Fellow Marine and patriot Stewart Nusbaumer of Intervention Magazine on The War Against Vietnam Veterans:
Max Cleland is a man who lost a lot in Vietnam. Disembarking from a helicopter, a grenade — either his or another soldier’s — exploded, ripping off most of his three limbs. That’s right, three: two legs, and one arm.
He wasn't a "pilot" hanging out in Texas and Florida in a non-flight status in the Air National Guard.
I lost one limb in Vietnam, a leg. I can tell you that for years the mental pain was excruciating. Forget the physical pain; mental pain is the real terror. I can’t image how a man can put himself back together after losing three limbs.
This is something that the LINOs, chickenhawks, neo-cons and other degenerates will never comprehend – the tragic sacrifices made by others who fought while they sat on their asses screaming TRAITOR at all opposed at the top of their miserable, sorry lungs.
That did not stop Ann Coulter from publishing a vicious piece on Max Cleland that is being widely circulated and celebrated on the political Right. Entitled Dropping Political Grenades — a reference to the dropped grenade that crippled Cleland, she writes, “But he didn't ‘give his limbs for his country,’ or leave them ‘on the battlefield.’ There was no bravery involved in dropping a grenade on himself with no enemy troops in sight. That could have happened in the Texas National Guard — which Cleland denigrates while demanding his own sanctification.”
Coulter is a sad excuse for a human being for her part in this affair. I'm not going to hold back on this and my conservative friends will just have to suck it up. Denigrating the patriotism of a man who lost so much in service to his country is beyond profane. Its fucking disgusting. Ann should be ashamed and those who make excuses for her bullshit – doubly ashamed. If you want to attack the man's ideas, fine – do so without pissing on his sacrifices or belittling his service-related injuries – especially if the most you've done with your life is the highly dangerous act of being well compensated to write incendiary op-eds.
First, it did happen on a battlefield, one called Vietnam. Hasn’t Ann Coulter heard of the Vietnam War? Second, Max Cleland did give his limbs for his country, everyone who loses limbs in a war does. And regardless of the war, popular or unpopular, right or wrong, because youth fight wars and lose body parts, if not their lives, it is others who create the wars and profit handsomely from them.
Ann hasn't heard of a place called Earth, let alone Vietnam. I'll believe she and her ilk are serious about the urgent need to take over the Middle East when they collectively put their lattes down and visit the nearest recruiter.