-104 with a napalm cannister slung underneath. That's like showing a Swift Boat Veteran a picture of a Boston Whaler with John Kerry standing at the bow, armed with a sling shot. It's good for a chuckle.
Someday
That's also a great song by CCR.
_________________
Former "War Criminal" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TEWSPilot
Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 1235
Location: Kansas (Transplanted Texan)
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
One of the guys who worked with me at my current job until his death a few years ago flew RF-101s in Vietnam. Like you said, we through all the old stuff at them initially. Good news is, that old bird led to the F-4.
_________________
Find the perfect babysitter, petsitter, or tutor -- today! |
|
| 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
