Letter: Kerry’s protest was courageous

Friday, Sept. 3, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

The attempt by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth to discredit John Kerry is nothing less than shameful. The bottom line is that Sen. Kerry was there in Vietnam, while George Bush was cocooned in the security of stateside business with the Texas and Alabama Air National Guards.

Particularly reprehensible is that one accuser, Larry Thurlow, won recognition for valor in the same engagement with the enemy he denies took place.

Written records of former officers in Vietnam other than John Kerry have documented the brutality of the war in Vietnam. My Lai was only one example. Swift boat vets are aware of this. What infuriates these critics of Kerry, however, is that he had the courage to speak out about it.

To many of us who have studied the Vietnam War, it is clear that had there been no viable protest movement, which finally brought an end to the war in 1973, a lot more than 58,000 American names would have been on the memorial in Washington, and even more Vietnamese would have perished in this misguided conflict than the 2.5 million who did.

JOHN H. ESPERIAN