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The author said that he
estimates from the amount of e-mail and phone calls he has gotten, that at least
20 million people have read this. Jeff Smith
His
name is: Michael
Connelly
3440 Timberglen Road
Dallas, TX 75287-3490
Phone: 972-306-4717
Dear
Senator Kerry:
Since it has become clear that you will probably be the Democratic nominee for
President, I have spent a great deal of time researching your war record and
your record as a professional politician. The reason is simple, you aspire to be
the Commander in Chief who would lead my sons and their fellow soldiers in time
of war. I simply wanted to know if you possess the necessary qualifications to
be trusted in that respect.
You
see, I belong to a family of proud
U.S.
veterans. I was a Captain in the Army Reserve, my father was a decorated
Lieutenant in World War II; and I have four sons who have either served, or are
currently serving in the military. The oldest is an Army Lieutenant still on
active duty in Afghanistan after already being honored for his service in Iraq.
The youngest is an E-4 with the military police. His National Guard unit just
finished their second tour of active duty, including six months in Guantanamo
Bay. My two other sons have served in the national guard and the navy.
In
looking at your record I found myself comparing it not only to that of my father
and my sons, but to the people they served with. My father served with the 87th
Chemical Mortar Battalion in
Europe. They landed on Utah Beach and fought for 317 straight days including the
Cherbourg Peninsula, Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge.
You
earned a Silver Star in
Vietnam for chasing down and finishing off a wounded and retreating enemy
soldier. My father won a Bronze Star for single handily charging and knocking
out a German machine gun nest that had his men pinned down. You received three
purple hearts for what appears to be three minor scratches. In fact you only
missed a combined total of two days of duty for these wounds.
The
men of my father's unit, the 87th, had to be admonished by their commanding
officer because: "It has been brought to our attention that some men are
covering up wounds and refusing medical attention for fear of being evacuated
and permanently separated from this organization..." It was also a common
problem for seriously wounded soldiers to go AWOL from hospitals in order to
rejoin their units. You used your three purple hearts to leave Vietnam early.
My
oldest boy came home from Iraq with numerous commendations and then proceeded to
volunteer to go to Afghanistan and from there back to Iraq again. My sons and
father have never had anything but the highest regard and respect for their
fellow soldiers. Yet, you came home to publicly charge your fellow fighting men
with being war criminals and to urge their defeat by the enemy. You even wrote a
book that had a cover which mocked the heroism of the U.S. Marines who raised
the flag on Iwo Jima.
Our
current crop of soldiers has a philosophy that no one gets left behind; and they
have practiced that from Somalia to the battlefields of the Middle East. Yet as
chairman of a Senate committee looking into allegations that many of your fellow
servicemen had been left behind as prisoners in Vietnam, you chose to defend the
brutal Vietnamese regime. You even went so far as to refer to the families of
the POWs and MIAs as Professional malcontents, conspiracy mongers, con artists,
and dime-store Rambos.
As a
Senator you voted against the 1991 Gulf War, and have repeatedly voted against
funds to supply our troops with the best equipment, and against money to improve
our intelligence capability.
(Note: Kerry stated that he would have attacked
Iraq
if we had more international support, but has failed to tell us what support
that would be. Yet when we had the whole world behind us, he still voted
against the war!!) I find this particularly ironic since as a Presidential
candidate you are highly critical of our pre-war intelligence in Iraq. However,
you did vote to authorize the President to go to war, but have since proceeded
to do everything you can to undermine the efforts of our government and our
troops to win. Is this what our fighting men and women can expect of you if you
are their Commander in Chief? Will you gladly send them to war, only to then
aid the enemy by undermining the morale of our troops and cutting off the
weapons they need to win?
Our
country is at war Senator, and as has been the case in every war since the
American Revolution, a member of my family is serving their country during the
war. Now you want me to trust you to lead my sons in this fight. Sorry Senator,
but when I compare your record to those who have fought and died for this
nation, and are currently fighting and dying, the answer is not just no, but
Hell No!
Sincerely,
Michael Connelly
February 14, 2004
Dallas, Texas
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