Murtha- Another Phony War Hero?

What is a 'War Hero'?

I've been listening to Congressmen Jack Murtha's negative comments about the war in Iraq for some months now. I've heard him repeatedly described as a "war hero". Thirty-seven years in the Marine Corps.-------Wow!

I visualize a burly ex-Marine, his chest bedazzled with medals, the survivor of countless combats in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. A man who knows war and combat from the inside out. A man with the experience that allows him to see that the war in Iraq is hopeless, and we should all quit and go home.

Although I've been turned off by Murtha's remarks, I never questioned his war hero status. Nor has our liberal press which, is why Murtha has been getting away with his charade.

Then the other day, bingo! I suddenly knew something was rotten in Denmark about Jack Murtha's war hero status. I've been bothered by his comments in the past but his latest remarks about Marines killing civilians in cold blood caught my attention. Whether this turns out to be true or not, something just didn't compute.

No real Marine who's "been there" would prejudge combat troops prior to the release of a military inquiry... That was the moment when I woke up and said, "Hey, I'm going to check this guy out."

And what did I find? Did I find a man of vast operational experience with an extensive combat record? No. I found a man whom fellow congressman Don Bailey of Pennsylvania - Silver Star and three Bronze Stars - calls him a liar and a phony'. A man who came to Bailey crying and sobbing, thanking him for saving Murtha from the ethics committee (on ABSCAM-related charges) at which time he admitted to Bailey that his Purple Hearts weren't earned.

I found a man with a couple of years of active duty, and the rest of his
37-year career spent in the Marine Corps Reserve. I found a man who served in the Marines during Korean War, yes, but somehow never actually made it to Korea. I found a man with one year in Vietnam, not 'up front' but in the rear area, as a staff intelligence officer. I found a man who's no more been in combat, or is a war hero , than I am.

Even John Kerry has more combat experience than Jack Murtha. I know flight attendants who have spent more time in Danang than him.

So what is a War Hero? Well at the bare minimum, a war hero would have to be somebody who's actually been in combat, somebody who's been in direct contact with the enemy over some extended period of time, somebody who's been shot at and/or had their life repeatedly threatened like the Infantry or the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force pilots who flew over Vietnam; somebody who has performed his or her duties in a heroic manner.

So, what is Jack Murtha?

Just one more scheming politician sensing a change in the direction of the political winds. A man who volunteered for a year'sduty in Vietnam as a staff intelligence officer, so he could come homeand run for Congress in
1968 as a war hero.

Sound familiar? A man who's thinking about the next election, and hoping he's on the right side when it comes. As a citizen and as a Congressman, Murtha has every right to express his opinion on the Iraq War - but not cloaked in the mantle of a Marine Corps war hero with vast experience in such matters. His comments are very destructive to the morale of our troops and have only one objective - to get re-elected.

C. Richard Stasney, MD, FACS, Director Texas Voice Center www.texasvoicecenter.com Clinical Professor of Otorhinolaryngology Weill Cornell Medical