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Enterprises Cañon City, Colorado. |
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| Welcome to Bendell
Enterprises Cañon City, Colorado. |
(Updated August 5, 2004)
Since writing his first editorial on Kerry, which has circulated the globe since Feb. 11th, Don has received thousands of emails. So many emails come in daily now, that Don cannot personally respond to all the emails anymore. To answer some of the issues his critics have expressed, Don has included below his responses to assorted emails he has received.
As a veterans advocate in Mass I know what Kerry is first hand. While he was bad mouthing Namvets, I was burying two, my brother and my fiancé. Their loss cost me my parents who never got over losing their first born. I knew these men who died with honor, never would they act with anything but the highest of ideals or commit the crimes Kerry has accused 58200+ of committing. Since Kerry did all this I'd like to know how he slithered out of the court martial he earned. Thank you for setting the record straight and standing by your convictions. God help our veterans if this man is elected. My guys weren't Green Berets or Rangers but just Marine Grunts as they said and I'd give anything I have including my life for one more day with them. They weren't plain anything, no Namvet was. You all served with honor and bravery and to say thank you seems so little but I don't have all the pretty words. Welcome Home and God Bless you,
God bless you. I am deeply sorry for your losses. Please know that someday history will show that your fiancé and brother did not die in vain in Vietnam, despite what opportunists such as Kerry might say. People were appalled when they saw the horror of THE KILLING FIELDS in theaters, but forgot it was proof that the Domino Principle was indeed real. You have no idea how many lives were saved in the Gulf War and the War on Terrorism, because of "lessons learned" from Vietnam, which included the brave sacrifices of your brother and fiancé, and the unspoken part, what you and your family had to endure since then, as well as your fiancé’s family.
Semper fidelis! May God richly bless you, (name withheld), the rest of the days of your life.
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I WANT TO SAY: I AM AN AMERICAN AND AM PROUD OF IT . I ALSO SAY: I AM FROM THE ORIGINAL TRUE SET OF AMERICANS INDIANS; HAVE YOU READ GENERAL TOMMY FRANK'S BOOK AND WHAT HE IS SAYING NOW? IF YOU LEFT IT IN THE JUNGLES THEN LEAVE IT THERE MY QUESTION IS THIS TOO YOU: WHY WOULD YOU STOOP TO MICHAEL MOORE'S LEVEL AND DO THE SAME THINGS MICHAEL IS DOING?
I am glad you are a Native American. My Lakotah name is Wamble Uncha (One Eagle). My real hero, Jesus Christ, did not always "turn the other cheek." He spoke out against hypocrisy, turned over the tables of the money-changers in the temple, and told his followers "keep your swords close to hand," when they traveled a route loaded with thieves. You do whatever you choose to do. I am fighting evil, on your behalf, too, whether you like it or not. John Kerry is one of the "money-changers" in the temple. I am a warrior . . . but I am; first and foremost, a man of God.
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Dear Mr. Bendell I was just sent an email that claims you penned it. I hope this is true. It says a lot about what will come if Kerry is elected. Currently I am serving in Iraq. …….After seeing what I have seen, I am now scared for the first time. Not of being killed in Iraq, but of Kerry becoming President. Shoot at me, land mortars on me and try to blow me up as I drive by. But please don't elect Kerry.
I wish I could express the shame I feel for the Vets like yourself that had to endure the silent treatment after Vietnam, but I was a little young to grasp the world environment at the time. As I got older I never understood why you were treated that way. Kerry will do to us serving now, what the U.S. did to you then.
Serving our country use to be an act of love. I believe that it still is at least for me. I'm proud of what I do and wouldn't change it for any thing.
God bless you for your service….. I have a son earning his green beret at Fort Bragg, and shudder thinking about Kerry being C in C. If God forbid you would ever become MIA, President Bush will not leave you behind. Kerry will always do what is politically expedient for John Kerry. Keep using your common sense. That and God is what keeps you alive. Everyone is proud of you back here.
God bless.
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……….The guys who wear that funny little green hat have done so much in the fight against terrorism over the past 3 years that it would be hard for anyone who's not in the business to comprehend or believe. Of course most of it is still classified, so I can't/won't go into details.
As a VN-era SF veteran, you can stand proud knowing that the men of Special Forces are carrying on the traditions that SF soldiers of our era began. They're a dedicated lot; better educated, better trained, and much better equipped than we ever imagined, and their missions are long, hard and continuous. They're doing things that 95% of Americans will never know or read about, but they should care about - since our guys are doing God's work by killing the bad guys on their soil, rather than on our soil.
You keep up the good work you're doing exposing JFK for what he is. Americans who believe in him have never tasted battle, or they wouldn't allow the lies about his 3 PH's to be heard. He'll not be good for the country if he gets elected.
Michael Moore's actions border on being traitorous. He should be drawn-and-quartered on the parade field at Fort Bragg. I'll be glad to ride one of the horses.
De Oppresso Liber,
Thanks for your service and your kind words…..Kerry is even worse than Clinton, I believe. I sincerely believe that Clinton was the classic make-out artist, used car salesman, snake oil salesman. Kerry, to me, would do anything to anybody, without a second thought, to insure he becomes President. Michael Moore is the Willie Nelson version of the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
De Oppresso Liber
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Don,
Please send me a list of the military medals you earned in Viet Nam...including Purple Hearts. If you do not respond, I will assume the Viet Nam Service ribbons and "breather" ribbon in your photo are your only awards.
You assume whatever you want. I am not running for President, and if I was running, I would not mention my medals. I purposely do not speak about what I have or have not earned in Vietnam, but am quite proud of my service. If anybody wants to check me out with the Special Forces Association and Special Operations Association, they are welcome to. I did concern myself with medals when I was a Boy Scout. Does that count? Do you think that is that why I volunteered to go to Vietnam? Wish I would have had your wise counsel before I went, I would have worried more about trying to win medals and publicize them, instead of trying to accomplish my mission and take care of my troops. Wait, isn't that what Kerry did?
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……..Mr. Bendell, tell about the year 2006 when George Bush plans to cut Vets and Military benefits?
According to the non-political factscheck.org, President Bush has increased military pay by 21%, VA benefits by 28%, has cut VA administrative time in half, and his VA budget for fiscal year 2005. You can look up Kerry's voting record on anything you want at the Library of Congress by going to http://thomas.loc.gov. According to Kerry's Senate voting record, Kerry has voted against military pay raises 12 times.
All a matter of record, Dear. If you want to vote for him (Kerry), and he gets elected, understand now, a lot of money from your significantly increased taxes will go for body bags, here in the US. The AQ would love for him to be President. In fact, you are in good company. Go to www.cpusa.org and take a look. They endorse Kerry and their platform is almost identical to that of the DNC. That is the website for the Communist Party of the USA. Go and look, are or are you too hardcore a democrat and will think I am lying no matter what I say? I hope you are an American first, before party. Bush could use passionate people like you who are not afraid to speak up.
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You are a damn liar or a damn fool---or both! I've seen the outright lies and mistruths you are spreading about John Kerry on the internet and I won't stand for it. I'm a veteran too, buddy, and I damn well have earned the right to disagree with George W. Bush, Jr. ……. First of all, thank you for your service to our nation……If you want to make ridiculous claims like that, you come make them to my face and we can sort them out you lying coward!….. You are spreading lies because you have no honesty, no decency and no integrity!…..
You absolutely have the right, even if you were not a vet, to disagree with GWB, or even think he is the biggest scoundrel in the world. You have not earned the right to address me with disrespect. You also have the right to be stupid and pompous, and you have proven you are exercising such a right.
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Regarding your, A Vets view, you must have forgotten how Vietnam turned out. 50,000 wasted lives, some of them friends of mine. And bad-mouthing how a man earned his honors without being there is tantamount to chickenshit.
I support our troops in Iraq. I don't support how they got there. Those ideas are not incompatible. I am voting for John Kerry for the same reason my skipper raised our bomb release altitude the second time we deployed. He knew that we were in it for the wrong reasons.
I don't know what the hell you mean about not being there, but I was there, on the ground, seeing a hell of a lot more combat each week than Kerry did in four months. My MOS, 31542 (Special Forces-qualified, Airborne-qualified Infantry Officer), had THE highest mortality rate in Vietnam…..
“I am voting for John Kerry”? What do you think he is going to do? That is NOT supporting our troops. 50,000 lives were not wasted, just you buying into the lies of the whiners and moaners. By the way, many of them were friends of mine, too, and I will not disrespect my friends' memory by saying their lives were wasted. Nonetheless, thank you for your service to our nation. You, or your USAF jet jockey brothers, saved my ass a number of times, and I will always be indebted. Welcome home.
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………Bush is in so far over his head in this war that even many former members of his own administration have come forward to denounce his lack of understanding and recklessness. Not to mention former generals and admirals including a former Joint Chief and a former head of the CIA.
…… You just had Michael Moore walking around the Democratic convention with crowds around him, when he produced what he calls a documentary with 56 lies in it:
www.davekopel.com/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm
I watched him being interviewed on FOX NEWS, no less, and also in his film he stated that Bush did not send Special Forces into Afghanistan for 2 months so bin Laden could get away. What a crock! Just about everybody in SF, knew that MG Geoff Lambert, then commanding US Special Forces Command, had those Special Forces team members on alert within two hours of the first jet hitting the World Trade Center tower one. Robin Moore, a friend and the author of the number one best seller THE GREEN BERETS, wrote of those detachments in THE SEARCH FOR BIN LADEN.
One of those men is now home without a leg, and has to put up with idiots like you who listen to an idiot like Moore lie, just simply lie, and you buy into it. Robin Moore's book THE SEARCH FOR BIN LADEN even tells about the teams in Afghanistan. Everybody who has anything to do with SF knows about them.
Just like all the idiots who spend money to enrich and then believe a man who publicly said on TV news that "Americans are the dumbest people on this planet." Now, he is proving it.
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Dear Don, I was sent a copy your proof article regarding John Kerry. I am a retired Police officer who spent 20 years in Emergency Services which consist of K-9, Emergency Response Team ( SWAT)
Bomb Unit, Haz Mat, Underwater. I responded to the 1993 WTC bombing and worked ahear of entry teams breaching doors and clearing for IED'S. I was loaned out to numerous govt agencies including DOD many times for specialized assignments. My training ranges from Police Military American, British, German. I did not fight in the jungles of Vietnam when it was my time the war ended, I would have proudly served. I dedicated my life to serving my country and serve I did to the best of my god given ability. I have received 156 commendations. My last emergency response was on 11 September 2001
I arrived on scene at approximately 1100 hrs. Upon arriving I had tears of rage and sadness for my beloved America, but no time to dwell there was work to be done. I last served on 22 November 2001
when I could no longer serve as I had suffered scarring to both lungs and thickening to both lungs. This condition brought about the end of my service. I saw what most Americans never saw the equivalent of Pearl Harbor only on continental America. I do not have 3 purple hearts from scratches and a silver spoon in my mouth I am just a ordinary American who did his duty the duty of all Americans.
I have a nephew 82ed Airborne going back to Iraq the his third deployment, and a Blue Star Flag in my window, the Colors Fly from my home flanked by the United States Army Flag. I am not a hero
I am something much better I am an American who loves his country and upon any call to duty would fight for her. I believe that this is not just an election it is a battle for survival of our America.
I am sending your article to all and I wish to thank you for your service and your love for our country. I will remember your son in my prayers. We all must see Kerry for what he is.
God Bless You
God Bless the United States of America
You are very wrong; you are indeed an American hero, very much so. God bless you and your family…… You did not have to fight in Vietnam, Jeff. We both have smelled the horrible odor of burning flesh. You and I have seen things our children should not ever have to see. We both have had to overcome that initial fear when our first thought is self-preservation, but we quickly think of duty and do what we need to do. You did not have to go to Vietnam, you are a warrior, dressed in blue and protecting a mighty village. Now, like me, you no longer go into those battles, but reach for the bottle of Tylenols first thing in the morning, move slowly the first couple of hours each day, and dispense wisdom to the younger warriors who need your guidance and experience to continue making New York City, and consequently, America safe.
I am sorry for what you had to witness that fateful day of September 11th, but I am glad you were there and am thankful for your service to our nation and our country. ……And (name withheld), we who fought in the jungles and rice paddies and came home to an America that was an angry stranger, will not allow the naysayers to treat our brave young fighting men and women the way they treated us. It is not going to happen. We also will not allow those who blindly follow Kerry and his deceit to forget 9-11. It can never happen again. We will get Bush re-elected.
God bless you and thanks for writing.
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Go see the documentary Fahrenheit 911…
"" Documentary???? You have got to be kidding me! When that idiot misleads people like you by showing a close up of Bush talking about PLO terrorists and Israel, but makes it seem as if Bush is talking about Iraqi terrorists, and the other stuff he spewed, then you deserve an idiot like Kerry.
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George W didn't go to Viet Nam and he did nothing with his life but live off his daddy until he was over 40 years old! George W got a DUI ticket also that you don't hear about anymore. This country is in a bigger mess now than ever before and you know it!
Bush has been married to his college sweetheart since college. Who has Kerry been living off of, daddy? No, wealthy women. Bush lived off daddy until 40, huh? Gee, it is amazing that he ran two different businesses and also owned the Texas Rangers baseball team, all after earning an MBA at Harvard, then ran the State of Texas for a good bit, too.
I have been a recovering alcoholic for over 35 years, so I hope nobody holds my youthful drinking behavior against me after all these years, since I am the same age as Bush, and like me, he did something about that disease years ago. You can go ahead and worry about splinters in his eye if you choose, but I am more concerned about the logs in my own eye.
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Please know that I also am a Republican, but George W has got to go--no matter who takes his place!
Go back and turn on your TV, so Dan Rather, or one of them, can tell you how to think some more. Be sure to watch Kerry's staged home videos from Vietnam tonight, where he acted out phony combat footage and believe he is not a total manipulator and opportunist.
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MY SENSE IS THAT A MAJORITY OF THE 25 MILLION VETERANS JUST HAVE TO ABHOR THE POSITIONS KERRY HAS ESPOUSED. THE CHALLENGE I SEE IS HOW DO WE GET THOSE FOLKS KNOWLEDGEABLE ON THE ISSUES AND GET THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES TO GO VOTE THEIR FEELINGS.
Thanks for your service to our country and welcome home….. "HOW DO WE GET THOSE FOLKS " Write Fox News and demand that they have people like me on more to take on the liberals even they parade across the screen.
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I HAVE READ THE FORWARDED E-MAIL CON CONCERNING KERRY AND AM IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT WITH ABOUT HIM AND HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE I WORK WITH CONCERNING THIS SAME SUBJECT. MOST ARE AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HAVE DONE NO RESEARCH ON KERRY AND BELIEVE EVERY WORD PRINTED IN THE NEWSPAPER ABOUT HIM. ( ALL THE GOOD) AND ALL THE GOOD PUT ON TV.MOST WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE TRUTHABOUT HIM
I ALSO AM A VIETNAM VETERAN, FROM THE AIR FORCE'S ORIGINAL 554 REDHORSE SQD., PHAN RANG AB, VN. 1966 WE STARTED THAT BASE FROM SCRATCH AND IN LESS THAN 8 MONTHS HAD A FULLY OPERATIONAL BASE.
First, welcome home and thank you for your service. Second, please share this reply with your African-American co-workers.
I am about as white as you can get without being a saltine. I am not European-American, as I was born here. My forefathers were born in France, England, and Germany. I am a white guy. I do, however, have lots of soul. I am a Vietnam veteran, but unlike John Kerry, I actually do care about my black brothers and sisters. John Kerry cares about John Kerry. I have been friends with Muhammad Ali since 1973. When I was a young green beret second lieutenant back in 1967, I took the side of and joined with black soldiers in racial seminars arguing against the white rednecks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
I also know about another white guy who cares abut black Americans, too. His name is George W. Bush. His Secretary of State and Secretary of Education are both Black. His National Security Advisor and one of his most trusted and longtime friends and advisors, is Dr. Condoleeza Rice. He has other cabinet members and people in major government posts, who are female, Hispanic, and Asian. Clinton did not do this. Bush did. He walks the walk. Bush has the most racially diverse and gender-diverse cabinet in US history. Long before Bush was President, he would confer with Condy Rice about many things. None of them in the cabinet are "Uncle Tom's." They are great Americans, period.
For years, I have been bothered by so-called black leaders who cry out about suppression of the black race and "trying to keep the black race down." To me, the real hero in the black community is Dr. Bill Cosby. He too is a great American. All black children need to be taught about the strength of character, race, intelligence, and talent they have inherited from a mighty race of people who was able to survive the atrocities of, and horrors of human slavery. Many races would not have survived and persevered in the face of such inhumanity.
America is not red, white, and blue: Our flag is. America is white, black, red, yellow, and brown. Conservatives believe in a hand-up, instead of a hand-out. Democrats have been taking the black vote for granted for years, and use an "us against those greedy white guys" myth to pit blacks against the republican party for years. If you want to let them, then you are allowing yourself to be a slave to a line of bullshit.
When no person of color was around, and my family was alone in my house, and one of my kids repeated a racial joke from school, they got their little ass warmed. We are not all bad guys. Many of us care, and many of us are republicans.
If you want to be a slave to Kerry's line of bullshit, do so. I won't. If you want to investigate further and make an informed decision, please e-mail me and reference this letter. It is time for the dividing lines to come down, in the black community, as well as in the white community.
But hey, I'm white. Don't believe me. You have a rising, awesome young black Republican legislator in North Carolina and another in Oklahoma. If you don't live under a rock, you know who they are. Investigate and trust what they say. Listen to Dr. Cosby. He did a TV show where he portrayed a black doctor married to a black attorney. That is what black (and white) children need to see. Like Dr. M.L. King, to me, Bill Cosby is another great American hero, who does not pretend to be white. Listen to him. Listen to Kerry, and you will be betrayed again, just like he did to his "abandoned brothers."
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Quote used in an email:
“Regardless on your political beliefs, BOTH gentleman believe in protecting America. They just differ on how and that's what we should be voting on. There is no Manchurian candidate here.”
I strongly disagree with what (name withheld) said about both men wanting to protect America. John Kerry, has from, early adulthood, only done what was politically expedient for John Kerry, other priorities follow that. Do you know why Dr. Letson, (in the article) who treated Kerry's "scratch" remembered him? Because even back then during the war, Kerry was telling people he would run for president someday.
I have received over 100,000 e-mails since Feb 11 when my first Kerry editorial came out. Most from veterans and active duty personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Those letters are over 100 to 1 in favor of Bush and against Kerry. Why, if Kerry is a war hero and Bush supposedly an AWOL party boy, would so many think that way?
Use your common sense: Bush is married to his college sweetheart, a school librarian, to this day. Kerry's 1st wife was worth over $ 350 million, and he had 2 daughters with her. She went into a clinical depression, and he left her and started dating Hollywood elite, such as Morgan Fairchild. He met Teresa and got an annulment and married her. Teresa, a Republican and widow of a wealthy Republican senator (Heinz), was worth over $ 750 million, and now is worth over $ 1billion. Last year, she became a democrat when he decided to run for President. Guess Kerry just has the Midas touch at love. Couldn't be that he is a total opportunist who is consumed with his goal.
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The one question I have for you is why haven't you put as much work into looking into the background of George W. Bush. Others have, but have you? Imagine what you could come up with on him if you just looked such as He is the only President elected ever charged with crimes. What makes George Bush a better man? From what I see he’s no better than John Kerry.
I have looked extensively into Bush's background. I have been a recovering alcoholic for over 35 and half years, so I will not hang Bush for what he did when he was using/drinking years ago. Alcoholism is a disease not a character flaw, as per the AMA and every recognized medical authority. Simply use your common sense, the wild, partying, draft-dodging Bush married his college sweetheart, a school librarian and they are still married. Every Secret Service agent in DC tries to get the Laura Bush detail, as she is so nice to each one. I just watched the wannabe First Lady on the news losing it and screaming at a reporter to "Shove it!" because she did not like his question. Can you really picture Laura Bush doing that?
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Dear Mr. Don Bendell:
I would like to thank you to let the Vietnamese American to know more about John Kerry. I was a former Captain of South Republic of Viet Nam Army and honor discharged on 1968 ( during the Vietnamese New Year ) because the Viet Cong shot me down from the airplane …..I want to let the Asian American community as well as Vietnamese American community to know Mr. Kerry who betrayed the Vietnamese people, Vietnam Veterans as well as Vietnam Allied veterans.
I 'm waiting your response and wishing you and your family more health and success in the year to come.
Best regards,
Manh jioi khong? Cam on, Ong.
All six are on my website at www.donbendell.com. Just go there, click on each one and copy and paste them. Thank you for your service to your country, Dai-uy, and thank you for writing.
Chao Ong Mac,
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I just have to write to all who feel that Mr. Kerry is not worthy of being President of this great country of ours…. you may have things that you dislike about Mr, Kerry, But that was then when he was young and you did not like all that was done then.
However. if you really believe in your heart that Mr. Bush is the right President to continue the disaster he has caused to Your children and mine and our Grandchildren forever then you Vote for him. .
I for one feel there has to be a change. One term is enough. time for someone else. I do not vote on party lines. I am just a retired Blue collar worker. Trying to survive till I am no longer on this Earth. The Repubs just are not my kind of Party. I am sure there are many not rich people who feel the same. The Repubs have not done anything to our economy and health problems. did get us out of a heavy deficit when he was in office. which Bush got us back into bigger time.
We have been the victims of a declared war by Muslim extremists since 1989, which they call the Third Great Jihad (Holy War), and they will not rest until we are all dead. We never really noticed until 9-11, but now we have. We can fight them over there or here, but we will have to fight them, period. Under Bush, we fight them over there. Under Kerry, we will fight them here on our soil. By the way, Bush's net worth is $ 15 million. Kerry is worth over $1 Billion. Last year, Bush paid $ 240,000 in taxes, but Kerry, who blows smoke up the asses of people like you and puts down Bush's "tax cuts for the rich," paid only $ 90,000. Bush "walks the walk," Kerry "talks the talk," and Edwards chases ambulances and is much wealthier from that than Bush also. Kerry has made his millions by marriage, so simply put, he's a high-priced male whore. You have the right to let him make a fool of you if you want. I prefer to investigate thoroughly like I have. By the way. I voted for Jimmy Carter and many other democrats.
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As a patriotic American, and a veteran, I urge you to replace the Bush Administration with one that is proven by trial by war and blood, and not continue in office a man who when told about the 9/11 attack on this country continued to read fairy tales to children for seven minutes rather than take decisive action.
Seven minutes in Florida. Now that's character.
"Seven minutes?" What the hell did you think Bush should do, jump on a PRC-25 radio and call in an airstrike? Anybody who wants a President to run to the "red" button the minute our country is attacked is whacko. He continued to read to the children, so they would not be alarmed, while his military commanders determined what the threat level was, who was attacking us, what the appropriate military response needed, which is the proper way to run a country; not like a loose cannon.
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Sorry I am not a voter – only an Israeli admirer of your strong, right words. Hope you’ll succeed.
With high esteem.
Thank you, (name withheld). Bush and I are very pro-Israel. Kerry is very pro-Kerry.
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Just wondered how you are responding to those who say it's not about terrorism, it's about the oil! I plan on sending it to another 55-year-old who has been 'R' all his life but is planning on voting for the (Kerry) cause he's pissed we've lost 900? souls over there.
Tell him if Kerry is President we will lose a lot more than 900, and it will be here on our soil, not over there. Tell him to read this quote about Hussein from January 23, 2003: "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation .. And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass
destruction... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real."
Then let him know that quote was from John Kerry.
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Is this the same Don Bendell who evaluated an "A" Team with 2Lt Potter as the 2IC when we jumped into Polk and aggressed Infantry AIT in the summer of 69?
It is the same El Capitan Bendell, who got nailed on the kneecap by a copperhead, while we hid from enemy deuce and halves late at night, and you blew its head off with your M-16; the same Don Bendell, who was blinded inside the enemy's company perimeter late one night, when a wet-behind-the-ears second louey, or one of his teammates, threw an explosive device in front of my face, and I had to run through deep woods with two NCO's holding my arms, as I could not see for several hours……Sure glad to see you made it back alive. How long did you stay, and where were you at "the big rifle range across the pond?"
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Sir, I salute you. I am retired from the US Army medically for wounds received in combat in Vietnam. I too was medevaced back to the states. I served 17 years and I'm currently rated at 80% but unemployable. I was a crewchief/doorgunner on Loaches when I was shot in the right hand and right leg. I spent 6 long months at the hospital at Ft Gordon. I agree on everything that you stated. However, I don't like the way things are shaping up with the kerry-edwards campaign. If this country can elect bill clinton for two terms as president, I'm sorely afraid that it may happen again. It appears that the war in Iraq will be President Bush's downfall, unless something happens to turn the tide. With High Regards, (name withheld) A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry
Welcome home, Charlie! Thanks for your service. We are going to kick Kerry's butt so hard, Edwards will be handing him business cards every five minutes telling him how he can nail our insurance company with a lawsuit. (Kerry will think for a moment, and say, "Hey, John, what is your wife's net worth?") Used to love going out on VR and treetopping it in LOH's along the Dak Poko River and its tributaries. No rollercoaster in the world could touch it. In fact, I won't even ride carny rides now. The Flying Fishbowl! You had brass balls, Sir. Thank you.
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…….Maybe Capt. Bendell should volunteer his services in our country's time of need?? Just this morning on CNN, a soon-to-be 68 year old doctor from North Carolina, retired from the service for seven years, was
interviewed -- he's being recalled….
"Maybe Capt. Bendell should volunteer his services in our country's time of need?" started volunteering to go back and work for the government beginning on Sep12, 2001, Ma'am. This, despite the fact that I had quadruple bypass surgery four years ago, at the then age of 53, in other words shortly before 9-11. I have a 29 year old son, who gave up a romantic and lucrative career as a professional kickboxer living in Bangkok, Thailand to return back here last year and joined the army and is earning his green beret at Fort Bragg, as we speak. I have volunteered to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan both. I have another son who also gave up a lucrative career as a professional kickboxer and he was living in the Thai resort area of Koh Samui and had been in Thailand for two years and had fought on pay-pre-view a number of times. He was actually like an NFL football player in Thailand, a living legend. He gave that up and moved back here to get a job for the federal government in security.
So, what have you done for our country lately?
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What's stopping the US crusade against terrorism?? Could it be that our armed forces really are stretched too thin??
The probably are thin, since Bill Clinton decimated the US military in the 8 years he was in office, and Bush has been doing all he can to get us back up to safe strength.
Go back and watch your TV and get your info from Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, or CNN and make your intelligent informed decisions based on that some more.
EMAIL RESPONSE
Young men--and women--died in Viet Nam, not because of John Kerry, Ramsey Clarke, Jane Fonda and others, as you claim, but because their government sent them there. Period. And the government was wrong. The government lied. For example, President Johnson knew the war was unwinnable, yet continued to send more troops to die on the grounds that the war should and could be won!
Where in God's name did you get the idea that war was not winnable? By reading things and listening to commentators, that's how. We WON every major battle in Vietnam. The American military NEVER lost one major engagement the entire war. The press made the Tet Offensives of 1968 and 1969 sound like they were communist victories, when in fact, they were the biggest military defeats Hanoi suffered during the entire war. Geniuses like you pooh-poohed the domino effect. Did you ever happen to see the movie THE KILLING FIELDS or read the book? That stuff happened lady, after we tucked our tail between our legs and ran home, because of people like you.
EMAIL RESPONSE
(Long-winded, Liberal “war is bad” email rant; text not included)
I wish to God that idiots like you were exposed to a little of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. A country, where the two sons of the country's leader, picked out cute girls walking down the street, in stores, or wherever, and raped them on a daily basis.
How would you like for your daughter to grow up in such an environ, Lady? Oh, it would be okay, because you would seek out Saddam and try to understand him. We would hold hands and sing Kumbaya and close our eyes and think happy thoughts and all the evil will just go away. Why, I'll just click my heels three times and everybody will be smiling. In Iraq, under SH, if someone did not act just to his liking or the liking of his henchmen, they were literally put into a meat grinder feet first and ground up while the Baathists watched and laughed. Saddam Hussein killed 300,000 Kurds. He used sarin gas. Do you know what it does? You panic because your lungs will not work, you piss yourself, you shit yourself, you convulse and all while still conscious. He did that to innocent little children and their mothers, you pompous arrogant know-it-all. I wish to God you were made to witness some of those things. Who was going to stop the genocide, Genius, Who? France? Spain? The Philippines? Who? We are the only super power left in the world. You would have allowed Hitler. What do you think the difference is between 6 million dead and 300,000? A few zeroes.
EMAIL RESPONSE
You are--again--exaggerating. No one, including Kerry, claimed, "...most American young men, like guys who went to high school with you, went to a foreign country and in a few month's time turned into wild-eyed killers, rapists, etc., and then returned to normal lives in the USA." So why do you even bring that up? Are you just so emotional you can't be rational, or is it a tactic to obscure the truth?
After the testimony of John Kerry, and the actions of Ramsey Clarke, Jane Fonda, and their enthusiastic followers, like you, many more young men died in Vietnam!!!!!!!!!!!! North Vietnam was ready to throw in the towel and request a conditional surrender after suffering devastating losses in the 1968 Tet Offensive, but because of the Anti-War Movement, they decided to hold on and see if they could outwait us. I was medevaced back to the states, but many young idealistic men were subjected to being spat upon and literally called baby-killers in airports when returning home to our country. John Kerry was in big part responsible for that.
EMAIL EXCERPT: "Peace is always better than war, life is always better than death."
DB: Absolutely right, and nobody knows this better or feels it more strongly than a warrior. But, unfortunately, freedom is not free, some men and women have been willing to secure that for all of us with their own blood, tears, and fears. They are the heroes, not those (war protestors) who face arrest and maybe three squares and a warm cell with no bullets and mortars flying around their ears. Sorry, that does not wash.
EMAIL EXCERPT: "If this is going to be emailed around ... I want to know John Kerry's response. How cowardly and irresponsible to write/email this without John Kerry's response attached."
DB: Don't you dare call me a coward, Lady! I have proven over and over again, throughout my life that I am anything but that. Instead, ask Kerry why he won't respond to me. He also will not respond to your letter or my reply.
(WEBSITE NOTE: this reply was cc'd to Kerry's web address. No reply has been received.)
EMAIL EXCERPT: "I would love to know a percentage of the American people who are actually checking the candidates' personal websites and CNN's Presidential Primary Special Report, comparing each candidates' beliefs to their own, and determining for themselves the best candidate for the Presidency. I hope the American people will think intelligently and independently when making a decision before jumping on any emotionally destructive bandwagon."
DB: ".. intelligently .."???
"CNN's Presidential Primary Special Report..??"
You have got to be kidding! If you make your political decisions based on that, no wonder we have so many mindless voters running around. Since CNN news, as well as NBC, CBS, and ABC, are all notorious for having a very liberal bent, why don't you instead go to http://thomas.loc.gov/, the official website for the Library of Congress and simply look up Kerry's voting record on various issues, such as veteran's issues (You know, his "Band of Brothers)." If you think any more than a handful of them look at him that way, just go read my Guestbook, and the responses, pro and con, to my editorial. Ask Kerry why he never does rallies at VFW, American Legion, or any other veterans conventions. He knows why. He will not respond to my accusations, because he has no leg to stand on and knows it.
EMAIL EXCERPT: "What a huge responsibility the American people have ... sorting through rubbish to discover the truth! It's simply exhausting!"
DB: No, Ma'am, exhausting is carrying a seventy-some year old Montagnard woman over a mile and a half, including wading a whitewater river in 100-degree-plus heat, and unbearable humidity to a dispensary because the North Vietnamese shot her through both cheeks of the buttocks with an AK-47, and then fainting from heat exhaustion after getting her there. I imagine "exhausting" is being a NYC firefighter carrying a paraplegic down a smoke-filled stairway in the WTC trying to get out before it collapsed.
EMAIL EXCERPT: "If Kerry is the next person I choose to support, you can trust it will not be based on his opinions, actions, and beliefs 30+ years ago! It will be based on his opinions, actions, and beliefs over the most recent months and years!"
DB: My wife is public about being a former victim of gang rape and acquaintance rape. That was close to thirty years ago. Now, she is a 5th degree black belt, a master instructor, and helps women and girls fight back quite effectively, emotionally and physically. I suppose her assailants would love to have you be their interviewer for a job: "I know you were a rapist 30 years ago, but that was then, this is now. Where is your head at today? We'll just forget all that nasty stuff back then. What can you do for our company now?"
EMAIL EXCERPT: "Quite honestly, this confirms even more to me that John Edwards is the best candidate for the job!"
DB: For a multi-millionaire attorney with hardly any leadership experience, John Edwards does seem to be a nice guy, which is exactly what the Al Q'aida would love to have in the White House instead of George W. Bush, except they would most like to have Kerry, since he voted against every major weapons system including the Stealth, Patriot missiles, Tomahawks, smart bombs, . . . Why am I wasting my time? Go stick your head back in the sand. If your man gets in to office, with the significant tax increases, please make sure he budgets plenty for bodybags, as the AQ will make 9-11 look like a walk in the park if Kerry becomes President. His record on defense proves that.
EMAIL EXCERPT: Don,
You are the world's second biggest $#%#$, next to your hero, Dubya. ..... I served with Sen. Kerry in Vietnam.
DB: You're a classy conversationalist. Seriously, I respect you being loyal to a war buddy. I would expect you to be. Thank you very much for your service to our country. I have an expose on Kerry coming out in the April issue of AMERICAN SPECTATOR. Please watch for it.
EMAIL EXCERPT:
(This was CCed to Don)
Though I love getting most of your e-mails, I would ask that you not send me any political ones. I can't help it but it upsets me to see this kind of hate propaganda … If they have so much time on their hands, why don't they try to do something to help someone else...even if it is George W.? He - and his (Don’s) candidate of choice, which is obvious - would be better served sending out Pro-Bush stuff than Anti-Kerry e-mails.
DB: Thank you for your comments…. a large group of people agree with you. They definitely want Kerry for President and not GW Bush. They are called the Al Q'Aida.
EMAIL EXCERPT: "Probably the biggest problem I have is that the National Veterans Administration seems to have whole heartily backed Kerry. I think one of the people who stand beside him during his stump speeches is the head of the VA. If there is a wing of veterans who dislike Kerry for the incredibly poor job he has done during his tenure in the Senate they have thus far remained silent. Where are the American Legion protests? Where are the Veterans issues in the media? Is it that we want to look forward and not back? Maybe."
DB: First of all, it is called the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Max Cleland, a paraplegic vet, waiting for another cabinet appointment, I presume, sometimes stumps with Kerry and other democrats, and he used to be with VA years ago. Why would anybody who is a veteran, except for personal reasons, stand by Kerry? He, in 18 years as a senator, has done nothing for fellow veterans, nothing. He proposed a veterans bill this year, the year he is running for President, and signed on 6 others. In the previous 17 years, he proposed only one bill and signed on with only 3 others that went nowhere. All that in 18 years in the Senate, but please, do not take my word for it: Research it yourself: Library of Congress website and look up his voting record on veterans' issues, weapons systems, whatever: www.thomas.loc.gov. All major veterans organizations are not allowed to be political in their non-profit charters.
EMAIL EXCERPT: " If he (Don Bendell) feels so strongly about what he says, he needs to do more than place an opinion on his web-site; he needs to stand up and be heard and not just read."
DB: That was not a letter. It was an editorial I wrote and sent out all over on Feb 11. Since then, it has been all over the world many times. …… I have been interviewed on several national radio talk shows. I only posted it on my website, because people asked, so they could copy it and disseminate it.
EMAIL EXCERPT: “Here's the real truth about the Vietnam "Human Rights" Bill. One of the sponsors of the bill, Ed Royce (R-CA) describes it as a bill which " will prohibit non-humanitarian U.S. aid from being provided to Vietnam unless the Vietnamese government begins freeing political prisoners and respecting the rights of ethnic minorities". That sounds good, but it's obvious it is all about restricting aid to Vietnam, not increasing it. Opponents viewed it as an effort to hobble U.S. supported human rights efforts in Vietnam by requiring "reports" to justify any expenditure of U.S. funds in Vietnam which are used for restoring human rights in that country.”
DB: Real nice research you've done on the VN Human Rights Bill, except you are all wrong. Reading something and living it are two different things. The Montagnards of the Central Highlands are called "Moi" by the wonderful happy Vietnamese you refer to, who have suppressed and oppressed them horribly. “Moi” is VN for "savage" but the term is used in a derogatory manner, meaning "nigger." There were 3,000,000 Montagnards in Vietnam when I was medevaced out of country in 1969. Today, there are 650,000. Hanoi has had a forced sterilization program, they torture, murder, and decimate Montagnard villages continuously. ……
EMAIL EXCERPT: “Here's a quote from an article by Kevin Bowen, a Vietnam veteran and director of the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences of the University of Massachusetts at Boston: ‘Those traveling to Vietnam today still may find causes for concern, but they are able to visit and stay with families and friends in their homes, and to move about freely. They find markets, churches and temples filled, people fed and clothed and a young generation of Vietnamese who share much in common with young generations around the globe.’ ”
DB: Tell your research buddies to go to Vietnam and try to visit Montagnard villages in the Central Highlands, not the PR locations they have visited. They cannot. The whole area is locked down and under Martial Law. But, please, since you wanted to call me a "liar," don't take my word for it. Go to Human Rights Watch and ask for their report about current discrimination by the gov't in Hanoi against the Montagnards tribespeople in Vietnam. Go to the UN Human Rights Committee, and investigate. Go to Amnesty International and investigate.
www.montagnard-foundation.org. Go to www.gb4hr.net.
Have you ever watched Montagnard children giggling, or treated one's sick grandmother, or sat down with a family and drank rice wine and ate mountain rice, broiled rat, monkey brains, and talked about Jesus and what it is like living in America? I didn't think so.
EMAIL EXCERPT: “But I do know that John Kerry spent not just a few months in Vietnam, but TWO TOURS of duty. And our illustrious president of the US can't even prove he showed up at his patriotic "jet fighter" job!!”
DB: Kerry spent his first tour as an electronics officer on a ship that went back and forth between the coast of California and the coast of Vietnam. Hardly combat experience of Kerry’s description, razing villages, etc. After his third Purple Heart in four months on a Swift Boat, with the wounds of each only requiring a "bandage" and no hospital time (Little different than my step-brother, who was in the National Guard, who got one Purple Heart in 1966 after being transferred to the 1st Cav Div and then having four M-16 bullets that shortened his leg and kept him in hospitals for over a year).
Any person with any common sense and military background knows that Bush would have been court-martialed for being AWOL no matter who "Daddy" was, as a pilot and an officer. Plus, his commanding officer already stated at the beginning of this "attack Bush campaign" that Bush volunteered to transfer to Vietnam but the CO disapproved it, because GWB did not have enough flight hours. Thirdly, Bush had to sign up for additional service time by requesting flight training. If "Daddy" wanted to exert influence, he could have easily got Bush a cushy desk job anywhere in an air-conditioned office. Why don't you ask Kerry why he has staunchly refused to request the release of his own military records? They cannot be released without his personal request, and he refuses. Why? GWB released 600 pages of personal information about his service in the Air Nat'l Guard.
Secondly, why don't you go make your smart-ass liberal remarks to the surviving family members of the 6,077 National Guard members and Reservists who lost their lives in Vietnam? Tell those families their loved one's service was less honorable than Kerry's.
EMAIL EXCERPT: “I do differ with you about Bush. He has dishonored the soldier with his arrogant attitude about his military service. You know as well as I do that he had lied and dodged his complete service. .... He has yet to visit soldiers in hospitals but will make a political trip to Iraq to have photographers make sure he is seen in the papers serving a fake turkey. I am so disgusted with this president and the people that ignore and support him for partisan reasons. ..... Thanks again for serving.”
DB: On the contrary, Bush has visited many soldiers, and I have been getting pounded with e-mails from marines and GI's in Iraq and Afghanistan thanking me for my editorial, as they want Bush to remain as their commander-in-chief and love him.
…. Thank you for your comments and thank you very much for your service to our country..... Although I am a Republican, I use my brain, and vote for who I think is best. I voted for Jimmy Carter, because I did not care for Nixon.
EMAIL EXCERPT: ..."and (Kerry) does have the right to protest what he (Kerry) experienced..."
DB: Absolutely. Ms. (name withheld), it was the way he protested. The medals he so proudly thumps his chest about now were tossed over the fence of our government's headquarters in protest in front of news cameras, and when questioned, Kerry said they were his medals. Later, they were mounted and hanging in his senatorial office, and when questioned he said they were somebody else's medals that he threw. He marched in parades with the American flag upside down, which is like spitting in the face of all veterans. He marched in parades and participated in demonstrations with people carrying the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese flags, while they were our enemy. That is not protest, ma'am, that is treason. American POW's in Hanoi were read Kerry's Winter Soldier testimony while being hung by their upper arms facing down from the ceiling, excruciatingly, painful and were encouraged to sign documents denouncing the USA like Kerry. Again, don't take my word for it. Ask one of them.
EMAIL EXCERPT:
Don,
I appreciate your opinion as well as others and thanks to the Veterans in this country we have the right to support any politician we please…… I found out that Dick Cheney’s former corporations are now going to get millions of dollars in rebuilding that country it explains a lot. Regardless of what anyone thinks GW was home protecting Houston while many young men including John Kerry were sent off to deal with hell. Should Kerry's dad had the connections as Bush senior he would have been protecting some embassy or major city in the USA....
DB: You have got to be joking….. do you honestly believe that John Kerry cares about the average worker? You talked about Bush's dad's influence. Kerry grew up in one of the wealthier, snobby families in America. His cousins are the Forbes. He sailed with the Kennedys all the time. His first wife was worth $300 million, and he left her after she went into a depression, and finally got the marriage annulled, even though he had 2 daughters, so he could marry his current wife, Teresa Heinz, widow of the heir to the ketchup fortune and worth over $ 700 million. If Bush wanted to use his dad to get out of the war, he could have easily gotten a cushy desk job, and not the extra service time he had to volunteer for to fly jets. Also, several in his class, died in training accidents.
Halliburton, where Cheney worked, is one of the world's largest and most-equipped to put out oil fires, and run pipelines in foreign countries, etc. They would have been in Iraq if Gore was President, well actually not, because Hussein would still be in power, and Qadaffi would still be trying to become a nuclear power, as he admitted when he crawled to us tail between his legs, because of Bush.
EMAIL EXCERPT:
“Being an independent (and) After voting for GW in the last election, I am afraid I cannot do that again based on the state of this great nation and the job loss. …..When the looser Clinton wanted to go into Somalia the conservatives would not support war even though it was mass genocide so I was quite surprised about Iraq.”
DB: Tony, you seem like an intelligent guy. Please use your head, and not listen to TV commentators or reporters. Do you remember three jets full of Americans and fuel hitting the WTC and Pentagon, and a fourth destined for the White House hitting a field in Pennsylvania? How can you possibly blame Bush for jobs lost right now? Do you know what a hit this country has taken because of terrorists, in lost jobs and money?
And where in God's name did you get the idea that Clinton ever wanted to make any affirmative military action, much less in Somalia. We had become the standing joke in the Middle East. Kill some Americans, and they will lob a few Cruise missiles into a country, under Clinton, and that was it. Not only that, Clinton sold all our top electronic technology to countries supporting terrorists, and they have used it to avoid detection, and we still have nailed sixty percent of Al Q'Aida's leadership. And Kerry has used it to slam Bush, as well as putting down the intel services that Clinton totally ran into the ground and Kerry voted against improving, just like Kerry voting against military pay raises and every major weapon system and the Gulf War over the past 18 years.
EMAIL EXCERPT: "As a successful author and owner of more than one Karate school, you probably make enough money to benefit from the Bush tax cuts. You have every right to pursue that which is good for you and your family. And that includes reelecting George W. But your income, your status as a former officer and your successful life separate you from the average working stiff. Many of us don't benefit from the way things are going."
DB: You know there are many sayings about "assumption" and "assume" and they are clichés for a reason. You have no clue how much I make by reading my website, and GWB's tax cuts benefit all. I was not always an officer, I went into the army as a private and went to Infantry OCS, so my first year I was an enlisted man. In Vietnam, I worked OPCON all the time for the 4th Infantry Division and was on operations all the time with plenty of draftees and others. I was also in charge of the Phoenix Program for my TAOR, and I was on an A-Team, not sipping drinks at the O-Club. I saw ten times more and worse than what most soldiers saw, I guarantee it, and I also know that most guys who claim to have committed atrocities were rear echelon guys who are simply wannabes, instead of being proud of whatever service they did perform. Anyway, (name withheld), your e-mail is so strongly worded, it is obvious to me you are a staunch Democrat and are going to put on blinders to whatever Kerry does or has done, and will be in denial, because it is more important to get your Democratic man into the White House than to protect our country or allies. Just as many of you overlooked Clinton's immorality, because he was your Man. So, I will not waste any more of my time or yours.
EMAIL EXCERPT: “Sadly, the current drift of the campaigning is getting quite dirty on behalf of both candidates.”
DB:
GWB is not attacking Kerry. I am. I do
not belong to the Bush/Cheney campaign, Republican National Committee, or anything like
that. My thoughts are my own. I am a concerned, patriotic, angry-at-Kerry Vietnam veteran.
Kerry has attacked Bush with
outrageous, outright lies, many times.
Example. LIE: TODAY SHOW, Feb 25, John Kerry
(direct quote): "I believe that this administration, which incidentally, wanted to
cut the pay of troops, which has not provided body armor to many of our young people
that’s up to date in Iraq. You've got families in Ohio going out and raising money
from friends to buy body armor and send to their kids in Iraq. I think this administration
has, you know, chosen extraordinary priorities - cutting the VA budget so they could
actually give a tax cut to the wealthiest Americans."
FACT: Senate
Bill 1689, Passed the Senate by an 87-12 margin on 10/17/03. Kerry was one of the 12
who voted against it. It was a bill to provide body armor for soldiers serving in Iraq and
Afghanistan, health care for reservists, support for families, and better meals for
wounded soldiers.
2ND FACT: Veterans getting health benefits has gone
up 27% under Bush's budgets (factcheck.org). Bush has raised pay for soldiers 21% and
Kerry voted against military pay raises 12 times. Bush's fiscal year 2005 budget for VA
medical care is more than 40% higher than when Bush too office.
3rd FACT: Kerry, supposedly
taking care of his "Band of Brothers" has only proposed a grand total of four
vets bills (which went nowhere) in over 18 years in the Senate. One of those was this
year, and he signed on 6 others this year, while running for Prez. Check it out for
yourself at the Library of Congress website"
http://www.thomas.loc.gov.
For 18 years John F. Kerry voted against the first
Gulf War and every major weapons system, proposed military pay raise, and bills to upgrade
and improve our intelligence services.
I could go on and on, but I won't. Don't listen to
me. Investigate for yourself. Thank you for your letter.
EMAIL EXCERPT: “Question: First before the question, I agree that Sen. Kerry is a " Hanoi John" but, now the questions: Is President Bush any better? Isn't he leading our country down into the sewer?”
DB:
The only sewer our
country is heading into is the sewer that runs straight out of the democratic national
campaign headquarters strategy room apparently. All I have heard is lies, such as the body
armor statements Kerry has made several times. Scare tactics! Quit listening. Just think,
we lost more lives on 9-11 than on the attack on Pearl Harbor, including a lot of your
brothers and sisters in blue, and firefighters, too. What the hell did you think Bush
could do? You are a cop. Think about it. What if Kerry was President during 9-11? What if
Gore would have been? Use your common sense. You just listened to several months of
unabated attacking of the President, without anyone defending him, only attacking. Kerry
has had his highest approval ratings he is going to experience. His best days are behind
him. He might even start looking for a third multimillionaire wife if things get too bad.
In touch with workers and the common man? His cheapest of his five homes costs over $
3,000,000. According to Kerry, Bush sends jobs away from America? Research yourself and
see how many employees outside the USA are employed by Heinz Corporation, compared to
inside, owned by Kerry's wife. Kerry calls us his Band of Brothers? He has been in the
Senate for over 18 years. In his first there years, Kerry sponsored 3 vets bills and 1
more this year while running for Prez. That is it, period, and those bills went nowhere. Bush was in the ANG and released 650 pages of
documents about his military service, so democratic candidates could embellish and tear it
up. Why doesn't the war hero sign the request to release his own military records? I know
why. You figure it out for yourself.
There is no question my mind, none at
all. It is a no-brainer. I'd rather have a Burning Bush than a Cash and Kerry. My
grandkids need to grow up in the America you and I grew up in.
Thanks again for your service to our
nation.
E-MAIL EXCERPT: “Dear Mr Don Bendell. I just know
about you through from my boyfriend .he is American too . Sorry , of my English is not
good . Because i am not American . I am from Hanoi…. Everythings in here tobecome
better . My country is very friendlys . warmly and wish better for peoples . Please
welcome to visit my country .Many peoples from America your
country were been here . I hope that one day you and your wife will be here . then you
know how about my country..”
DB:
Chiao Co Ha;
Co, manh jioi, phai khong? Toi manh
jioi. Toi di Viet Nam, 1968, 1969. Toi Dai-uy, Luc Luong Dac Biet. Toi di Dak Pek. Toi
muong Nguoi Dac-Biet khong bang Montagnards. Toi khong noi John Kerry, or any other
Americans to foreigners, especially in communist countries. Tell your government to stop
murdering, executing, torturing, forcibly sterilizing, and terrorizing Montagnards with
the Cong-an and military, simply because they worship Jesus and love Americans, then my
wife and I will think about visiting. Toi di. Cam on, Co An.
Don's note about the above excerpt: I BCCed that letter and my reply to several people working on the Montagnard issue. One of them, wrote to her with some facts about Vietnam's human rights abuse record against the Montagnards. As I suspected, the kind miss apparently was actually a government official, as my friend got back; within hours, a lengthy letter explaining how wonderful the government in Hanoi is and how they do not murder and torture Montagnards and so on. I am senior advisor to Kok Ksor, President of the Montagnard Foundation, Inc. The letter mainly attacked Kok and the MFI, claiming it was actually the FULRO, and was a terrorist organization, and Kok really only wanted to take over the Central Highlands and return them to the Montagnards. Don B.
E-MAIL EXCERPT:
The comments on
your website re: Kerry are right on! I know
good folks who are Democrats, but why that party picks such jerks for president are beyond
me. I guess they will just vote for
anyone/anything that is a democrat.
God Bless your efforts.
(name deleted)
Former NVN POW
I am sorry for
what you have had to go through, just like being re-victimized, with what Kerry did to
squelch POW/MIA intelligence efforts and you guys being read his antiwar rhetoric while
you were being tortured, and now he gets the democratic nomination. Please do not blame
the American people. Many believe the campaign words that he simply is a decorated VN war
hero and do not know his background. They will! God bless you for your service to our
nation and for your courage in the Hanoi Hilton.
Blessings,
Don
EMAIL EXCERPT: Thanks Don: re: Kerry info: As a Navy Veteran, 1963-1967, Kerry's four month tour seemed strange. The large majority of my U.S. Border Patrol Academy class of 1972 were 5 and 10 point Nam era veterans. We never forget (name withheld) (ret) Special Agent U.S.B.P.
DB: Thank you for your comments and thank you very much for your service to our country. I have an expose on Kerry coming out in the May issue of AMERICAN SPECTATOR and will be interviewed on FOX NEWS LIVE in a few days. Please watch for both. Thanks to you and your buddies also for "minding the fence," a thankless important job. Don't get "Coyote-bit."
EMAIL EXCERPT:
Mr. Bendell, God Bless you and thank you for taking a stand when so many of us (myself included) have been turning the other cheek to smears against our country and the honorable men and women that have served in what ever branch and in what ever fashion they were needed. I spent 13 months in Vietnam from December 66 to January 68 with the Marines from Chu Lai to the DMZ and I never saw anything close to the atrocities as claimed by Mr. Kerry. I saw compassion by tired and scared men towards those less fortunate than themselves. Mr. Kerry is a disgrace to anyone that has ever worn a military uniform and your letter has moved me to take a stand as I haven't done since 1967. Thank you for reminding me of my heritage and what I fought for so many years ago and what so many are still fighting for and giving their lives for as I pen this note. Thank you for reminding me of my own integrity and moral obligation to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I have down played my military service for over 35 years while this phony wants to take leadership of our country based on his distorted view. I concur that he is an opportunistic hypocrite that has to be shown for what he is and he must never gain control as Commander-in-Chief. Again thank you for your courage and excellent letters to remind us of our duty to those that have gone, are going and will be going because we are America. God Bless you and your family.
DB: Welcome home, Brother. Just when I am weakened by a respiratory virus, self-pity, and exhaustion, I get to read a Guestbook entry like yours, and the tears just poured forth. Thank you, Brother! You lifted me up when the heat, humidity, leeches, vines, and exhaustion from watching too closely for step-and-a-halfs, boobytraps, and ambushes were wearing me down. You handed me my CAR-15, grabbed my pack and carried it on tops of yours, and lifted me up off the ground, smiling all the while. Kerry's people do not like me much and are attacking, and I handle that privately and quietly. Staying up to try to answer some of the thousands of e-mails, Guestbook entries, hundreds of phone calls, and doing radio interviews was just wearing me out, and in weak moments you wonder, "What the hell did I write that stuff for?" Then, boom, right between the running lights, your words hit me. I did it for you . . .and me . . . and every one of us who has been called a screwball behind our backs. I did it for our children and theirs, and for our country who needs us right now. SF are called "The Quiet Professionals," but that is what all of us Vietnam veterans are. We have maintained our bearing and dignity all these years with a "quiet strength" and hid our broken hearts from our families, and our friends. Kerry made the wound bleed again, so now we can clean it out good, properly dress it this time, and let it heal, and we all will turn our deepest wounds into our strongest assets, for we will mend stronger at the broken places. I really appreciate your honest, from-the-heart words and you have my respect, Sir. You are clearly still a US Marine. Semper Fi! Thank you for your service to our nation, and may God richly bless you and your family. De Oppresso Liber.
EMAIL EXCERPT:
My son (name deleted) was (a) casualty in Iraq. He served proudly with the US Army 588th Engineers as a member of the Engineering Recon Team.
My grief and pain are almost unimaginable. The only thing that is worse, is every time John Kerry opens his mouth and insults and degrades all of our American soldiers. I believe him to be a liar and not a man.
I believe that with a man like Kerry in Washington that our entire country and the security of our nation would be in extreme jeopardy, and subsequently I would like to help your cause any way possible. Please let me know how.
DB: I am deeply sorry for the loss of your brave son. You should be very proud of him and know that we are NOT going to let his sacrifice be in vain. He helped rid the world of another potential Hitler, who had already murdered over 300,000 of his own citizens. Unfortunately, scoundrels like Kerry only care about getting elected and say anything to do so no matter who it hurts. Our prayers are with your family, and I know from people in the know, President and Mrs. Bush pray for the families of any servicemen and women who have been killed in action. Love for you to sign our Guestbook and read the comments by thousands of vets.
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I heard that you did not serve a full 12 months in-country with the 5thSFG and that you were medevaced due to an illness, not as a WIA. Is that true?
DB: That is correct. Why? Went the end of May 68 and medevaced in March of 69, after having put in for an extension. Was in hospitals for months. Is it dishonorable to get sick?
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No.
Thank you for your forthright answer!
Incidentally, on several occasions during my 14 month (Mar69--May70) tour as SA Rung Sat Special Zone & Cdr RSSZ River Patrol Task Group I had opcon of several Mike Force companies & their 5thSFG advisors. I had very good support and relations with your Colonel in Nha Trang, but his name escapes me!
DB: Group Co's in that time were Ladd and Aaron. Both good men. You probably dealt with COL Aaron. I had cerebral falciprium malaria, infectious hepatitis, methemoglobimeria, anemia, all at the same time, and right before that, amoebic dysentery and dengue fever. I was also wounded on several occasions. I also, using the bandaid theory like most guys on A-Teams could have put in for fifty PH's (Purple Hearts), but I am not going to attack Kerry on medals. Others are. I won't.
Thank you for your service to our nation.
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A fact worth noting: this guy's (Bendell’s) "heroes" were John Wayne and Roy Rogers.
Both MOVIE ACTORS who never heard a shot fired in anger.
Kerry experienced actual combat, not make believe. Kerry expressed an opinion that was true as it applied to certain behavior. He was not reading lines from a script like the cited "heroes." Wars are complex issues involving society at many levels. More Clausewitz and less karate would serve this author well. Or he should have spent more time in the O Club where he would have been likely to find Bush, who was certainly not in the field. --
DB: (Name withheld), you sound like a real genius. Unfortunately, you are very wrong. It is a matter of public record that John Kerry's comments in front of Congress were scripted, by Bobby Kennedy's head speechwriter. My point, since you seem to miss something so obvious, was that I was raised to believe we are the good guys and we should have a sense of honor and fair play, even in war. Most Vietnam vets followed that creed.
Kerry's testimony was based on the previous Detroit testimony of 7 of his VVAW buddies, who were publicly exposed to be total phonies after the hearings. Only 2 were even in the military, but never in combat. Try reading and researching instead of listening to Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather. "Bush, who was certainly not in the field." Tell you what, Jim, go to the mothers of the 6,077 national guardsmen and reservists who died in Vietnam and tell them their sons were certainly not in the field. I have a better idea: Go to my website and read my Guestbook. I leave both positive and negative letters in there. If you think you are in a majority, wait until you see what America's vets have to say about your hero.
Even better, below is my follow up editorial to the last one. Simply check out the links I offer at the bottom of it for proof.
By the way, you wanna compare your service in war to mine, or compare Kerry's? I didn't think so.
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Not having served in the armed forces during Viet Nam, I am perhaps the least appropriate person to respond to your "editorial; I am, however, a citizen, a voter, a 55 year old mother of 3 sons and 1 daughter, who cumulatively have/had a large number of friends and relatives that served in Viet Nam, or, are currently serving, have served, or died in Iraq.
.....as a member of a prestigious special services team, it appears to me that you (Bendell) enjoyed a walk in the park compared to the nightmare that still haunts so many of your fellow comrades. Your Green Beret service is to be honored and commended, but the stories I have heard, the devastation that to this day still anguishes several of my friends...appears to have occurred in a different place. A place where “orders” were “orders” that had to be executed with no questions asked. Granted, the orders may not have been well advised, but the soldier that chose to circumvent or disobey was met or charged with treason, desertion, failure to obey, etc.,.... My daughter works at (a) Vet’s hospital, and has the honor of treating some of these torn, ravaged, haunted soldiers that came home to be verbally crucified by people like you, sir, who apparently spent most of his "field time" doing church construction and commissary/candy bar work. I wish my friends had been so lucky in Nam!
DB: Thank you for your comments. You were very correct in saying you were not there and obviously do not know what is going on. Anybody who says (Special Forces, not Special Services) had a "walk in the park"-- Ma'am, do you read history books, listen to veterans, and what in the world do you think green berets do and did? "Walk in the park?" Maybe the 7-year old Montagnard girl, Plar, who was raped and murdered by the Vietnamese in my camp while I was out on an operation because I had turned in paperwork to adopt her and they did not like me, would not agree with you that I had a walk in the park. Maybe the visits I still make a number of times each year to the VA hospital, at 57 years old, or the aching wrist because of getting it blown up during a firefight, or the aches in my back from the booby-trapped jeep that exploded while I was driving it, or the bunker with two NVA and ammo in it that I blew up, or the helicopter I was shot down in, or the Otter plane I crashed landed in, or the hearing aids I wear from too many bullets and explosions, or all the Agent Orange used to defoliate the jungle from around my camp, or the tinnitus (ringing in the ears) I suffer from, or the falciprium malaria, infectious hepatitis, dengue fever, methemoglobimeria, amoebic dysentery, or how about the residuals from the mustard gas that burned my face, mouth and lungs, or the CS gas thrown on me when I captured a 2,000 kilo Soviet truck in the Plei Trap Valley, and I could go on and on for an hour. But I won't.
We killed plenty, Ma'am, but we also built a church and treated people good and most of us who saw real combat and more than most anybody in Vietnam, and everybody who served there knows that, also have found that most GI's who claim to have committed atrocities were wannabes "in the rear with he gear" who never heard a shot fired in anger in Vietnam. If you ever read what really happens instead of listening to Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, you would find that it is a matter of public record that John Kerry's testimony before Congress in 1971 was scripted by Bobby Kennedy's speechwriter and based on the Detroit Winter Soldier testimony of seven of Kerry's buddies from VVAW who claimed to be Navy SEALs in the Top Secret Phoenix Program, which I was actually in, and claimed to have committed the atrocities described by Kerry. After his testimony, it was proven that all seven were phonies, with five of them never even having served in the military. The other two were never in combat. One of them was Hubbard, Kerry's close friend who was the founder of VVAW and said he was a jet pilot with a Silver Star and Purple Heart. He had neither and was a mechanic, not a pilot. All public record! Kerry refuses to apologize. The damage was already done and his political career was on its way, and from then on, Hollywood started portraying Vietnam veterans as loose cannons.
There was certainly My Lai and Tiger Force in Vietnam ad some atrocities, as in all wars, but most American soldiers were dedicated, honorable, patriotic soldiers who played by the rules. ANY officer who saw, condoned, or committed atrocities in any war should be court martialled.
Just read my Guestbook on my website. I leave the negative and positive letters in there, almost all from veterans and almost all, 100 to 1, praising me and thanking me for speaking up for our veterans. I pray to God your children come home safe and uninjured from Iraq, and I pray to God nobody ever makes them go through what proud noble Vietnam veterans had to go through because of the lies and political expedience of people like John Kerry and Ramsey Clark, and plain stupidity of Jane Fonda. The ONLY Vietnam veterans you will find to support Kerry are those who are staunch hardened democrats who are too stupid to put the welfare of the country first, and instead put their party first. I don't.
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Don, My name is (withheld), (MAJ UASC Ret). I have my own skeletons and crosses to bear but I only hope that the 25 million vets you speak of come out and vote. I hope that if we as a group can do anything it will be to defeat Kerry. He is a pig of the highest order. I'm not necessarily pleased with how the Commander in Chief acts either. You see I unlike many of our fellow vets I don't think that there is anything in Iraq worth another drop of American blood. Our protégés have done a superb job and its time they came home. We have had the common experience, I'm sure, of looking into the eyes of a widow or mother who has lost a son or daughter in some battle that they can't even pronounce the name of. Death has an ugly look and smell. Our leaders need to have their noses rubbed in it hard and often. ….I…speak from experience having spent 24 years in the Corps. I pray for Kerry's defeat and I pray for our lost brothers. Semper Fi.
DB: Thank you for your comments and thank you very much for your service to our country. …. Totally respect your thoughts. USSR left behind, they say "20" SADM's(backpack nukes) when they got kicked out of Afghanistan by the muj. Many feel it is more like 60. Only takes one placed under a bench in Tel Aviv, London, or Phoenix and we have WWIII on our hands. Many intel types feel they are on the black market and the AQ and others, including Hussein, were buying them. That is one thing you do not read in the papers. Secondly, we vowed that we would not ever allow another Hitler in the world, and Hussein had already murdered over 300,000 of his own people. Who was going to stop him, France? Hitler killed 6 million. Where do we draw the line for humanity?
BTW, net jobs are up 2,500,000 under Bush, his 2995 fiscal year budget for VA is 40% higher than when he took office. He has raised military pay by 21% since taking office, and Kerry has voted against military pay raises 12 times. Just because Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather says it, doesn't make it right.
Last election when Bush got caught calling a dem candidate a "world class asshole," it was the lead story that night on all four networks. The other night when Kerry got caught with his mike on, only NBC ran it as their lead story and they said he was responding to negative republican attacks. That is a powerful machine, the liberal media, controlling how many of us perceive things. Semper Fi!
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Don: You really have a lot of hate inside you. While I might not be a decorated hero, I did serve with the Marines in Korea and fought for freedom of speech for ALL Americans. One thing I am and that is I am not a war monger, just a marine ready to serve his country. Can't we all just try and get along with each other without shoving our hate down each others throat?
DB: Thank you for your comments and thank you very much for your service to our country. I have no hate at all. In fact, I am a devout Christian. I am protecting my country from a phony and a traitor. His record will bear that all out. Kerry is a hypocrite and a liar of the worst sort, but I have a son who is earning his green beret and a daughter-in-law in the Air National Guard. I do not want that man with his record of voting against every major weapons system, military pay raise, trying to disband the CIA, and only proposing 4 vets bills in 18 years as a senator, as the commander in chief of our country. Get your head out of the sand and act like the Marine that you are.. Semper Fi!
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W