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Congratulations to the
Award Winners
of this years Spring Training.
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Nothing
succeeds like the appearance of success.
Christopher Lasch
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Two
Years Employment with Weststates.
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Jaqueline Misti, Carol Huber, Tonya Vanover, Carol Palmer,
Michelle West |
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Kelly
Presents the Award for passing the Star Spectrum
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Ric Turpin,
Patty Lowe, Kathy Frank, Peggie Ortega
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Budget
Control
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Ric Turpin, Lori Pulver, Sue Ostler,
Carol Huber, Bill Buckovinsky, Jeff Butler (in for
Caroline Butler), Cathy Kennedy Front Row: B.J. Foster and
Jaqueline Mish
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Holly
presents the Main Office Staff, with 'Thank You' Baskets.
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Karie Knight, Stephanie Stewart, Amy Basso, Kelly Steninger, Kim
Fox,
Holly Gregory, Tonya Vanover, Kellee Holmes
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Did you happen to misplace this jacket?
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A Soldiers Perspective on
Senator Kerry
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Subject:
Soldier's Letter to Kerry
Soldier's Letter to Kerry
Dear Senator Kerry:
Since it has become clear that you will probably be the
Democratic
nominee for President, I have spent a great deal of time
researching your
war record and your record as a professional politician.
The reason is
simple, you aspire to be the Commander in Chief who would
lead my sons and
their fellow soldiers in time of war. I simply wanted to
know if you possess the necessary qualifications to be
trusted in that respect.
You see, I belong to a family of proud U.S. veterans. I
was a Captain in the Army Reserve, my father was a
decorated Lieutenant in World War II; and I have four sons
who have either served, or are currently serving in the
military.
The oldest is an Army Lieutenant still on active duty in
Afghanistan after already being honored for his service in
Iraq. The youngest is an E-4 with the military
police. His National Guard unit just finished their second
tour of active duty, including six months in Guantanamo
Bay. My two other sons have served in the national guard
and the navy.
In looking at your record I found myself comparing it not
only to that of my father and my sons, but to the people
they served with. My father served with the 87th
Chemical Mortar Battalion in Europe. They landed on
Utah Beach and fought for 317 straight days, including the
Cherbourg Peninsula, Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest, and the
Battle of the Bulge.
You earned a Silver Star in Vietnam for chasing down and
finishing off a wounded and retreating enemy soldier.
My father won a Bronze Star for single handedly charging
and knocking out a German machine gun nest that had his
men pinned down. You received three purple hearts
for what appears to be three minor scratches. In
fact you only missed a combined total of two days of duty
for these wounds. The men of my father's unit, the 87th,
had to be admonished by their commanding officer because:
"It has been brought to our
attention that some men are covering up wounds and
refusing medical
attention for fear of being evacuated and permanently
separated from this
organization..." It was also a common problem
for seriously wounded soldiers to go AWOL from hospitals
in order to rejoin their units. You used your three
purple hearts to leave Vietnam early.
My oldest boy came home from Iraq with numerous
commendations and then proceeded to volunteer to go to
Afghanistan and from there back to Iraq again. My
sons and father have never had anything but the highest
regard
and respect for their fellow soldiers. Yet, you came home
to publicly charge your fellow fighting men with being war
criminals and to urge their defeat by the enemy. You
even wrote a book that had a cover which mocked the
heroism of the U.S. Marines who raised the flag on Iwo
Jima. Our current crop of soldiers has a philosophy
that no one gets left behind; and they have practiced that
from Somalia to the battlefields of the Middle East.
Yet as chairman of a Senate committee looking into
allegations that many of your fellow servicemen had been
left behind as prisoners in Vietnam, you chose to defend
the brutal Vietnamese regime. You even went so far
as to refer to the families of the POWs and MIAs as
Professional malcontents, conspiracy mongers, con artists,
and dime-store Rambos.
As a Senator you voted against the 1991 Gulf War, and have
repeatedly voted against funds to supply our troops with
the best equipment, and against money to improve our
intelligence capability. I find this particularly
ironic since as a Presidential candidate you are highly
critical of our pre-war intelligence in Iraq. However, you
did vote to authorize the President to go to war, but have
since proceeded to do everything you can to undermine the
efforts of our government and our troops to win. Is
this what our fighting men and women can expect of you if
you are their Commander in Chief? Will you gladly
send them to war, only to then aid the enemy by
undermining the morale of our troops and cutting off the
weapons they need to win?
Our country is at war Senator, and as has been the case in
every war since the American Revolution, a member of my
family is serving their country during the war. Now you
want me to trust you to lead my sons in this fight?
Sorry Senator, but when I compare your record to those who
have fought and died for this nation, and are currently
fighting and dying, the answer is not just no, but Hell
No!
Sincerely,
Michael Connelly February 14, 2004 Dallas, Texas
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