Fraud Among The Heroes: Vietnam Veterans
Finally Getting Their Respect and
Disrespect Richard Blumenthal
After forty years, Vietnam vets are getting the acknowledgement they had been denied for decades. As Memorial Day approaches this month, the great sacrifices the combat veterans of Vietnam endured are continuing to elevate their hero status along with the latest generation of combat servicemen and women of Iraq and Afghanistan. The great irony today is the appearance of many heroes-come- lately who want to jump on the Vietnam veteran band wagon. The latest “hero fraud” to be exposed is Connecticut Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, seeking election to retiring Senator Chris Dodd’s Senate seat in Connecticut. According to the New York Times, Blumenthal mentioned serving in Vietnam as a Marine while making a campaign speech when in fact he signed up for the Marine Reserves only after his initiative for a FIFTH Vietnam deferment failed. He successfully completed Parris Island boot camp but never received orders for service in Vietnam.
It took thirty years for me to freely talk about my combat tour in Vietnam and only in the past three years have I had the freedom to wear my baseball caps and neck bands. For anyone, particularly one seeking the public trust in elected office, to take advantage of the heroism of those who served in one of the most controversial wars in modern times, is a heinous and egregious deception that warrants disqualification from running for public office. Yes, Richard Blumenthal’s lying tap-dance to exude the countenance of a Vietnam Veteran to his voting constituency is a fraud the only remedy for which is withdrawal from the Senate election. How can he be considered to exemplify the highest standards of honesty and decency in public service if he has stooped to the level of jumping on the hero band wagon of the Vietnam vets to elevate his status as a plausible combat veteran. He should disqualify himself; there is no alternative dance that can undo his public deception.
This author is a Vietnam Veteran who flew almost 200 combat missions in a fighter jet . His book is titled: No Reason For Dying: A Reluctant Combat Pilot’s Confession of Hypocrisy, Infidelity and War. www.NoReasonForDying.com
