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As I read this, my hay fever came back, watering eyes...

Bubba JoelBubba Joel Member Posts: 5,161
edited October 2001 in General Discussion
I may not agree with the man all the time, but he and others went thru HELL....I salute all SOLDIERS, past and present...
From a speech made by Capt. John S. McCain, US, (Rep) who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate: As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home. One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country, and our military, provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his shirt. Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell, it was indeed the most important and meaningful event . One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country. So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
I wouldn't mind being the last man on earth-just to see if all of those girls were telling me the truth....

Comments

  • jujujuju Member Posts: 6,321
    edited November -1
    ATTENTION ! SALUTE ! READY --- TO !I agree with him and you completly
  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Lets not let our emotions get in the way of our capacities of reason.It was certainly horrible what McCain and others went through,but McCain is still a traitor. I will not give him any support due to sympathy for what he went through.
  • rodgergliderodgerglide Member Posts: 184 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Good post B.J.,I guess we can all stand to be reminded of what and who came before,thanks "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
  • varmit huntervarmit hunter Member Posts: 1,674 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    salzo,How in the world can you call McCain a traitor?.He went through a hell that is beond my comprension.He did this so you and I can make free decisions.Disagree with him,yes.Have less respect for his politics,yes.Traitor NO.
    A unarmed man is a subject.A armed man is a citizen.
  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Varmint hunter- He did things so that we could make free decisions. Ok fine. But he is doing things now to prevent us from making free decisions "Campaign finance, gun control, tax cuts, etc.
  • travelortravelor Member Posts: 442 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I need to see evidence that he is a traitor...
  • travelortravelor Member Posts: 442 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Did you see the seperation of names...McCain is not the man who bore the stripes...[This message has been edited by travelor (edited 10-21-2001).]
  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    McCain is bed-buddies with that Lieberman jokester who calls himself an American. A war "hero" that comes back to rape the Constitutional rights that he was sworn to protect on the battlefield does not get any allegiance from me. He is also a supporter of those that say the military academies should no longer exist. I'd have to check the 60 Minutes archives about 6 years back to find the proof of that but it's true.
  • badboybobbadboybob Member Posts: 1,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    He is a veteran and a former pow. The fact is that he is now a socialist who would rob us of our liberty. He can go to hell.
    So many guns to buy. So little money.
  • varmit huntervarmit hunter Member Posts: 1,674 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I stand corrected.
    A unarmed man is a subject.A armed man is a citizen.
  • Andrew AdamsAndrew Adams Member Posts: 227 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The comments being made here kind of bother me. Isn't the entire essence of the Constitution that Mr. McCain has the right to disagree with us? I would say that if anyone has EARNED the right to hold whatever views he wants, it is a guy who spent five years in a POW camp. Now, given that I disagree with him on almost everything, I will not miss an opportunity to vote against him or to tell my legislators to vote against his proposals. I think he was FOS on the military academy thing, he is FOS on gun control, and he is FOS on Campaign Finance Reform. That being said, as an American, he has the right to disagree with me. That doesn't make him a traitor, it just says that he holds a different point of view. I personally wouldn't vote for the guy for dog catcher, but that does not make him a traitor to his nation!
    When you want to dial long distance...AT&T, .223, or Jeremiah 33.3?Member:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets
  • travelortravelor Member Posts: 442 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    until recently, I havn't paid close attention to politics such as this, thats why I asked the question. I guess I agree about the right to opinion thing.... but it would be insane to vote in favor of such standings...Let freedom ring!
    keep lots of extra uppers for your ar..you can change often enough to keep the thing from over heating...what ever caliber fits the moment..~Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
  • whiteclouderwhiteclouder Member Posts: 10,574 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    John McCain is a patrician who failed to live up to his family's expectations as a soldier. His last best hope for gaining familial acceptance is to become very successful as a politician. Toward this end he will do as all politicians do, prevaricate, obfuscate and equivocate. His opinion of an enlisted man is typical of nearly all officers, condescending and dismissive. Read his book. If you are ex-enlisted, it will make you sick. As a retired serviceman, I disassociate myself with him. The * is beneath contempt.Clouder..
  • SkipVanSkipVan Member Posts: 32 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I went to see McCain speak at a local university. The slimy little SOB made my skin crawl. A few months later he started appearing on TV ( In CO ) with his anti-gun message. Then he started cozying up with those lefty, libs like Fat Ted and Lieberman. He may have been a hero but he has deserted those principles he fought for. He can go to hell.
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