Blue Jersey Liberal Blogger Tries to "Swift Boat" Myers, Says Myers "Lying About His Experience"

Blue Jersey Liberal Blogger Tries to "Swift Boat" Myers,

Says Myers "Lying About His Experience"

Myers Calls on Adler to Denounce "Vicious" Attack, Apologize to Bunker Hill Sailors

          Mount Holly, July 25, 2008-In response to a vicious, dishonest "Swift Boat-style" attack on his military service aboard the USS Bunker Hill by one of Blue Jersey's liberal bloggers, decorated combat veteran and congressional candidate Chris Myers today called on his opponent, career Trenton politician John Adler, to denounce the attack and apologize to every sailor who served aboard the USS Bunker Hill from November 1990 to March 1991.

          In the days following Myers' admonishment of Adler for wrongly using the term "citizen soldier" to describe radical, liberal internet bloggers-instead of the NJ National Guard memebers who recently delployed to Fort Bliss enroute to Iraq that rightfully earned the title-Myers has been attacked in liberal blogs across the country.  None of those attacks, though, have risen to the level of the direct and shameful assault on his military service launched last night by liberal blogger Thurman Hart on http://www.bluejersey.com/.

          "Hart's "Swift Boat-style" hit piece says, among other things, that "the men of the Bunker Hill...had never actually seen combat" and that by referring to himself as a decorated combat veteran, Myers "is not merely obscuring the line- he is blatantly walking across it and lying about his experience."  Hart also asked: "Why are you authorized to wear a "V" designator that is supposed to denote valor in combat?  If it was honestly deserved, then you can display on your web site the actual letter of award that comes along with the medal."  (Mr. Hart's entire blog is attached below.  For the record, a copy of the letter awarding Myers the Navy Commendation Medal with "V" designator for "combat distinguishing service" can be obtained by the press via fax upon request.)

          "I could not be more proud of my service, or that of my 400 shipmates aboard the USS Bunker Hill during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  Our vessel was the Air Defense Commander for the entire Persian Gulf.  We navigated through mine-infested waters-just missing several.  The same waters where the USS Tripoli and USS Princeton were damaged by mines," said Myers.  "And we did all that while firing 28 Tomahawk Missiles at enemy targets on the ground in support of our Army and Marine brethren on the ground, controlling and clearing 10,000 military aircraft to fly safely over the Persian Gulf, and designing and executing air defense plans aimed at preventing friendly aircraft from being shot down.  If that's not combat I don't know what is," said Myers.

          Myers' Campaign Manager Chris Russell said the attack reeked of a coordinated effort on behalf of the Adler Campaign and liberal bloggers at Blue Jersey to try and diminish Myers' service in the Navy.

          "John Adler is a career Trenton politician who voted to raise taxes 43 times; he's a connsumate political insider who's been part of running this State into the ground," said Russell.  "Chris Myers is a decorated combat veteran and a successful businessman.  The Trenton and Camden political bosses know Adler's resume' pales in comparison.  That's why they tried to take Chris out in the primary; and that's why they are stooping even lower now, denigrating his military service with this ‘Swift Boat-style' attack.  They're desperate and it shows."

          Myers also said that Adler's failure to denounce Mr. Hart's attacks would be offensive to the New Jersey Veteran's Community, at large, whose rallying cry is "a vet is a vet is a vet," and strongly believe all veterans should receive equal respect and not have their service diminished by where and when they served.

          "I will never devalue the service of my Army and Marine brethren for taking direct fire on the ground," said Myers, who said Mr. Hart broke a solemn code among fellow vets to never denigrate a fellow vets' military service.  "But neither will I diminish the sacrifice of my Navy brethren who were hurt or killed in regular Navy Operations; whether it be landing an F-18 on the deck of a Carrier at night, or fighting a fire on a ship where there is nowhere to run and hide, or being permanently disfigured by a steam leak that burns you to the bone.  All these men and women are heroes, and to call them anything less is an insult that I don't take lightly."

-30-

What makes a "war hero"?

by: Thurman Hart

Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 06:39:41 PM EDT

Words matter.  My grandfather, who was captured at Corrigedor, qualifies as a "war hero".  He came under direct fire, exhibited bravery and solidarity in captivity, and bore the effects of his maltreatment for his entire life.  John McCain is a war hero.  So is John Kerry.  So is George H. W. Bush.

Just behind this select group of veterans are those designated as "combat veterans".  These are men and women who served under direct fire of the enemy.  It doesn't mean that they are less worthy of respect than those designated "heroes" - it just means that their experience did not call for the same level of sacrifice and willingness to throw one's body into danger.  Al Gore is such a veteran.

There is a larger group of veterans who served, but never were deployed into combat.  Again, their service is just as honorable and it is no slight to them to say that they are not "combat veterans" or "heroes".  It is simply an accurate description of their service.  George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, to name two, are in this group.

This matters - this differentiation.  To blur the line between a veteran and a combat veteran is to say that actually being shot at is no different than, say, turning wrenches at the depot in Wisconsin.  

I bring this up because, once again, Chris Myers is sending out press releases indentifying himself as "decorated combat veteran Chris Myers".  There is no doubt as to his decorations - his website lists them:

Meritorious Service Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Navy Commendation Medal (with V designator)
"several" Navy Achievement Medals
Combat Action Ribbon
Liberation of Kuwait Medal

There are two of those awards that stand out in my attention: the V designator of the Navy Commendation Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon (CAR).  The reason they stand out is that they specifically designate the recipient as having engaged in combat.

Myers served on two ships - the USS Mount Whitney and the USS Bunker Hill.  Of the two, only the Bunker Hill has been authorized to wear the CAR.  I'm not protesting the fact that Myers is claiming to have awards to which he is entitled.  But there's this little thing about the CAR:

The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is a personal military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, and which is awarded to those who, in any grade including and below that of a Captain in the Navy (or Colonel in the Marine Corps), have actively participated in ground or surface combat. The Combat Action Ribbon is also awarded to members of the United States Coast Guard when operating under the control of the Navy.

For that award to be valid, the men of the Bunker Hill must have engaged in ground or surface combat.  In actuality, the CAR was awarded through a waiver of policy by the Secretary of the Navy.  In other words, the men of the Bunker Hill was allowed to wear this ribbon although they had never actually seen combat.  What were they doing?

Support duty:

From November 1990 through March 1991, BUNKER HILL was deployed to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The ship directed the tactical employment of 26 ships and over 300 combat aircraft from six nations. BUNKER HILL also launched a total of 28 Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Iraq. The cruiser was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal for its exceptional performance. In July 1991, BUNKER HILL escorted the USS MIDWAY to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for a turnover with USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62).

To be fair, the Bunker Hill also "lobbed a few missiles":

In November 1990, Bunker Hill sailed in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and served as the multinational Air Warfare Commander (AAWC) and as one of the first ships to launch a Tomhawk Land Attack Cruise Missile against Iraqi targets.

Is this surface or ground combat?  It seems unlikely.  For comparison, my ship, the USS Saipan was involved in OPERATION: SHARP EDGE at roughly the same time.  The marines, and a few sailors, who actually landed at the US Embassy as we evactuated personnel were awarded the CAR - but not the entire ship.  And rightly so.  I was never in combat.

But neither was Chris Myers.  It is one thing for a civilian to conflate "veteran" with "combat veteran".  It is quite another thing for someone who has actually been there to do it.  He is not merely obscuring the line - he is blatantly walking across it and outright lying about his experience:

"As a veteran myself, I have literally walked in the boots of these brave men and women who have defended our freedoms in the past and continue to do so today.

No, like me, you served on board a Navy ship.  You never kicked down a door and tried to determine if the scared Iraqi was tossing a coffee cup or grenade.  You never watched the truck just ahead or behind you disappear into smoke and flame and feel that sickening thumping in your guts because you knew you just lost a couple of your best friends.  I am fortunate that I never have, either.  But I do not dare refer to myself as a "combat veteran".  You desecrate the memory of my grandfather and every man and woman in unform who has stood with bullets whistling by and shrapnel filling the air.

You are authorized to wear the Combat Action Ribbon because you served on a ship that was excepted from Navy policy.  Why are you authorized to wear a V designator that is supposed to denote valor in combat?  If it was honestly deserved, then you can display on your website the actual letter of award that comes along with the medal.

If not - and I suspect it wasn't because your ship was never engaged in actual combat and deprived you of the opportunity to be "valourous in combat" - then you should have the decency to quit calling yourself a "decorated combat veteran".  There is no dishonor in simplly saying you are a "decorated veteran".  There is a world of dishonor in claiming combat veteran status - whether decorated or not - when it is not deserved.