A Vietnam POW Speaks Out

For the last few weeks, the "War on America" has gone badly.

• MoveOn, the New York Times, and Senators who accused Gen. Petraeus of being a traitor and a liar have been exposed and repudiated;
• The media’s attempted flim-flam to portray Iran’s Terrorist Dictator as a "Statesman," tripped on Columbia University’s red carpet;
• The brave combat Marines whom Congressman Murtha and the press eagerly charged with "cold-blooded murders" in Iraq are being found innocent, acquitted one by one.

The "War" is not going well ... the "War On America," that is.

Those who claim they "Support the Troops" are finally being unmasked, shown for being the cowards they are. But, it won’t be long before they regroup, begin their own "Surge" in this decades-long "War On America." We won’t stand by quietly when they do; nor, should you.

My fellow POWs and I have long known the contempt the extreme Left has for our military. We felt the crush of rifle butts in our faces, beatings and unspeakable torture in the Hanoi Hilton Prison when we refused to kowtow to American traitors who traveled to these countries for propaganda "photo-ops" with our Communist jailors.

The so-called "anti-war movement," lead by the likes of Lt. John Kerry and his mentor, Sen. Ted Kennedy, also said they "supported the troops". What they didn’t say is whose "troops."

We knew the answer then, we were witnesses and victims. It’s the same today. They "support" America’s enemies, any Communist Regime, Dictator or Terrorists that vow to kill and maim American soldiers and innocent civilians.

American soldiers in Vietnam were falsely accused of being a "barbarian horde," "rapists," "murderers," "drug addicts" and "baby killers."

Today, their sons, daughters and grandchildren serving in uniform stand accused of being "terrorists," "Nazis," "cold-blooded murderers," people who wantonly conduct "air raids on villages" bombing and killing civilians.

Every one of those spurious accusations were spewed from the Halls of Congress, most often by the same men and women who voted to send America’s youth to war, only to denounce, vilify and abandon them later, when the opportunity for personal, political advantage presented itself.

When I and my fellow veterans — POWs, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Navy Swift Boat combat veterans alike — attempted to warn America about one of the most notorious turncoats from the Vietnam era, we were initially ignored by the mainstream media.

When the press and TV networks could no longer cover-up for John Kerry’s very public treasonous conduct, we were accused of being "serial liars," shouted down by Leftist political campaign operatives disguised as "journalists." All the while the networks kept the film evidence of Lt. Kerry’s betrayal under lock and key, where it remains hidden from the American public even today.

The recent treatment accorded Gen. Petraeus by the same radicals in Congress and the media was strikingly similar to our experiences in 2004. Before he uttered a single word, this highly decorated combat veteran, a man of great honor who has risked his life many times in the defense of our country, stood accused, disparaged and berated by a pack of power-hungry shirkers and slackers unworthy to polish his combat medals.

Veterans who attempted to expose Sen. Kerry in 2004 were treated no better. But, Kerry and his band of Leftist comrades had something special in store for me and my fellow POWs and their wives. We were sued repeatedly for three long years, forced to spend $1 million just to defend ourselves in several frivolous lawsuits.

What did we do to cause such a prolonged, vindictive assault? We told the truth no Mainstream Media news operation wanted the American public to know, then or now.

Dozens of my fellow POWs and their wives participated in a documentary, "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal." In that film we said Kerry and his anti-war followers were liars and frauds working on behalf of our brutal Communists captors. Their collaboration with the enemy prolonged our captivity and the Vietnam War itself by years. Their vicious lies accusing us and all U.S. servicemen of being "war criminals" put our lives and the lives of Americans still fighting on the battlefield in grave danger.

Worse of all, Kerry’s self-aggrandizing, false accusations against American soldiers who had born the brunt of the bleeding and dying in Vietnam, spawned the myths our young men and women in Iraq today are forced to defend against, even as they fight for their lives on the battlefield each and every day.

You can draw a straight line from the deceitful Leftist tactics used to bring America’s defeat and dishonor in Vietnam to Iraq today.

America’s military didn’t lose the Vietnam War. Congress declared defeat, voted to abandon South Vietnam nearly two years after our last combat troops left. That sell-out, not only of our South Vietnam ally, but the nearly 60,000 Americans who gave their lives on the battlefield, ignited a genocidal holocaust throughout Southeast Asia that can still only be measured in the millions, an estimated three to five million innocent civilians brutally murdered.

We cannot let that happen again. We will not let that happen.

Three years ago, I and my fellow POWs and Vietnam combat veterans created a non-profit organization, "The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation". Our mission was simple, to set the record straight about the Vietnam War and those who served and fought there. Little did we know then we’d be slapped with multiple lawsuits for daring to uncover the layer upon layer of lies that constitute the false Vietnam History.

Nor, could we know then the Left’s plans to use the same Vietnam blueprint for defeat in Iraq. Little wonder Kerry and his followers wanted to sue us into silence! But, we prevailed. We successfully defended against each of those lawsuits, all have now been withdrawn. And, we will not remain silent any longer.

Our research into the Vietnam War, most especially, those individuals and organizations responsible for creating the completely false history of Vietnam, is voluminous, factual and compelling. We have amassed a virtual library of records, documents and eyewitness testimony that proves, conclusively, the popular history of Vietnam is pure bunk, propaganda.

The "War On America" is just heating up again. What we do now will dictate America’s future, whether it is one of victory over terrorism, or, decades more of defeat, humiliation in a lost, but noble cause.

Col Bud Day (USAF RET)