THE CHICKEN HAWKS OF CONGRESS

As a Veteran, I get sick and tired of these so-called “Chicken Hawks”. Those who have never serverd in the Miltary and or gave their time to protect defend and assist this country in the one resource this country needs, manpower.

For the record, it is worth noting who really served among the heavyweights in each of
the major political parties.

DEMOCRATS:

* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V
  Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-1953.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and
  Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze
  Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Bomber pilot, many missions. Silver Star & DFC

  during WWII.
* Jimmy Carter: Annapolis graduate, seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Said to have served in Hungarian underground in WWII.
  Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

* Wesley Clark: U.S. Army, 1966-2000, West Point, Vietnam, Purple Heart,

 Silver Star, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Retired 4-star general.

* John Conyers: Army 1950-57, Korea

* John Dingell: WWII vet

  John Edwards: Did Not Serve

* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.

* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army
   journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.

* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam.

* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII, receiving the Bronze Star and
  seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,
  and Soldier's Medal.

* Bill Clinton: Avoided service, with student deferments. Entered draft
  but received 311.

* Chuck Robb: Vietnam

REPUBLICANS:


* Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as aviator and flight instructor. Got out of Military as U.S. peacekeepers were entering

Viet Nam.
* George W. Bush: six-year Nat'l Guard commitment (in four years);
questions about his service remain.
* Ronald Reagan: made war propaganda movies.
* Gerald Ford: Navy, WWII
* Sen., John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart
and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Bob Dole: Army officer WWII.
* Sen., Chuck Hagel: two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, Vietnam.
* Sen., Duke Cunningham: nominated for Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Silver
  Stars, Air Medals, and Purple Hearts.
* Sen., Jeff Sessions: Army Reserves, 1973-1986
* G.H.W. Bush: Pilot in WWII. Shot down by the Japanese.
* Sec of homeland Security, Tom Ridge: Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam. * Sec of State, Colin Powell: Viet Nam, Medal of Freedom, Commander Joint chiefs of Staff
* Sen. Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.

* Sen. Richard Burr: Did Not Serve.
* Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert: Did Not Serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Sen., Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Sen., Trent Lott: did not serve.
* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Had "other priorities."

  Six deferments, the last for wife's pregnancy.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve, Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Sen. Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked  Max Cleland's patriotism        
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Sen., Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Sen. Jon Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Sen., Phil Gramm: did not serve.

PUNDITS & PREACHES:

* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a rear end cyst.')
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.

While coming from a family of Officers and Non-Comms., while also serving in Viet Nam myself what I have laid out for you reminds me of the old saying,

"The last bastion of scoundrels is the flag and religion."

For all these so-called Chicken-Hawks that have not served, I have one thing to say and that is the quote from A Few Good Men:

“I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain what it means to serve your country to men who rose and slept under the blanket of the very freedom we who served provided for them each and every day”.

I would, though, like to say one thing in defense of some individuals who

Did Not Serve.

There are those who did not serve, who truly believe for one reason or another that the Viet Nam conflict in particular was wrong. For these people I say this, I truly respect your choice and would fight for your right to make the same decision again.

Our Constitution gives each one of us many rights such as the right to vote as well as the right to use one’s own conscience. 

On the other hand, we have people whose conscience never bothers them.

They use words like honor, code, loyalty, religion, and the flag. “We who have served use these words as the backbone of a time spent defending our country. They use them as a punch line”. A Few Good Men

Those who -- when it came time to defend their country, to put their money where their mouth (life) is -- were either too scared or too cowardly to defend this great country have no legs to stand on. All those who have served have the right to speak out against injustice, against what they perceive as wrongs committed by some in our government. These loyal Americans should never be questioned. 

If these Chicken Hawks want to become war hawks: I suggest they pick up a weapon and stand post. A Few Good Men