Winter Soldier II, Not so Fast

To:   United States Congress

From: Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation

Re:     Iraq Veterans Against the War

Later this week a group calling themselves "Iraq Veterans Against the War" (IVAW) plan a march on Washington, DC, similar to the one staged in April, 1971 by their forebears, "Vietnam Veterans Against the War" (VVAW).  Like their predecessors, IVAW will claim that several in their group have either participated in or witnessed war crimes committed by their fellow American troops in Iraq. According to news reports, the IVAW intends to have their claims of war crimes read into the Congressional Record.

Before you listen to or acknowledge them, you would do well to fact-check their stories, verify that the accusers actually served in combat units in Iraq at the times they claim, and determine if there is any support for and corroborating evidence of their war crime and atrocity claims. Many members of Congress were embarrassed by the VVAW some 37 years ago because they failed to conduct any investigation, instead accepting these allegations without question.

In April, 1971, "testimonies" of some 116 VVAW members alleged heinous war crimes and abuses, reportedly known and approved by the entire U.S. chain of command. These "testimonies" were first read into the Congressional Record on April 5, and later repeated in a high-profile hearing conducted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. None of the persons presenting war crimes "testimonies" were ever put under oath, and none of their allegations were challenged or questioned by Congress. Members of Congress who were looking for a way out of the war in Vietnam were only too eager to accept those "testimonies" to step up anti-war sentiment and justify withdrawing all U.S. troops and de-funding support to our Vietnamese allies. As a result, the outrageous claims made in the so called "Winter Soldier investigations" and repeated before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee became the popular history of the Vietnam War, embellished by Hollywood and the mainstream media, and promulgated as fact by the majority of academia to this day.

Our foundation, the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, which consists primarily of POWs who were held in prison in N.Vietnam, has investigated every one of the 116 "Winter Soldier" accusers. None that we can find has ever proved that they saw or committed a war crime. Our Chairman, Col Bud Day, MoH, would welcome the opportunity to present our findings to you for review.

At the cost of more than 58,000 Americans killed and over 200,000 wounded in Vietnam, we succeeded in defeating the communist insurgency and drove the defeated North Vietnamese Army back to the communist-controlled part of the country. However, in 1974, the U.S. Congress legislated defeat by cutting off all funding and military assistance to the Republic of Vietnam while at the same time China and the USSR were providing record amounts of military aid to the communist North.

Today, fraudulent war-crimes claims are being circulated and given unquestioned credibility by certain Members of Congress and the mainstream media. The VVLF intends to expose these unfair accusations against our troops in Iraq. The American people have the right to know the truth, as it was then, and as it is now. More importantly, they need to be alerted to the grave danger faced by our country if we elect officials who have declared their intention to repeat the worst mistake of the Vietnam War: legislating defeat.

Respectfully,

Former Vietnam POWs: Col George "Bud" Day, MoH; Col Ken Cordier; Cdr Paul Galanti;

Capt Dick Stratton; Mary Jane McManus, POW wife; 1LT Bob McMahon, and SP4 Wally Nunn

The Vietnam War... You know someone who served — maybe it was your husband, your father, your grandfather, your uncle, your neighbor... or maybe it was you. Now you can help us preserve the legacy of the courageous men and women who fought for our country in Vietnam. It’s time to give our Vietnam Vets the support and honor they deserve, and to educate those who have been deceived about the war. We want to provide a place where people can gain access to the truth, to the history and to the men and women who were there, fighting, sacrificing and just trying to stay alive.

Help us tell their story and continue the work of setting the record straight.

The following members of VVLF are available today for interviews. Contact media@vvlf.org.

Col. George E. "Bud" Day serves as the VVLF’s President. Col. Day served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and is America’s most highly decorated living combat veteran. Shot down over North Vietnam on August 26, 1967, he spent more than five years as a Prisoner of War.

Col. Day was the only POW to escape from prison in North Vietnam, only to be recaptured by the North Vietnamese in the South. Col. Day has received nearly 70 military decorations and awards, the most notable being the Medal of Honor. Currently, Col. Day is a practicing attorney in Florida, specializing in profound injury and death litigation cases and military law.

Read more about Col. Day here.

Kenneth W. Cordier is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel. During his service in the Vietnam War, Col. Cordier was shot down on his 176th mission and held captive as a Prisoner of War for more than six years. He was awarded numerous medals for his service in Vietnam.

Col. Cordier resides in Texas, and remains involved with veterans’ issues, having served on the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs’ POW Advisory Board, and Congressman Pete Sessions’ Service Academy Selection Board. He has also held national office with the POW association, NAM POWs, and now with the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association.

Cdr. Paul Galanti While serving in the Vietnam War, Cdr. Galanti was shot down and held captive by the North Vietnamese for almost seven years, and has earned numerous medals of distinction. Cdr. Galanti currently resides in Virginia where he serves on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ POW Advisory Board and the Virginia Board of Veterans Services.

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