Did Duke Cunningham really earn his medals in Vietnam?

[bluestateguy]

Some people have said that he didn't earn his medals in Vietnam, and that he faked many of the accounts of his war service were a fraud.

I'm not saying the charges are true, but the charges are out there, and a full scale investigation is needed to get to the bottom of this.

[LiberalVoice]

1. They said the exact same thing about John Kerry.

I dont really know anything about Cunninghams medals or the charges but if they're anything like the accusations made about KErry I would just ignore them.

[delete_bush]

2. don't know, but I think he's

about to earn a few more.

[shanti]

3. if i'm not mistaken

he got them in korea.

[brentspeak]

5. No, he earned them in Vietnam

Cunningham became one of the most highly decorated U.S. Navy pilots in the Vietnam War. The first fighter ace of the war, he received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, fifteen Air Medals, and the Purple Heart.

http://www.acepilots.com/vietnam/cunningham.html

[shanti]

19. my bad

i thought he was in his 70's and had served in korea (like my father). thanx for the clarification.

[brentspeak]

4. It's not right to go there

Didn't the smearing of John Kerry's service teach us anything? Cunningham may deserve to go to jail, but nobody deserves to have their service record denigrated based merely on rumors or politics.

And who's "some people"? Sounds like something someone on Fox News would say.

[kster]

6. -

:thumbsup:

[Nutmegger]

8. I was going to say something similar

but you said it well. :thumbsup:

[JI7]

10. Puke Cummingham was one of those who smeared Kerry

[Bunny]

13. I think the OP is a parody of Fox News and the whole swift boat thing.

It's sarcasm, without the tags. That's how I read it.

[LiberalVoice]

20. To quote that POS Michelle Malkin...

"Some people said that he shot himself"

[JohnnyRingo]

7. Now where have I heard that before?

[jaysunb]

9. Please don't go there.

We (here at DU ) are better than that.

[BuyingThyme]

11. Moot point. U.S. medals are no longer valid.

They're literally handed out to people who attack the United States to the benefit of fascism. This is what the Republican Party has done to our country.

[ChristianLibrul]

12. medals

His medals are irrelevant. He WAS a fighter ace, he IS a convicted felon.

[Hubert Flottz]

14. It's like this...

If the "OH SHIT!" is big enough, it wipes out all of one's prior Atta Boys.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Whatcha Done For Me Lately...Benedict Arnold Was Once A Hero

We don't need to trash the "Dukestir Top Gun" legend...we need not even look at that part of his life as the book is now written not in the number of missions he flew or who or what he shot down or how "intrepid" he was...instead it will be written in the length of his sentence, what he pleaded guilty to and how much he tried to steal from the American people.

[Hubert Flottz]

16. How many GIs died because of the Duke's decisions in congress

How many suffered because of his stealing and helping shoddy contractors win contracts?

This man screwed America more than any VC on Earth ever did!

[rusty_parts2001]

17. His accomplishments were in shooting down 5 MiGs

This occurred at tail end of the Vietnam war when the NVA air defenses had been severely compromised. In 1972, Nixon resumed bombing in the North, and SAM sites were prime targets. He downed 2 MiGs in one day.

[Bosso 63]

18. He was a great pilot, He was a rotten congressman.

Now he is a convicted felon.