Another way to look at the contenders for US Presidential Elections 2004..:-)
Posted : August 23, 2004 at 6:38 pm [America/Los_Angeles]
[via Daily Kos: Bush’s Medals]
Senator Kerry’s Awards:
President Bush’s Awards
Ralph Nader’s Awards
Information not available
- Anand
Category: United (or not) State of American Politics 2004
Viewed: 499 times
5 Comments
I think you have Kerry’s medals wrong. He tossed them on the lawn at the Capital building back in April of 1971. So the way I see it he has no medals….
Erik
Posted by: Erik Weibust at August 24, 2004 @ 5:39 am
Good point Erik!
Well, here’s another way to look at it:
Let’s say, there’s an 18 yr. old kid from CA who comes back from Iraq after serving bravely for 4 months and is awarded 5 medals for his services by this administration. To make things interesting, let’s also assume that this kid (thanks to his liberal parents and liberal background) in a public act of denouncing the Iraq war throws his medals into the Pacific! I am sure you’ll agree that the act of throwing the medals, while unfortunate, is really his business and it surely DOES NOT take away the gallantry displayed by this kid in Iraq and the medals that he earned.
The way I see it, United States government at that time felt John Kerry deserved each and every one of those medals. They even stand by their decision today as I’ve not heard from anyone suggesting that they’re planning to strip him off his medals. What he does with those well-deserved medals is really none of my business.
Frankly, this country has far bigger problems to worry about and the more we waste our time on smears and personal attacks such as this (and the ones on President Bush), the more disservice we do to the tens of thousands who have lost their lives or body parts since 9/11 (in US, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of thwe world)
- Anand
p.s.
He got 5 medals that he allegedly threw away. That still leaves 6 well-deserved medals. Right?
Posted by: Anand Sharma at August 24, 2004 @ 1:28 pm
Are those medals or ribbons
Or do they always come together?
And, just out of curiousity, what did Bush get his medals for. Leading his companies’ death march?
-Peeyush
Posted by: Peeyush at August 24, 2004 @ 2:41 pm
Peeyush:
Beats me, my friend. I guess you’re right (hence the updates to the blog entry). I must confess that I am not well versed in the subtle differences that distinguish these from each other: ribbons, medals, decorations, citations, badges
Anyway, I checked Daily Kos’s source article (listed at the top of my entry) and here’s a more detailed rundown of the awards:
Kerry:
Silver Star (Verified via DD214)
Bronze Star (Should have Bronze Combat “V” Device, Verified via DD214)
Purple Heart (Should have two Gold Star devices for subsequent awards, Verified via DD214)
Combat Action Ribbon (Verified via DD214)
Presidential Unit Citation (Verified via DD215, worn above left pocket per Navy regs)
Navy Unit Commendation (Verified via DD215)
National Defense Service Medal (Verified via DD214)
Vietnam Service Medal(Verified via DD214, w/four bronze star devices verified via DD215)
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (Verified via DD215)
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation (Verified via DD215)
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (Verified via DD215)
Dubya:
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (verified via photograph only)
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (verified via photograph only)
- Anand
Posted by: Anand Sharma at August 24, 2004 @ 3:33 pm
First on the ribbon/medal thing. I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that every medal comes with a ribbon. When they wear their “formal uniforms” (think the real “dressy” Marine uniforms) they wear medals. When they are in “non-formal” (think khaki uniforms) they wear ribbons.
On to Kerry’s “medal tossing”. Yes, he fought in the war. Yes, the government awarded him medals for what he did. Yes, he decided that in protest to the war he would “toss them”.
Now I get to my opinions of his actions. I feel Kerry disrespected the Vietnam vets by protesting the war. I feel he is now making a mockery out of himself by now acting very proud of himself and his service in Vietnam and trying to use that to get him into the White House. Now, after disrespecting all the soldiers that fought in the war by protesting it, he’s also disrespecting everyone that protested the war by using his service time as a postive. These are just my opinions. I respect you and everyone else’s these are just mine.
Erik
Posted by: Erik Weibust at August 25, 2004 @ 6:05 am