The lies and distortions of Richard Blumenthal

Richard Blumenthal is running for the office of United States States Senator from the great state of Connecticut, and he would appreciate your vote. Luckily for him, I live in Virginia or his opponent would certainly receive mine.

You see, Mr. Blumenthal is a fake and a liar. Over the years he has repeatedly led others to believe that he was a Viet Nam veteran, and recently he even explicitly said so. The problem is, he was never anywhere near Viet Nam. He did serve in the National Guard while the true heroes were fighting and dying in southwest Asia, but the closest he ever got to seeing combat was attending his weekend drills back home.

I myself served on active duty during the first Gulf war. Does that in and of itself make me a Gulf War veteran? Of course not. I split my active duty time between Korea and Georgia, and even though I was on active duty for the duration of the first Gulf War, I AM NOT a Gulf War vet.

In my opinion, to be considered a “vet” of any war, one must have actually served in the theater while the bullets were flying. I didn’t, therefore I’m not a combat veteran. Mr. Blumenthal didn’t either, yet for years he has led everyone to believe that he did. To a true combat vet and the people who love and respect them, that is a grave insult.

A combat veteran is a person who lived from day to day with the knowlege that he/she might take a bullet, step on a land mine or drive over an IED at any time. A combat vet saw his/her friends and comrades shot up and/or blown to bits. Only a combat vet can truly know what it’s like to experience the horrors of war first hand, up close and personal.

I never experienced any of that, and I have never claimed to have done so. And while I’m extremely proud to have worn the uniform of the United States Military and I would have willingly went into combat had I been asked to do so, I wasn’t and I didn’t. My service was a mere shell of that of my brothers and sisters in arms who actually fought in the Gulf War. For Mr. Blumenthal to claim to have served in Viet Nam is simply shameful. Just my two cents worth…