Navy releases McCain's military record

Source: myway

WASHINGTON (AP) - From his five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp to his tenure as the Navy's liaison to the Senate, John McCain's Navy record boils down to a series of unadorned paragraphs that bestow upon him some of the nation's top military honors.

The Navy recently released McCain's military record - most of it citations for medals during his Navy career - after a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press.

McCain was awarded a Silver Star Medal for resisting "extreme mental and physical cruelties" inflicted upon him by his captors from late October to early December 1967, the early months of his captivity, according to the citation. The North Vietnamese, according to the Navy, ignored international agreements and tortured McCain "in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes."

McCain, now the Republican Party's likely presidential nominee, was taken prisoner in October 1967 after he was shot down while on a mission over Hanoi. He wasn't freed until March 1973, after the United States signed peace agreements with the North Vietnamese. His captors tortured him and held him in solitary confinement. Still, he declined an offer of early release until those who had been at the prison longer than him were let go.



Read more: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080508/D90H5S3O0.html

OMG - were the VietCong republicons, too? Or do they just share the same reublicon 'family values?'

Communist North Vietnames soldiers and political officers.

Correcting a statement about who tortures whom is now a defense of the victim of torture?
I don't recall being required to wear a brownshirt when I joined up here.

What is the difference between the action of the N Vietnamese during their civil war and the Bush Regime?

The N Vietnamese tortured people who actually threatened their civilian population.

and worse. So I guess they do share the same values.

mayeb give them Silver Stars when we let them go after several years of torture?

Courageous but dim.

even that is a pretty good accomplishment and more than alot of other people can claim in our country, not enough though for me to vote for him this election as I could not stand a 3rd Bush term.

Good grief. We all have accomplishments in one way or another, but they don't qualify us to run for leader of the free world. Let's ask a little more of the people who ARE running! Haven't we had enough of the boob who was fun to have a beer with?

The five guys in McCain's class who are dumber than he is. Want to be that they all washed out of the military within three years? Like McCain would have, had his daddy not been the Rear Admiral? Absolutely incompetent, but got by on the basis of his family name.

Must be the standard career path for Republican presidents....

surly he got something for that?

:rofl:

Though, to be fair, he only lost four on his own. A Chinese SAM helped him earn number five.

mikey_the_rat

someone else's "friendly" rocket burned his plane, and did a lot more damage and carnage.

I think only three were his fault. Only three. Yikes. Good think he had connections.

that McCain contributed to the fire on the Forrestal by 'wet-starting' his plane to get back at a pilot who'd ticked him off.

He was quickly transferred afterwards.

Gee, are you saying that McCain has a nasty/petty temper that trumps his reason and judgement.

If you take out the American plane on your own, you're credited with a takedown...and if someone shoots you down, you're credited with an assist.

Before I join in on swiftboating someone I'd like to know the facts.

:hi:

Goodle "Ace McCain" and you will find lots of links to the whole story.

I don't think this is a WINNER on the campaign (because as we all know God wants Republicans to win wars for him :sarcasm: ) but basically he downed his own plane 3 times AND narrowly escaped death when his plane has hit by a misfired missile on the aircraft carrier AND of course the plane that got hit when he became a POW.

that the medals be taken away from him?

I think that was disgraceful what they did with John Kerry. Let's discuss the issues of today and why McCain is not the one to lead America forward.

Because McCain is a 3rd term for the Bush Administration - take a look:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y1qcma0Q4">Bush and McSame

I could not agree more. There's plenty of current issues to criticize him on without casting aspersions on his military service.

HAS a military service history, unlike most of his Republican colleagues who sit on their boil-infested asses and start wars for other people to fight and die in....

you missed the part about it being military people who want his medals taken back. And it's military men want the medals taken back. There are two important things to remember, he got 28 medals (for 20 months flight service) and the rule that two witnesses had to vouch for the recipient's actions and testify that he/she deserve the medals was overridden EVERY TIME. For only one person. Mr. Admiral's Son, the guy who spilled his guts to his captors within 4 days, John McCain

you can be the biggest fuck-up on the planet and still be shielded from any criticism all because you wore the uniform.

Nice try.

Me (I even left the gammatical error in): "There's plenty of current issues to criticize him on without casting aspersions on his military service."

there's no reason it shouldn't be brought up.

After what they did to Kerry, I don't see why the the facts aren't fair game.

Welcome to Swiftboat Veterans for Truth! :eyes:

not even the same thing.

...and it's exactly the same thing. You're either being dense or disingenuous.

it's fair to critique it. I don't endorse lying about it, the way they did Kerry's, but if HE'S lying in anyway, call him on it.

They didn't allow Kerry to do that.

The swift boat assholes smacked every vet in the face when they went after Kerry. Damn them all to hell.

his dad buried it...the media was forbade.



January 16, 2006 -- Why is John McCain so supportive of Bush and Cheney after being so viciously attacked by them in the 2000 campaign?

January 16, 2006 -- Why is John McCain so supportive of Bush and Cheney after being so viciously attacked by them in the 2000 campaign? The answer to this question may partially rest in Navy records detailing the events that took place on the USS Forrestal in "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin at the end of July 1967. The neo-cons, who have had five years to examine every file within the Department of Defense, have likely accessed documents that could prove embarrassing to McCain, who was on board the USS Forrestal on July 29, 1967, and whose A-4 Skyhawk was struck by an air-to-ground Zuni missile that had misfired from an F-4 Phantom.

What have sealed Navy records given to the neo-cons to blackmail McCain? Plenty, according to eyewitness on the USS Forrestal.

According to an eyewitness to the Navy's worst fire disaster that killed 134 sailors and injured 62, McCain and the Forrestal's skipper, Capt. John K. Beling, were warned about the danger of using M-65 1000-lb. bombs manufactured in 1935, which were deemed too dangerous to use during World War II and, later, on B-52 bombers. The fire from the Zuni misfire resulted in the heavy 1000 pounders being knocked loose from the pylons of McCain's A-4, which were only designed to hold 500-pound bombs.

During the fighting of the fire and while VF-74 and VF-11 were still counting their dead, McCain was helicoptered off the Forrestal to the USS Oriskany, which suffered a major fire on October 27, 1966, that killed 44 sailors. In that event, thousand pound bombs were jettisoned away from the fire but the lessons of the Oriskany went unheeded by the Forrestal's officers, including McCain, who served with the VA-163 Saints on board the Oriskany when the fire on that vessel occurred. On October 26, 1967, McCain was shot down over North Vietnam during a bombing sortie from the Oriskany.

Aug. 29, 2005 -- Bush celebrating McCain's 69th birthday with a cake. Bush and his operatives may have more than a cake up their sleeves when it comes to McCain's Navy record prior to his time as a POW.

The unstable bombs had a 60-second cook-off threshold in a fire situation and this warning was known to both Beling and McCain prior to the disaster. On January 14, 1969, the USS Enterprise, steaming 75 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, suffered a major fire. In that episode, similar unstable 1000-pound bombs detonated, killing 27 sailors and injuring more than 100. At the time of the Enterprise disaster, the Commander-in- Chief of US Pacific Forces was Adm. John S. McCain, Jr.,Sen. McCain's father.

At the time of the Forrestal disaster, Admiral McCain was Commander-in-Chief of US Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR) and was busy covering up the details of the deadly and pre-meditated Israeli attack on the NSA spy ship, the USS Liberty, on June 8, 1967. The fact that both McCains were involved in two incidents just weeks apart that resulted in a total death count of 168 on the Forrestal and the Liberty, with an additional injury count of 234 on both ships (with a number of them later dying from their wounds) with an accompanying classified paper trail inside the Pentagon, may be all that was needed to hold a Sword of Damocles over the head of the "family honor"-oriented (McCain's persona is supported by his book about his father and grandfather, both Navy admirals, titled "Faith of My Fathers") and the "straight talking" McCain.

The Bush administration and neo-cons may have uncovered reams of documents that throw cold water on that public perception.

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/articles/20070415_8

person. Guess not.

Oh wait...it's only "patriotic" to trash non-republican soldiers, current or past.

is there anything out there on the internets? Statements from other POW's that were held with him?

I'll keep looking.
Phillip Butler, PhD Cdr, USN (ret.)Doesn't support him.
Joe Crecca ....I can't find out exactly how he stands.

The back-up is about Phillip N. Butler.

As for Joe Crecca - he's a hardass jerk RWer. Google his name and you'll see why.

:think:

Check out his bio in the upper right corner. He's also Treasurer of the Monterey, CA chapter of Veterans For Peace
http://vhenry.home.igc.org/vfp/

Why I Will Not Vote For John McCain
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859,00.html


(snip)
People often ask if I was a Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is always "No - John McCain was a POW with me." The reason is I was there for 8 years and John got there 2 ½ years later, so he was a POW for 5 ½ years. And we have our own seniority system, based on time as a POW.
(snip)
I ... believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate.

Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's. Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW contemporaries. We experienced injuries and malnutrition that are coming home to roost. So I believe John's age (73) and survival expectation are not good for being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years.

I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button.
(snip)

There's a helluva lot more at the link. Read it and spread it around. Needless to say, Butler's sentiments do not exactly endear him to his former fellow POWs in Hanoi, much less the chickenhawk pissants and pretenders who respond in the military-dot-com forum.

:think:

.. can be appreciated.


But in the political world he is a menace. His "I'm their worst nightmare" comment to Jon Stewart demonstates an immaturity that rivals "Bring them on!"

He's still wants "victory" in Iraq, but never quite defines that in realistic terms.

And on domestic policy he is horrible.

I know he repented of his misdeeds in the Keating Five Scandal, and he's all better now.

But the fact he did it in the first place suggests that, if the circumstances were right, he'd do it again. Isn't that what they say about child molestors, bank robbers and crack dealers? That we have to lock 'em up for life because They Will Do It Again? What makes political corruption different from any other felony?

I hope it gets a lot of coverage. The only risk: voters' eyes glazing over trying to comprehend the S&L scandal.

It's not relevant during a time when Americans need peace.

Don't mention it. Don't talk about it. As far as I'm concerned he was in the Peace Corps.

he's already running ads featuring himself in military uniform.

I'm for Obama. He's also against torture.

There's plenty to say against McCain that's actually true - try some of that next time.

citation for the silver star? I mean Kerry wrote his own awards so it must have been common practice among the officers at the at the time. (by the way I spent 23 years in the Navy and never got to write my own award is it too late).

Get the Hillary female voters by focusing on the fact that McCain wants to take that choice away with them...

That one needs to be broadcast far and wide. I'll bet many are not aware of this considering McCain isn't talking about it much.

They wouldn't release Kerry's record. Just as well as the swift boaters were denied access to his miitary record . Guess it was too bland.

I know its crazy...but they really want everyone to buy the 'Carbon Credits' scheme. And, well you know...they need Dems to push that through.

The Bankers are thrilled!!!

people, and will react in ways that seem inappropriate to the stimulus. Some become very defiant to authority, some overly compliant to authority. Some have violent tempers. Some have bizarre ideation. They're like that box of chocolates in Forrest Gump.

Did they mention his foiled joke on the Naval aircraft carrier where he accidently killed a lot of sailors?

From a former military officer point of view, going after McCain like the rethugs went after Kerry is a very bad idea. McCain had a longer career than Kerry did so more to judge his career on than just his war record. McCain was also given a command after he came back and that implies that he had to be an good to very good officer. I agree what happen to Kerry was unfair and that it should not have happened but trying to do the same thing to McCain is not going to work.

If the POW experience was the extant of McCain's military service and he had left the service after that, then his military record would be something we would want to harp on. However, McCain still had a successful career after he return to duty. Here is why I say that: He was given command of a fighter squadron and then was promoted to Captain. While I know a lot of people here will say "They gave it to him because of his daddy" that is not the way it works for command. If the board that determines who gets what command meets in secret and if any of those officers thought McCain as dumb or as bad a pilot as some here say he is, there was no way he would have been given command.

There are plenty of things beat McCain up over. I personally think that his military record is one we want to avoid for two reasons: 1) If someone tries to swiftboat McCain, it will allow him feature his service record (one of his strong points IMHO) and bring forward POW after POW who supports him. (see Col "Bud" Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Day ) 2) It will remind voters Obama has no military service and he will be in charge of the military in a time of war.

Focusing on the economy, health care, and gas prices is the way we're going to beat the rethugs.