Well, Raoul reminded me yesterday of the exchange I had with Kokesh here last year about whether he’d ever called himself “Sergeant Kokesh” after he left the Marine Corp Reserves. So I chased down a cached copy of his old blog at the Wayback Machine;
Since the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War was the other day, ANSWER and it’s assorted affiliates of beggars, drama queens and ne’er-do-wells picked today out of the air to hold their March on the Pentagon.
Brian Becker, the national coordinator for ANSWER said it’s important because it’s the first anti-war protest in the Post-Bush Era. So here’s the photos
This was the most appropriate thought – a bumper sticker on the back of a coat;
Uncle Jimbo got some interviews in like this one with Code Pink
The Socialists are here – and at least one is appealing: (more…)
In reference to the post I wrote from someone who knows Chiroux, another anonymous commenter sent me this from Chiroux who was writing in response to another series of posts that were broadcast around the internet from a fellow IVAW member (actually the one that TSO quoted here). Whoever sent it to me, thought that this would absolve Chiroux of charges of wrong doing. Heh, they don’t know me too well, do they? So here’s Chiroux’ email to IVAW;
My response as well as that of our entire organization should be complete condemnation for whichever member wrote and shared this piece of libel.
First off, I HAVE NEVER defrauded any of my supporters in any way shape or form. Every dime that has been donated to IVAW for my defense remains with IVAW and will be spent on my hearing as is required by law. As far as donations made to me personally or through my paypal (which have yet to exceed $1,000), the portion I have spent has been on professional expenses only as IVAW has not provided me any compensation for phone, travel or materials since early last fall, which does in fact exceed the amount donated to me by my individual supporters. (more…)
But there is someone who wants to let everyone know the truth about Matthis Chiroux This person has been in email contact with me intermittently over the last few weeks. Whoever it is claims that they’ve known Chiroux for the last few years since he was stationed in Germany. (more…)
Well, I spent the afternoon with the occupants of the IVAW’s newest digs on Constitution Avenue. They call it “Tower Watch”, but it’s pretty much sitting a few hundred yards from the White House on some lifts in the rain.
Here’s Kokesh, James Circello and James Gilligan;
Someone sends this video from France24 of Andre Shepherd, our favorite refugee awaiting the decision of the German government on his status. The French are probably just glad he didn’t seek refugee status with them.
A former Pacific reserve police officer was sentenced Tuesday to probation and morality counseling for false claims of military honors.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida in Seattle told 57-year-old Steve A. Bennest of Sumner that his actions were demeaning to veterans.
Documents filed in court show Bennest repeatedly claimed orally and in writing that he had been awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for military heroism. Records show he served in the Army in 1969-72 but was not awarded those medals.
They need to turn Bennest over to a group of veterans for his “counseling”. Some of those guys from the Patriot Guard Riders would probably take the job.
Parliamentarians Olivia Chow and Borys Wrzesnewskyj traveled to the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in San Diego, where Long was serving a 15-month sentence after pleading guilty last August to a reduced charge of desertion.
During the 45-minute meeting, the government officials were not allowed to take notes or record the interview. Chow said Long appeared in good spirits and did not complain, but told them that he missed his young son in Canada.
“My heart sank, it was very heavy,” Chow said after the meeting. “I was angry that Canada deported him.”
I’m angry that you deported the loser, too. You should have kept him and tried to get him to work off the money he cost the Canadian tax payers. Now he’s down here suckin’ off our wallets.
I only sat through about an hour of it all so far, but the peace-nazis are working overtime to get the blather from yesterday of Winter Soldier Europe on the internet. They’ve already posted some of the testimony. And it’s pretty much like their Silver Spring horsedung. They make excuses for their childish behavior and they really have nothing to add to the discussion about the war except their own personal feelings. I’ve put the “testimony” of Shepherd and Baddorf below the jump. (more…)
I’ve seen Robert Ward Reilly at several IVAW events including the Winter Soldier hearings last March (a year ago today, as a matter of fact). He looks pretty scraggly in that picture, but believe me, he looks worse in person. Notice the cammie jungle fatigues cut into short-sleeves and the boonie hat so that he looks like a real Hollywood version of a Vietnam veteran. Yeah, well, he’s not a Vietnam veteran. He was in Germany for his whole tour – that’s not news, actually. About four years ago Tim Blair blew his cover. Reilly said he never claimed to be a Vietnam veteran;
I served, proudly, for 32 months in Germany in the 1st & 16th(Rangers) as a mortar gunner, starting in 1971, when I volunteered for the infantry at age 17.(With 2 full years left in the ground war in Viet Nam)
I went where the army sent me…that what soldiers do. I could have just as easily been sent to Viet Nam, but I got lucky.
Well, that part about “two full years left in the ground war” isn’t exactly true. Reilly joined in October 1971 – ground forces in Vietnam were being reduced and by August 1972 all combat forces had been withdrawn.
That “(Rangers)” in Reilly’s statement jumped out at me when I first read it, so I did a little research and found that the 16th Infantry Regiment call themselves “Iron Rangers” and that’s why Reilly added it to his bio – hoping to scare every one into thinking he was a Ranger.
It’s like the 7th Infantry putting (Cottonbalers) on their unit designation because that’s their nickname (from the Battle of New Orleans when they fought the British from behind cotton bales). Could we assume that they’re actually qualified to bale cotton?
The actual ranger battalions used to be part of the 75th Infantry regiment (before they became the 75th Ranger Regiment) and did use the “(Ranger)” in their official designation. Reilly seems to be manipulating that fact.
Just to make sure, I requested a FOIA on Reilly;
No Jump school, no Ranger school – just Reilly’s manipulation of the language for the ignorant civvies.
By the way, I did Reilly a favor before I posted this FOIA. The Records Center left his social security number on the form and I blackened it out. We’re not in the business of screwing people – just publishing the truth about the more disingenuous ones.
In his AAR of last year’s Winter Soldier in Silver Spring, MD, Robert Ward Reilly writes that he can identify with the IVAW folks, because he’s “been there”, too;
I knew that the WSIA would be a success. I knew how important it would be historically, because I have “been here” before, when I was a GI Resister in the infantry from 1971 to 1974, the last time a GI Resistance was necessary, and I payed [sic] dearly for my stand. It is extremely hard to resist inside the military. But we did, and Vietnam can now be used as the model for those that say “we will never leave Iraq.” The same people said that about Vietnam, and today there isn’t a single US soldier stationed in Vietnam, in spite of the plans to never leave there.
See, if you didn’t already know that Reilly wasn’t a Vietnam Vet, from reading that paragraph, you’d get the impression that he did serve in Vietnam. Also, in that paragraph, he said that he “payed [sic] dearly for [his] stand” against the Vietnam War. I wondered about that, too. His “stand” was actually four weeks of being AWOL and being declared a deserter for a few weeks in May and June of 1973 (Spring time in Bavaria). The war in Vietnam was essentially over, US combat troops were all withdrawn in August of 1972 – so why’d he desert? Oh, yeah, here’s the Form 2-1;
Robert Ward Reilly left the military as a corporal after three years in the drawn-down military after a stint on the desertion roster. I don’t know how he figured he “payed” for any stand.
Yeah, I’ve watched Ward Reilly marching the IVAW clowns in their protests (I’ve got the video somewhere in my archives) counting cadence like he’s a drill sergeant. He was an Eleven-Charley E-4 deserter who joined at the end of the Vietnam War (when it was essentially over) the year before the draft ended.
Reilly is just another pretender on the VVAW rolls.
Correction: The video I have of Reilly marching the IVAW clowns and VFP geezers actually has Bill Perry counting cadence while Reilly holds the bullhorn for him (because Perry can’t hold the mike, the bullhorn and his bag of LCDs – Little Chocolate Donuts – all at the same time).
