"Rockefeller Is Quite Wrong About McCain"

"As combat veterans, we know firsthand war's terrible cost, and these remarks are a grave insult to all our military men and women who have served or are serving. No veteran of war is immune from the terrible human devastation and prolonged suffering. If anything, those who have seen combat emerge from war with a deeper concern for humanity. We know John McCain, and we can personally attest to the strength of his character and his compassion for all those around him."

"Rockefeller Is Quite Wrong About McCain"
By Bud Day, Knox Nunnally, Orson Swindle and Nick Veasey
Charleston Daily Mail
April 10,2008

We were astonished to read Sen. Jay Rockefeller's remarks smearing John McCain's honorable and courageous service.

As combat veterans, we know firsthand war's terrible cost, and these remarks are a grave insult to all our military men and women who have served or are serving.

No veteran of war is immune from the terrible human devastation and prolonged suffering. If anything, those who have seen combat emerge from war with a deeper concern for humanity.
We know John McCain, and we can personally attest to the strength of his character and his compassion for all those around him.

Rockefeller's remarks belittle the men and women of our military serving in Iraq today. These courageous men and women are America's best.

They are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who are risking their lives to help the Iraqi people as well as make us more secure. It is no small act to put on body armor to deliver soccer balls to Iraqi children or to help build a school.

That is the kind of service Sen. Rockefeller dismisses with an ignorance and naivete that can only come from someone with no understanding of war, the compassion of our men and women in combat, or the sacrifices of our military families.

It is also an ignorance that comes from someone who thinks John McCain was dropping laser-guided weapons in 1967 at 35,000 feet, the ignorance of a person oblivious to the facts surrounding the nature of McCain's combat experiences and mission.

The senator's smear of John McCain is even more disturbing considering that Rockefeller is a top supporter of Barack Obama's campaign.

Sen. Obama promised the American people that he would be a different kind of politician. In his widely acclaimed book, "The Audacity of Hope," Obama wrote that he would refrain from distortion and name-calling.

John McCain is committed to running an honorable campaign worthy of the American people. Knowing his character and integrity, we would expect nothing less from John.

Day, an Air Force pilot, served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, where he was a POW for five years and seven months. Nunnally, a former Marine captain, has done three tours in Iraq. Swindle, a Marine pilot, was a POW for six years and four months. Veasey, a former Marine captain, was recon platoon commander at the Battle of Fallujah.

Read The Op-Ed In The Charleston Daily Mail