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To: Stewie-baby Now that we have squared away your understanding of who we critics believe the 'bad guys really are and some sense of what we think of the current crop of active-duty flag-rank naval officers who failed to resist the 'feminization,' open 'homosexualization,' and compromised morale, readiness, and the 'warrior spirit' in today's Navy as opposed to those of you who are "out on the boat right now," let's get down to the factual content in your BLAST. You wrote that my generation "lost the Vietnam War" and that your generation "won the Cold War." That has to be the most preposterous statement we have ever heard. With regard to who 'lost' the Vietnam War, let me remind you that the U.S. never lost a battle in that war -- not one. You denigrate the memory of over 58,000 dead whose names appear on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall with such a statement. You besmirch the record of over 3,000,000 soldiers, sailors, and Marines who served and fought in that war -- two thirds of whom were volunteers and 75 percent of those who died were volunteers (in a time in which the draft was active). It seems that you are reverting to the same mind-set as the 'power elites' of your generation (the 'bad guys') -- history began when they reached young adulthood, in their early 20s. All before that is just myth. It is clear that you have not read extensively about the Vietnam War. Let me suggest several excellent books which may just change your mind. Start with ADM Ulysses S. Grant Sharp's seminal book on the strategy carried out by the Johnson/McNamara team for that war, "Strategy for Defeat: Vietnam in Retrospect." Then read what LTGen Harold G. Moore, USA (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway have to say about our fighting men in "We Were Soldiers Once --- and Young." Then please read H.R. McMaster's ground breaking book on the relationship among President Johnson, Robert McNamara, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam." No, Stewie-baby, our generation's military did NOT "lose the Vietnam war." That is the history that Boomer generation 'elites' wrote from their perspective of an 'unjust war. A war that they dodged. Had you attended a major university during the mid-to-late 60s, like I did at the University of Michigan, you would know from first-hand personal experience who had a major hand in 'losing' the political war to Ho Chi Minh for the minds of the American people. You see, Stewie-baby, it was the 'elites' of your generation, those who are now what we call the 'power elites' of the Boomer generation who fomented the unrest, demonstrated against the war (some of whom even demonstrated in communist countries -- need I say who), dodged the draft, fled to Canada and otherwise carried out a counter-culture war against America during those years. If many of you who were born in the late fifties and early 1960s (historically, but not all culturally a part of the Boomer generation) want to support those 'power elites,' so be it. But you better know whom you support and why. For some reason, your knowledge of history seems to leave out the Korean War. If I am not mistaken, since Harry Truman decided to resist Soviet aggression in Greece in 1947 (the Truman Doctrine), we entered a so-called Cold War against socialist Soviet expansion. The first large-scale 'battle' of that War was the Korean War. For a clear and insightful description of that war, let me recommend T. R. Fehrenbach's "This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History." I have two high school friends who fought their way from Pusan to the Yalu. They would be quite surprised to hear that you, born years after that war was over, claim that your generation won the Cold War. And I have a college friend who was drafted, fought in Korea, was taken prisoner and suffered humiliations and degradation that you and your buddies could scarcely imagine. Hundreds of his friends made the forced march to the Yalu in sub-freezing weather under the infamous Tiger, the brutal North Korean Major who treated them like cattle -- no, like dogs. He would not take kindly to your wild boast. If you have not had conversation with some of these Korean War veterans, I suggest you attempt to do so. If you don't know any of them, let me suggest you read Rev. Larry Zellers' book on this subject, "In Enemy Hands: A Prisoner in North Korea." Or go on the Internet and look up a Web Site or two hosted by survivors of that death march. You may just learn who those brave men were who fought the 'first battle' of the Cold War -- the shooting part of it. I have another friend, one for whom I have the deepest respect, COL Carl F. Bernard, USA (Ret.), who was an enlisted Marine during WWII and was a Platoon Leader in Task Force Smith which took the brunt of the North Korean offensive when they entered the war and pushed our troops back. Carl was decorated for bravery for personally taking out two T-34 tanks by dropping hand grenades down the hatch while the crew's machine guns were being reloaded. Carl also served as a Special Forces advisor to a Province Chief in Vietnam. As a past President of Soldiers for the Truth, Carl is a valiant crusader for learning lessons from our past wars. By the way, Carl has a PhD in International Relations from the U of California at Berkeley. So you see, Stewie-baby, some of us can qualify in both domains -- that of the 'warrior' and in the world of the advanced degree. Such qualifications may be rare, but they are not mutually exclusive -- as you seem to imply in your BLAST. But I digress. Carl would be amazed that one so young as you, Stewie-baby, would brag about "winning the Cold War." In fact he would be quite scornful of someone who has never been fired at in anger by a resourceful and determined enemy and/or someone who has never fired in anger at such a foe. Sorry, but in his mind (and ours) your so-called 'contingency' actions do NOT qualify. In fact, Carl jestingly (but seriously at the same time) calls us naval aviators DRAFT DODGERS. In his mind, if you haven't fought in a foxhole and/or "crawled on your belly toward some poor wretch with a machine gun determined to kill you, you don't know the uncommon self control required of a 'fighting man.'" Carl is the only one I know from whom I will take such a taunt. Yes, Stewie-baby, those guys should be given credit for helping 'win' the Cold War. In fact, a recent book by John Toland, "In Mortal Combat: Korea 1950-1953," said that war "...may eventually turn out to have been the decisive conflict that started the collapse of communism. In any case, those who fought and died in that war did not fight and die in vain." This seems a reasonable historical assessment. It is strange that you mention the Vietnam War heroes -- McCain, Stockdale, Galanti, and McDaniels as being your 'mentors.' Paul Galanti is a friend who supports the work that I am doing now. Two others, both NamPOWs and fellow-Vigilante pilots, Jim Bell and Jerry Coffee, are very close friends. But do you know what? None of the latter view themselves as HEROES. They are certainly proud of what they survived and that they came home with honor. But heroes? No. They are survivors. I share the nation's and your sense of admiration for what these valiant men did while in the Hanoi Hilton. But our Vietnam War heroes have different names. 2nd Lt. John Bobo USMC is one. CAPT James Webb USMC (and former SecNav) is another. Webb's combat record, including his Navy Cross, Silver Star, and two Bronze Star medals for heroism, speaks for itself. But, since you may not know of John Bobo, let me give you an account. From an article, "Honor as practiced in duty's trenches," by James Zumwalt, in The Washington Times, 2/23/99. "President Clinton never knew John Bobo. Although they were contemporaries, the two men traveled in different circles in life. I have wondered though, had Mr. Clinton known him, whether 2nd Lt. Bobo's belief in doing the honorable thing might have had some impact on the president's actions in the aftermath of his acquittal by the Senate [in his impeachment trial]." "Lt. Bobo knew what honor was -- for he lived it. Commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. Mr. Clinton, meanwhile, successfully managed to avoid military service. In their respective careers, both men would face monumental decisions, forcing them to choose between their personal survival or the interests of those they were entrusted to lead."
"An enemy mortar round exploded nearby, severing Bobo's right leg below the knee. But Bobo refused to be evacuated. Instead, he placed a web belt on the bleeding stump and ordered his men to place him in a firing position from where he could cover their withdrawal to a more defensible location. With his leg jammed into the dirt to curtail the bleeding, Bobo began delivering devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy force that repeatedly attempted to overrun the Marine position. As his command group finally reached a protected position from where it was able to repulse later assaults by the enemy, Bobo fell mortally wounded." "As the enemy closed in and John Bobo drew his last breath that fateful day, it is only hoped he knew his selfless act of valor had saved the lives of many others. For his conspicuous gallantry, he posthumously received a grateful nation's highest combat decoration -- the Medal of Honor." You see, Stewie-baby, our heroes are taken from the mold of Sgt. York in WWI, Pfc Audie Murphy in WWII, Gen Chesty Puller in the Korean War, and 2nd Lt. John Bobo in the Vietnam War. Heroes on whom a nation can build a military tradition of WINNING their generation's wars. What I am saying, if you haven't caught on yet, is that America's heroes who won WWI, WWII, and the Cold War include those who won their own private battles on the battlefield and persevered to VICTORY in their generation's war. The Korean War and Vietnam War were 'battles' in the Cold War. Having participated in these real-life 'shooting-war' battles qualifies those of a generation who fought there -- actually saw combat there, and those who supported them -- for a claim to helping win the Cold War. And there is no name on that list that includes anyone from your cc: list. Sorry, Stewie-baby, but 'just being alive at the time' doesn't count. No matter how many "next liberty ports, last liberty ports, how many times you beat brand x to the break," etc. you celebrate, they do not qualify your generational cohort to stake a claim to winning the Cold War. Just because you deployed abroad the same as we did and flew the nation's finest jet aircraft, as we did in our day, suffered separation from family and friends as we did, missed Christmas, Thanksgivings, New Years, birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations as we did; missed your children's athletic contests as we did doesn't mean that you are entitled to claim credit for that which you did not do. We, along with most other Americans, obviously, thank you and your buddy, Mike Stapleton, for your service to the nation in a dangerous profession -- whether a helicopter pilot or a fighter pilot. You and your friends are probably as good as or better than those who flew off carriers in our day. Many of you are obviously 'warriors' with the winning 'warrior spirit,' or you wouldn't be where you are now. But you can never know until you have been in combat -- a real honest-to-goodness war -- whether or not you are, indeed, a 'warrior.' Whether or not you really 'measure up.' Be that as it may, you simply cannot claim credit for shooting wars in which you did not participate. You lose any credibility as a spokesman for your group (or generation) by making such claims.
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