Vietnam Vets fight to reclaim lost honor

A group of Vietnam vets is suing John Kerry for discrediting its film on the war

A few years ago, the term “Greatest Generation” was coined to describe the generation of men who served in the military during the Second World War. And those men were truly extraordinary. But I often have thought that a similar title should be awarded to those who went to Vietnam.

After all, the World War II veterans went to war to the cheers of their fellow citizens, who considered them heroes. And they were welcomed back with similar cheers and adulation.

For those who went to Vietnam, war was quite different. No cheers or marching bands for those sent to the jungles of Southeast Asia. When they returned home, it was not to the thanks of a grateful nation or ticker-tape parades. Quite the contrary: Many came back to jeers and protests. Few of their fellow citizens considered the Vietnam veterans heroes; some even called them “fools” or “war criminals.”

This contempt or lack of esteem was the result of actions by those who opposed the war, including some of their fellow soldiers. These actions included “investigations” of so-called war crimes committed by American military personnel in Vietnam…

One such person was the 2004 Democratic Party presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.). During his campaign, Kerry proudly contrasted his heroic service in Vietnam to the military record of President Bush.

Kerry was less eager to mention that he also once led an organization called Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, 1971, this group conducted the “Winter Soldier Investigations” of alleged war crimes by American soldiers in Vietnam. This inquiry purportedly revealed atrocities committed as a result of America’s Vietnam policy.

Another group of Vietnam veterans was determined to remind voters about Kerry’s antiwar activities. Part of their effort consisted of making a documentary movie called Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal.

Stolen Honor‘s theme is Kerry’s involvement with the VVAW and his participation in “Winter Soldier.” It examines Kerry’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April of 1971, in which he stated that the Vietnam veterans who testified at “Winter Soldier” claimed war crimes were routinely committed with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.

The movie asserts that Kerry’s statements were lies concocted by antiwar activists, and that Vietnam veterans had been falsely tarred because of Kerry and “Winter Soldier.” Stolen Honor also asserts Kerry’s allegations were used by the North Vietnamese to threaten and demoralize American POWs.

The film was made public just before the 2004 election. Sinclair NewsCentral LLC planned to air it as a news program on 62 of its TV stations. But the Kerry camp played hardball. Union pension funds and other pro-Kerry investors instructed their managers to divest Sinclair stock, driving the price down and intimidating the company. In the end, Sinclair excerpted the documentary in an hour-long TV special that included views from the Kerry side.

According to a lawsuit recently filed in Philadelphia, Democrats and the Kerry campaign did what they could to discredit the movie and to prevent its presentation. The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF) is a plaintiff along with Stolen Honor’s creator, Vietnam veteran Carlton Sherwood, in a defamation action against Kerry and Tony Podesta, Kerry’s Pennsylvania campaign manager. The lawsuit claims that Kerry and Podesta “libeled, slandered, and caused financial harm” to the plaintiffs in seeking to prevent airing of the film.

According to the lawsuit, Sherwood produced Stolen Honor “to explain to the public the sense of betrayal felt by many Vietnam veterans – particularly among former POWs – against Kerry and others who built their reputations slandering America’s Vietnam veterans.”

Now an anti-Vietnam War activist – a former presidential candidate to boot – is being sued by Vietnam veterans. A Vietnam War protester will have to prove his accusations. Some Vietnam veterans are finally condemning what was said about them and about the Vietnam War by antiwar protesters – including some of their former comrades.

If nothing else results, at least those who served their country meritoriously, despite great controversy and adversity, are once again serving their country by proclaiming the truth as they know it about the Vietnam War and those who served there.