[Davis Democrats] Why Fellow P.O.W. Will Not Vote for John McCain

[John Chendo]

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> Subject: Fw:  Why Fellow P.O.W.  Will Not Vote for John McCain
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> http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html
> "><http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html>
> <http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html>
>  "><http://www.military.com/> <http://www.military.com/>
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> About Phillip  Butler
> 
> Doctor Phillip Butler is a 1961 graduate of the  United States Naval Academy
> and a former light-attack carrier pilot. In 1965  he was shot down over North
> Vietnam where he spent eight years as a prisoner  of war. He is a highly
> decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver  Stars, two Legion of
> Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.
> After his repatriation in 1973 he earned a Ph.D. in  sociology from the
> University of California at San Diego and became a Navy  Organizational
> Effectiveness consultant. He completed his Navy career in 1981  as a professor
> of management at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,  California. He is
> now a peace and justice activist with Veterans for  Peace. Why I Will Not Vote
> for John  McCain
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> Why I Will Not Vote  for John McCain
> 
> Phillip Butler | March  27, 2008
> As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance  of mine
> that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and  as
> Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways.
> But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President of
> the United States.
> 
> When I was a Plebe (4th  classman, or freshman) at the Naval Academy in
> 1957-58, I was assigned to the  17th Company for my four years there. In those
> days we had about 3,600  midshipmen spread among 24 companies, thus about 150
> midshipmen to a company.  As fortune would have it, John, a First Classman
> (senior) and his room mate  lived directly across the hall from me and my two
> room mates. Believe me when  I say that back then I would never in a million
> or more years have dreamed  that the crazy guy across the hall would someday
> be a Senator and candidate  for President!
> 
> John was a wild man. He  was funny, with a quick wit and he was intelligent.
> But he was intent on  breaking every USNA regulation in our 4 inch thick USNA
> Regulations book. And  I believe he must have come as close to his goal as any
> midshipman who ever  attended the Academy. John had me "coming around" to his
> room frequently  during my plebe year. And on one occasion he took me with him
> to escape "over  the wall" in the dead of night. He had a taxi cab waiting for
> us that took us  to a bar some 7 miles away. John had a few beers, but forbid
> me to drink  (watching out for me I guess) and made me drink cokes. I could
> tell many other  midshipman stories about John that year and he unbelievably
> managed to  graduate though he spent the majority of his first class year on
> restriction  for the stuff he did get caught doing. In fact he barely managed
> to graduate,  standing 5th from the bottom of his 800 man graduating class. I
> and many  others have speculated that the main reason he did graduate was
> because his  father was an Admiral, and also his grandfather, both U.S. Naval
> Academy  graduates.
> 
> People often ask if I was  a Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is
> always "No - John McCain was  a POW with me." The reason is I was there for 8
> years and John got there 2 ½  years later, so he was a POW for 5 ½ years.
> And we have our own seniority  system, based on time as a POW.
> 
> John's treatment as a  POW:
>  
>> 
>> 1) Was he tortured for  5 years? No. He was subjected to torture and
>> maltreatment during his first 2  years, from September of 1967 to September
>> of 1969. After September of 1969  the Vietnamese stopped the torture and gave
>> us increased food and  rudimentary health care. Several hundred of us were
>> captured much earlier. I  got there April 20, 1965 so my bad treatment period
>> lasted 4 1/2 years.  President Ho Chi Minh died on September 9, 1969, and the
>> new regime that  replaced him and his policies was more pragmatic. They
>> realized we were  worth a lot as bargaining chips if we were alive. And they
>> were right  because eventually Americans gave up on the war and agreed to
>> trade our  POW's for their country. A damn good trade in my opinion! But my
>> point here  is that John allows the media to make him out to be THE hero POW,
>> which he  knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals.
>> 
>> 2) John was badly  injured when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and
>> he had other wounds  from his ejection. Unfortunately this was often the case
>> - new POW's  arriving with broken bones and serious combat injuries. Many
>> died from their  wounds. Medical care was non-existent to rudimentary. Relief
>> from pain was  almost never given and often the wounds were used as an
>> available way to  torture the POW. Because John's father was the Naval
>> Commander in the  Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV interviews while
>> wounded. These  film clips have now been widely seen. But it must be known
>> that many POW's  suffered similarly, not just John. And many were similarly
>> exploited for  political propaganda.
>> 
>> 3) John was offered,  and refused, "early release." Many of us were given
>> this offer. It meant  speaking out against your country and lying about your
>> treatment to the  press. You had to "admit" that the U.S. was criminal and
>> that our treatment  was "lenient and humane." So I, like numerous others,
>> refused the offer.  This was obviously something none of us could accept.
>> Besides, we were bound  by our service regulations, Geneva Conventions and
>> loyalties to refuse early  release until all the POW's were released, with
>> the sick and wounded going  first.
>> 
>> 4) John was awarded a  Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in
>> combat. This heroism  has been played up in the press and in his various
>> political campaigns. But  it should be known that there were approximately
>> 600 military POW's in  Vietnam. Among all of us, decorations awarded have
>> recently been totaled to  the following: Medals of Honor - 8, Service Crosses
>> - 42, Silver Stars -  590, Bronze Stars - 958 and Purple Hearts - 1,249. John
>> certainly performed  courageously and well. But it must be remembered that he
>> was one hero among  many - not uniquely so as his campaigns would have people
>> believe.  
> 
> John McCain served his  time as a POW with great courage, loyalty and
> tenacity. More that 600 of us  did the same. After our repatriation a census
> showed that 95% of us had been  tortured at least once. The Vietnamese were
> quite democratic about it. There  were many heroes in North Vietnam. I saw
> heroism every day there. And we  motivated each other to endure and succeed
> far beyond what any of us thought  we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a POW is
> a group sport, not an individual  one. We all supported and encouraged each
> other to survive and succeed. John  knows that. He was not an individual POW
> hero. He was a POW who surmounted the  odds with the help of many comrades, as
> all of us did.  
> 
> I furthermore believe  that having been a POW is no special qualification for
> being President of the  United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW
> experience is not, in my  opinion, something I would look for in a
> presidential candidate.
> 
> Most of us who survived  that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's.
> Sadly, we have died and are  dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW
> contemporaries. We experienced  injuries and malnutrition that are coming home
> to roost. So I believe John's  age (73) and survival expectation are not good
> for being elected to serve as  our President for 4 or more years.
> 
> I can verify that John  has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He
> has a quick and explosive  temper that many have experienced first hand.
> Folks, quite honestly that is  not the finger I want next to that red button.
> 
> It is also disappointing  to see him take on and support Bush's war in Iraq,
> even stating we might be  there for another 100 years. For me John represents
> the entrenched and  bankrupt policies of Washington-as-usual. The past 7 years
> have proven to be  disastrous for our country. And I believe John's views on
> war, foreign policy,  economics, environment, health care, education, national
> infrastructure and  other important areas are much the same as those of the
> Bush administration.
> 
> I'm disappointed to see  John represent himself politically in ways that are
> not accurate. He is not a  moderate Republican. On some issues he is a
> maverick. But his voting record is  far to the right. I fear for his
> nominations to our Supreme Court, and the  consequent continuing loss of
> individual freedoms, especially regarding moral  and religious issues. John is
> not a religious person, but he has taken every  opportunity to ally himself
> with some really obnoxious and crazy  fundamentalist ministers lately. I was
> also disappointed to see him cozy up to  Bush because I know he hates that
> man. He disingenuously and famously put his  arm around the guy, even after
> Bush had intensely disrespected him with lies  and slander. So on these and
> many other instances, I don't see that John is  the "straight talk express" he
> markets himself to be.
> 
> Senator John Sidney  McCain, III is a remarkable man who has made enormous
> personal achievements.  And he is a man that I am proud to call a fellow POW
> who "Returned With  Honor." That's our POW motto. But since many of you keep
> asking what I think  of him, I've decided to write it out. In short, I think
> John Sidney McCain,  III is a good man, but not someone I will vote for in the
> upcoming election to  be our President of the United States.
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