Did I ever show you this by a guy who was in VVAW with John?

[LittleClarkie]

He said he was one of the last people who squeezed into the hearing room when Kerry gave his testimony. He was a Marine, and served both at Dewey Canyon I (the operation in Vietnam) and was at the protest in 1971.

He has long hippy hair, wore a boony hat, and ended every call I heard that he made at Kerry HQ (usually "Vet for Kerry" stuff) with "Semper Fi, man."

Since he was in VVAW with Kerry, he was inspired to join the campaign. I considered it an honor to help out him and the Vets for Kerry this last year.

http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=425

I'm putting in more than 4 paragraphs, 'cause they're so damn short:
-----------------

I was at Dewey Canyon in Vietnam, in the 3rd Marine Division in 1969. In April 1971 I was in Dewey Canyon III in Washington, D.C. This was my first VVAW demo and the first time I met John Kerry.

Seventeen of us drove in from Milwaukee to arrive at Potomac Park at about 6:30 in the morning. We were in time for the march to Arlington National Cemetery and back to the steps of the United States Capitol.

Once we voted to occupy the Mall, we saw a lot of the National Office on stage and at the various demos. The speech John Kerry gave in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was great. I was already committed to VVAW's ideas, but John's speech moved me like nothing else I ever heard.

Ann Bailey and I went to two National meetings that year, in St. Louis and Kansas City. When John Kerry decided not to run again for the National Office I considered it a loss, but his reasoning was sound; he was going to run for public office. Annie tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Watch: some day he will run for president." I told her no way. Well, I was wrong.

Throughout the years we supported his various campaigns, and I am excited that he is running for president. We need a combat veteran in the White House. I got active, joined Veterans for Kerry and started carrying my "New Soldier" book around. The young kids were fascinated by it.

I wanted to see him again and finally got the chance during the Wisconsin campaign. After the Wisconsin debates, he came to an Irish bar to thank people who worked on his campaign. I called Buzz Noyes, who was also at DCIII, and said: let's go. I put on my boonie hat, my VVAW button, my ribbons, my Kerry button and took my "New Soldier" book along. The vets — including some of his boat crew — were put in the best row, and when he walked in, he remembered us. After his thank-you speech, shaking hands on the way over, he stopped to see us. We shook hands, took pictures and talked about full funding of the VA: part of his platform. He signed his book, and it reads: "John — Thanks for being part of the journey — John Kerry."

[FreedomAngel82]

1. Aw

I love that about Kerry. He takes time with people.

[beachmom]

2. I like what he wrote!

He is so darn philosophical about his life -- it's a journey, man. He didn't have time to think about it, it just came naturally to write what he felt to this guy he hadn't seen since '71. God, it literally is the more you hear about him, the more you want to keep the dream alive of him becoming pres. one day . . .