Jan Scruggs is mentioned here somewhere where he says that somehow both President Bill Clinton and Rep, Newt Gringrich would today be better leaders, had they experienced the multiethnic brotherhood borne in battle. Thank God, they personally where free of "that horror". This is a device used to seperate the vets from the rest of us (U>S>A>)
It begs the question of whether veterans, by fact of their military status, are better than the unveteraned amongst us.
Veteran and non-veteran alike can share a postwar reality in Viet Nam TODAY, if they care to do so. I personally would think it would be the greatest miracle for both Newt Gringrich and President Bill Clinton, along perhaps with Ambassador Douglas "Pete" Peterson, U.S. Senators John Kerry, John McCain, Jim Kerrey, as well as Vice-President Al Gore to visit Viet Nam in 1997, and when they were free, to allow me to take them out for a night on the town in Gia Lam, kick back, sing some Karaoke, eat some cobra snake, drink some cobra blood wine, and dine together in peace with Pham Van Dong, Vo Nguyen Giap, Doan Khue and Secretary of Defense Cohen. Then issue a bipartisan press release announcing the "Viet Nam Syndrome" dead and buried, and the Viet Nam Peace, hard fought and now won, as wonderful news in the post PRC take over of Hong Kong.
That's if I were asked. So.
NO STAR WHERE! Hieu chua?
Joe Bangert
1948
Philadelphia, PA
veteran, unveteran, nonveteran, snakes