[Oe List ...] Letter from Phillip Butler

[Del Morrill]

A friend sent this to me and I feel that, in the midst of the Republican
convention, it is appropriate to send it on to those I care about.

Del 

 

Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008 8:32 PM
Subject: Letter from Phillip Butler

for John McCain
Phillip Butler | March 27, 2008
 
As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance of mine
that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and as
Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways.
But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President
of the United States.
When I was a Plebe (4th classman, or freshman) at the Naval Academy in
1957-58, I was assigned to the 17th Company for my four years there. In
those days we had about 3,600 midshipmen spread among 24 companies, thus
about 150 midshipmen to a company. As fortune would have it, John, a First
Classman (senior) and his room mate lived directly across the hall from me
and my two room mates. Believe me when I say that back then I would never in
a million or more years have dreamed that the crazy guy across the hall
would someday be a Senator and candidate for President!
John was a wild man. He was funny, with a quick wit and he was intelligent.
But he was intent on breaking every USNA regulation in our 4 inch thick USNA
Regulations book. And I believe he must have come as close to his goal as
any midshipman who ever attended the Academy. John had me "coming around" to
his room frequently during my plebe year. And on one occasion he took me
with him to escape "over the wall" in the dead of night. He had a taxi cab
waiting for us that took us to a bar some 7 miles away. John had a few
beers, but forbid me to drink (watching out for me I guess) and made me
drink cokes. I could tell many other midshipman stories about John that year
and he unbelievably managed to graduate though he spent the majority of his
first class year on restriction for the stuff he did get caught doing. In
fact he barely managed to graduate, standing 5th from the bottom of his 800
man graduating class. I and many others have speculated that the main reason
he did graduate was because his father was an Admiral, and also his
grandfather, both U.S. Naval Academy graduates.
People often ask if I was a Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is
always "No - John McCain was a POW with me." The reason is I was there for 8
years and John got there 2 ½ years later, so he was a POW for 5 ½ years. And
we have our own seniority system, based on time as a POW.
John's treatment as a POW:
1) Was he tortured for 5 years? No. He was subjected to torture and
maltreatment during his first 2 years, from September of 1967 to September
of 1969. After September of 1969 the Vietnamese stopped the torture and gave
us increased food and rudimentary health care. Several hundred of us were
captured much earlier. I got there April 20, 1965 so my bad treatment period
lasted 4 1/2 years. President Ho Chi Minh died on September 9, 1969, and the
new regime that replaced him and his policies was more pragmatic. They
realized we were worth a lot as bargaining chips if we were alive. And they
were right because eventually Americans gave up on the war and agreed to
trade our POW's for their country. A damn good trade in my opinion! But my
point here is that John allows the media to make him out to be THE hero POW,
which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals.
2) John was badly injured when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and
he had other wounds from his ejection. Unfortunately this was often the case
- new POW's arriving with broken bones and serious combat injuries. Many
died from their wounds. Medical care was non-existent to rudimentary. Relief
from pain was almost never given and often the wounds were used as an
available way to torture the POW. Because John's father was the Naval
Commander in the Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV interviews while
wounded. These film clips have now been widely seen. But it must be known
that many POW's suffered similarly, not just John. And many were similarly
exploited for political propaganda.
3) John was offered, and refused, "early release." Many of us were given
this offer. It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your
treatment to the press. You had to "admit" that the U.S. was criminal and
that our treatment was "lenient and humane." So I, like numerous others,
refused the offer. This was obviously something none of us could accept.
Besides, we were bound by our service regulations, Geneva Conventions and
loyalties to refuse early release until all the POW's were released, with
the sick and wounded going first.
4) John was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in
combat. This heroism has been played up in the press and in his various
political campaigns. But it should be known that there were approximately
600 military POW's in Vietnam. Among all of us, decorations awarded have
recently been totaled to the following: Medals of Honor - 8, Service Crosses
- 42, Silver Stars - 590, Bronze Stars - 958 and Purple Hearts - 1,249. John
certainly performed courageously and well. But it must be remembered that he
was one hero among many - not uniquely so as his campaigns would have people
believe.
John McCain served his time as a POW with great courage, loyalty and
tenacity. More that 600 of us did the same. After our repatriation a census
showed that 95% of us had been tortured at least once. The Vietnamese were
quite democratic about it. There were many heroes in North Vietnam. I saw
heroism every day there. And we motivated each other to endure and succeed
far beyond what any of us thought we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a POW
is a group sport, not an individual one. We all supported and encouraged
each other to survive and succeed. John knows that. He was not an individual
POW hero. He was a POW who surmounted the odds with the help of many
comrades, as all of us did.
I furthermore believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for
being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW
experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a
presidential candidate.
Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's.
Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW
contemporaries. We experienced injuries and malnutrition that are coming
home to roost. So I believe John's age (73) and survival expectation are not
good for being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years.
I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He
has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand.
Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button.
It is also disappointing to see him take on and support Bush's war in Iraq,
even stating we might be there for another 100 years. For me John represents
the entrenched and bankrupt policies of Washington-as-usual. The past 7
years have proven to be disastrous for our country. And I believe John's
views on war, foreign policy, economics, environment, health care,
education, national infrastructure and other important areas are much the
same as those of the Bush administration.
I'm disappointed to see John represent himself politically in ways that are
not accurate. He is not a moderate Republican. On some issues he is a
maverick. But his voting record is far to the right. I fear for his
nominations to our Supreme Court, and the consequent continuing loss of
individual freedoms, especially regarding moral and religious issues. John
is not a religious person, but he has taken every opportunity to ally
himself with some really obnoxious and crazy fundamentalist ministers
lately. I was also disappointed to see him cozy up to Bush because I know he
hates that man. He disingenuously and famously put his arm around the guy,
even after Bush had intensely disrespected him with lies and slander. So on
these and many other instances, I don't see that John is the "straight talk
express" he markets himself to be.
Senator John Sidney McCain, III is a remarkable man who has made enormous
personal achievements. And he is a man that I am proud to call a fellow POW
who "Returned With Honor." That's our POW motto. But since many of you keep
asking what I think of him, I've decided to write it out. In short, I think
John Sidney McCain, III is a good man, but not someone I will vote for in
the upcoming election to be our President of the United States.
        

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
About Phillip Butler

Doctor Phillip Butler is a 1961 graduate of the United States Naval Academy
and a former light-attack carrier pilot. In 1965 he was shot down over North
Vietnam where he spent eight years as a prisoner of war. He is a highly
decorated combat veteran who was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legion of
Merits, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Heart medals.
After his repatriation in 1973 he earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the
University of California at San Diego and became a Navy Organizational
Effectiveness consultant. He completed his Navy career in 1981 as a
professor of management at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,
California. He is now a peace and justice activist with Veterans for Peace.

 

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