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Civilians are impressed with McCain’s having gotten shot down. Those of us who were in the military know that getting wounded or shot down can stem from three categories of reasons:
McCain lacks the temperament needed to be Commander in Chief of a nuclear superpower. Last time he was on active duty and needed to respond to the danger signal he heard in his earphones—a tone that told him a surface-to-air, radar-guided missile had locked onto his plane—he rebelled against his training and orders to take evasive action. He was shot down, severely injured, almost killed, got an expensive jet destroyed, failed to deliver his bombs to his assigned target, and got captured by the enemy.
I saw an interviewer tell McCain he was a war hero once. McCain responded with a nervous laugh and a statement to the effect that he did not see how letting the enemy shoot you down made you a war hero. He was obviously mindful of us veterans in the viewing audience and his knowledge that we were less quick to apply the word “hero” to a guy just because he got shot down.
President John F. Kennedy was once asked how he became a war hero. “They sank my boat,” he answered. Actually, a Japanese destroyer cut right through his PT boat. Generally, we veterans find that unheroic, more likely, dereliction of duty. The Japanese destroyer saw Kennedy’s PT boat. I saw its captain interviewed about it on TV. If the Japanese destroyer could see Kennedy’s boat, Kennedy’s crew could see the destroyer. Why didn’t they? Not paying attention, apparently. Yet Kennedy has always been regarded as a war hero. He was pretty heroic after the sinking, and his medal was pointedly only for his actions after the sinking.
Generally, military personnel are not supposed to get wounded or shot down or have their boats cut in half. It cannot always be avoided and it’s usually not the fault of the victim, but getting shot down by the enemy over North Vietnam is not, per se, evidence of war hero-ness. Getting shot down because you ignored your training and standard operating procedures definitely does not make you a war hero.
Non-military people throw the phrase “war hero” around far too casually. There are plenty of genuine war heroes out there. Their true heroism is mocked by applying the same phrase to lesser veterans.
There is a very detailed article about how and why McCain was shot down and injured in the ejection at http://www.pythiapress.com/wartales/McCain-Shootdown.htm. I highly recomend that you read it. Basically, it says it was mainly McCain’s fault and that he was a general pain in the ass and bad midshipman, pilot, and officer."
@Protectandserve
@blaseblah
@RoninJin
@Phr3121
Civilians are impressed with McCain’s having gotten shot down. Those of us who were in the military know that getting wounded or shot down can stem from three categories of reasons:
- brave acts like out-of-ammunition American planes “attacking” Japanese ships at the Battle of Midway to draw fire away from armed U.S. planes
- bad luck
- screwing up
McCain lacks the temperament needed to be Commander in Chief of a nuclear superpower. Last time he was on active duty and needed to respond to the danger signal he heard in his earphones—a tone that told him a surface-to-air, radar-guided missile had locked onto his plane—he rebelled against his training and orders to take evasive action. He was shot down, severely injured, almost killed, got an expensive jet destroyed, failed to deliver his bombs to his assigned target, and got captured by the enemy.
I saw an interviewer tell McCain he was a war hero once. McCain responded with a nervous laugh and a statement to the effect that he did not see how letting the enemy shoot you down made you a war hero. He was obviously mindful of us veterans in the viewing audience and his knowledge that we were less quick to apply the word “hero” to a guy just because he got shot down.
President John F. Kennedy was once asked how he became a war hero. “They sank my boat,” he answered. Actually, a Japanese destroyer cut right through his PT boat. Generally, we veterans find that unheroic, more likely, dereliction of duty. The Japanese destroyer saw Kennedy’s PT boat. I saw its captain interviewed about it on TV. If the Japanese destroyer could see Kennedy’s boat, Kennedy’s crew could see the destroyer. Why didn’t they? Not paying attention, apparently. Yet Kennedy has always been regarded as a war hero. He was pretty heroic after the sinking, and his medal was pointedly only for his actions after the sinking.
Generally, military personnel are not supposed to get wounded or shot down or have their boats cut in half. It cannot always be avoided and it’s usually not the fault of the victim, but getting shot down by the enemy over North Vietnam is not, per se, evidence of war hero-ness. Getting shot down because you ignored your training and standard operating procedures definitely does not make you a war hero.
Non-military people throw the phrase “war hero” around far too casually. There are plenty of genuine war heroes out there. Their true heroism is mocked by applying the same phrase to lesser veterans.
There is a very detailed article about how and why McCain was shot down and injured in the ejection at http://www.pythiapress.com/wartales/McCain-Shootdown.htm. I highly recomend that you read it. Basically, it says it was mainly McCain’s fault and that he was a general pain in the ass and bad midshipman, pilot, and officer."
@Protectandserve
@blaseblah
@RoninJin
@Phr3121
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