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He is returning his military medals
Posted by Raven on September 27th, 2007
Hmm…is this young fellow taking a lesson from John Kerry?
MADISON, Wis. — An Iraq war veteran said Tuesday he is returning his military medals in what anti-war groups are calling a rare and powerful protest.
Josh Gaines, 27, plans to mail the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and National Defense Service Medal to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He said he will do so during a protest scheduled for Wednesday in Madison.
“I’m going to give those back because I truly feel that I did not defend my nation and I did not help with the Global War on Terrorism,” said Gaines, who lives in Madison. “If anything, this conflict has bred more terrorism in the Middle East.”
Gaines served a yearlong tour in Iraq between 2004 and 2005 with the U.S. Army Reserve. He spent his time guarding two military bases and issuing ammunition to soldiers but never fired a weapon, he said.
The experience convinced him the war was a mistake and that a steady withdrawal of troops was the right course of action, Gaines said.
“To be quite honest, I felt like we wasted taxpayers’ money,” he said. “The mission just didn’t seem correct and right for that time.”
He never fired his weapon eh? Let’s hope this man doesn’t try to come off as a hero some day down the road…like Kerry did.
Jonathan Dedering, a Students for a Democratic Society activist who is helping organize Wednesday’s protest, said it’s extremely rare for Iraq veterans to return their medals. The tactic was a more common form of protest among Vietnam veterans.
Very true…and so very old fashioned now.
I wonder what has really prompted this action?
Keith O’Donnell, a spokesman for the Army’s Human Resources Command in St. Louis, confirmed Gaines’ service in Iraq and said he was discharged last year.
Gaines said he was given an “other than honorable” discharge after failing a drug test.
Ah huh…there we go. He’s a bitter pill who finds it hard to swallow his own ego. So he made a choice to spit it out and in the process make a total ass out of himself. Wonder how many Lemoncrat candidates will fluff and buff this ass and use him during their campaigns?
September 27th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Wonder how many Lemoncrat candidates will fluff and buff this ass and use him during their campaigns?
How long until he becomes a Lemoncrat himself? If he’s ever elected to anything, will those medals mysteriously re-appear inside his office?
September 27th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Symbolism over substance — a feature of the left.
September 27th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Why the need to tell everyone he’s sending his medals back. Seriously who really gives a damn. He’s not even man enough to just do it and keep his mouth shut. A pathetic attention seeker.
September 27th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Ogre is correct…this is all about symbols and no substance. A reason I chose to post about it is to show this mindset- and the level of maturity we see in the left. I highly doubt this blog will be around in 20 or so yrs- but it would not surprise me one bit to see this nerd enter politics and use his “service” as credentials to win office. As with Kerry and Murtha, the service they gave isn’t what it seems.