John and Catherine:

You two have nailed it.

I’m at the other end (1940) of the boomer generation. I graduated from college in 1961 and law school in 1965. A ROTC grad, I entered active duty in 1966 as an armor officer, commanded a basic training company of young recruits at Fort Knox, and accepted a branch transfer to JAG in January, 1967

In May, 1967, I was ordered to VN and served as a JAG officer. I was living in a house in the middle of Nha Trang (not in a compound) during the Tet offensive in 1967 when the NVA and VC attacked. Our guys and the Korean MPs (I was laying as low as possible) destroyed the attack.

Over the next several weeks I traveled to Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Danang, Camp Carrol on the DMZ and Phan Rang. The story was the same. We beat the crap out of them. When I returned home in May, 1967, I was astonished to learn that my friends and loved ones were convinced the war was lost, and we had been badly defeated during Tet. That was my first taste of the anti-war phenomenon.

Over the next several years of active duty in Atlanta, I learned to keep my mouth shut about my service in VN. I watched young soldiers and sailors insulted in airports and generally looked down on by the generation of americans only a few years younger than I was. I watched the culture change such that my service to my country was not seen as an asset but a liability.

Nevertheless, I had a successful professional career, founded what became a national law firm and raised a family (five daughters) in Atlanta.

I mostly repressed my thoughts about VN until early this year when one of my client, a Naval Academy graduate and former SB commender asked me for advice about his participation in the Swift Boat group organized by Admiral Hoffman.

The light bulb went on. Until then, I had not realized the degree to which Sen. Kerry had led the anti war movement. And while still a commissioned officer in the Navy Reserve, yet.

Although I supported Georgia democrats from 1970 – 2002 (Sam Nunn, Max Cleland, Denise Majette, Jimmy Carter, Wyche Fowler to name a few) I could not in good conscience continue to support Kerry whoever his opponent might be. I am an “ABK” voter.

I believe that my demographic covers many fellow citizens in the age range from 45-70.

I believe my reaction is not isolated.

This add portrays a truth that will not be ignored. The spinners will twist themselves into the ground trying to explain it.