| WASHINGTON, D.C. — "American pilots do not conduct air-raids on villages, killing civilians, nor are our troops cold-blooded murderers or terrorists," said retired Air Force Col. George "Bud" Day, America’s most decorated living veteran and former POW. "But, if you believe some current members of Congress who have accused our men and women in uniform of all that and worse, you would have to conclude our military is a barbarian horde, just as John Kerry had previously said." "It was a lie then, and it’s an even bigger lie today," Day continued. "The truth is that some in the U.S. Congress and their mouthpieces in the media now represent a much bigger threat to the lives of our men and women in combat, and our national security, than any foreign enemy." Among his many decorations from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Col. Day is a Medal of Honor recipient and a combat pilot held captive for more than five years in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison. He is also the Chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF) which has been embroiled in litigation with Kerry campaign aides since Kerry’s failed Presidential bid. Those lawsuits were recently withdrawn, and the VVLF is now able to reveal the results of its research and investigation efforts. But the VVLF needs your help. "We were forced to spend over $1 million to defend ourselves in these frivolous lawsuits. In fact we still owe over $250,000 in legal bills. We paid the price of freedom 35 years ago to protect the basic liberties of all Americans, and now we’re paying all over again, to protect our own freedom of speech," said Col. Day, a practicing Florida attorney. "Unfortunately, as former Prisoners of War, we do not have the money that MoveOn.org has. Nor do we have the ability to obtain special discounts from the New York Times to run full page ads. That is where you can help." Col. Day and several other POWs, including the wife of a POW, were sued numerous times by Kerry campaign associates after they participated in a 2004 documentary, "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal." In that film, Day and other POWs detailed the direct impact Kerry and his fellow anti-war activists, including many U.S. Senators, had on their survival in captivity and even the eventual loss of the Vietnam War. The producer of "Stolen Honor," Pulitzer Prize-winner and Marine combat veteran, Carlton Sherwood, was also sued in a vain effort by the Kerry Campaign to prevent the documentary from being broadcast or even shown in theaters. It was eventually released in the closing days of the 2004 campaign, primarily on Northern Ohio cable outlets where, according to most post-election news analysts, Sen. Kerry lost his presidential bid. "Our brave soldiers were and continue to be sold out today by many of those same people, abetted by a new crop of politicians and journalists," Col Day said. "They may say they ’support the troops,’ but they have nothing but contempt for those serving in the military. The reality is many in Congress and the media are hoping for, and invested in, America’s defeat in the Global War on Terrorism just as they forced America’s defeat in Vietnam, years after the last U.S. military combat units were withdrawn." Col. Day continued: "The problem is that it was all a lie, staged theatrics, choreographed by the Communists and spoon fed to the American public by unconscionable, ambitious politicians and the press. We now have the hard evidence to prove that. We have obtained documents, records, eyewitness accounts, even the CONFESSIONS of those who originally made those despicable accusations and have now recanted ever witnessing an atrocity, much less committing one. The facts are incontrovertible and compelling." "Our findings prove the accusations made against our military in Vietnam were pure enemy propaganda used by American turncoats to advance their political ambitions and agendas, all trumpeted, by an unquestioning, complicit media," Day said. "Today, other phonies have taken their place, people like Jesse MacBeth and Scott Thomas Beauchamp, whose slanderous accusations against our men and women in Iraq made world-wide headlines even though those reports were baseless, the accusers frauds. Then, as now, the media has been all too eager to hand the microphone over to anyone who wishes to defame America’s soldiers, whether it’s an ambitious politician or a wannabe who never spent a day in uniform, much less a combat zone. Col. Day said his VVLF organization plans to release its findings once they secure funding to do so. "This is not over," said Day. "Now we are able to reveal the results of the research and documentation that we acquired. This material will reclaim once and for all the good name and good reputation of a generation of servicemen. It will help make sure that the brave men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan don’t have to go through what we did." Armed with these testimonies and documented research, the VVLF plans to demonstrate to the American public the truth about those who accused our troops of atrocities and war crimes and those who promoted those falsehoods. The former POWs also intend to show the motives of those responsible and the media propaganda that lead to an entirely false history of Vietnam, just as the press is doing today in Iraq. That is where we need your support. To present our findings to the American Public, the VVLF needs your help. It is critical that we reveal the truth before Congress repeats the mistake it made over 30 years ago. |
