John McCain, War Hero

[gipper]

God bless John McCain

If there is a Heaven and Hell, he is going down.

 

[DGS49]

FWIW, I served for 16 months in Vietnam as a personnel specialist. I did nothing remarkable or heroic, but I did get a BSM and an Army Commendation Medal, which was customary at the time.

Because of my position and some of my duties (Officer Efficiency Reports, Awards and Commendations), I was able to see a lot of the bullshit that goes on (went on) in the officer corps, particularly the phony heroism that prevailed. For example, officers in my unit were able to "earn" the prestigious Combat Infantry Badge if they served six months "in combat." I saw scores of lieutenants who served exactly 182 days camped out in a concrete bunker (TOC), before heading back to Saigon, where they served out their year under the conditions I described above for McCain. I saw field grade officers get the Legion of Merit for doing nothing more than serving over there without being court martialed. It was disgusting. I saw officer after officer be rated "The Best Officer I Know" in ALL of 21 different competence and leadership traits. In fact, one "Excellent" mark was enough to doom a career over there.

I occasionally went to the Danang air base (Air Force base), and observed those same conditions under which all Air Force personnel served. Not too difficult service.

I know a little bit about what I'm writing about.

 

[rightwinger]

FWIW, I served for 16 months in Vietnam as a personnel specialist. I did nothing remarkable or heroic, but I did get a BSM and an Army Commendation Medal, which was customary at the time.

Because of my position and some of my duties (Officer Efficiency Reports, Awards and Commendations), I was able to see a lot of the bullshit that goes on (went on) in the officer corps, particularly the phony heroism that prevailed. For example, officers in my unit were able to "earn" the prestigious Combat Infantry Badge if they served six months "in combat." I saw scores of lieutenants who served exactly 182 days camped out in a concrete bunker (TOC), before heading back to Saigon, where they served out their year under the conditions I described above for McCain. I saw field grade officers get the Legion of Merit for doing nothing more than serving over there without being court martialed. It was disgusting. I saw officer after officer be rated "The Best Officer I Know" in ALL of 21 different competence and leadership traits. In fact, one "Excellent" mark was enough to doom a career over there.

I occasionally went to the Danang air base (Air Force base), and observed those same conditions under which all Air Force personnel served. Not too difficult service.

I know a little bit about what I'm writing about.

How many of those officers were flying missions over enemy territory and having missiles fired at them?

 

[DGS49]

The officers in my unit (MACV) occasionally came under enemy fire, but the telling fact is that during my 16 months we had exactly 5 casualties (about 500 servicemen overall). Of those, three were self-inflicted, one was completely random (a rocket hit an outhouse where a soldier was taking a shit), and one was a stray bullet hitting a guy and not even breaking the skin (for which he got a purple heart). Our survival rate was about the same as McCain's unit.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

The officers in my unit (MACV) occasionally came under enemy fire, but the telling fact is that during my 16 months we had exactly 5 casualties (about 500 servicemen overall). Of those, three were self-inflicted, one was completely random (a rocket hit an outhouse where a soldier was taking a shit), and one was a stray bullet hitting a guy and not even breaking the skin (for which he got a purple heart). Our survival rate was about the same as McCain's unit.

So where are your links showing the number of pilots in McCain's unit that were lost or shot down and held as POWs?