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Edited on Sat Aug-28-04 04:11 PM by Stephanie
Just received this in email - thought you might be interested, Walt: Is Bush a "phony veteran"? Someone might want to check this out with some Legion experts and legal experts. I'm sending this information to you because I believe you're the best at getting this to right people to investigate this using some real journalists. If this issue gets legs, please remember this is way off the record. As a combat veteran and member of The American Legion, I blew a damn gasket this evening when my September edition of "The American Legion" magazine arrived. Inside, on page 32, The Legion reports that Bush is a member of American Legion Post 77 in Texas. Well, Bush isn't a veteran, so Bush can't be a member of The American Legion. This issue is timely because Bush is set to speak before the Legion convention this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.
Here's the bottom line: Either Bush has a discharge from active duty or he doesn't. Unless Bush can cough up a valid and complete DD214 as evidence of active duty, then Bush is a fraud, and he can't be a member of The Legion, either.
On the outside chance Bush was discharged from active duty, then the official paperwork, a DD214 (Department of Defense Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) will contain separation codes, re-enlistment codes, and periods of active duty that should open another Pandora's Box of inquiry to check pay records, attendance records, etc. Either way, the press has something to work with.
As the Washington Monthly reported Karl Rove as allegedly saying, "We don't care who or what you are, if you fuck with us, we will fuck you and your loved ones and your careers and your dog and anything else that will hurt you, so don't fuck with us." Well, Bush is killing our kids. Without advocating violence, Bush and his pal Rove need a long hard taste of their own medicine.
I've listed seven sources below to help get you started.
1. Here are the legal definitions of "veteran," "active duty," and "active duty for training."
There is a huge difference between "active duty" and "active duty for training." A person can only become a veteran if they were on "active duty." Very simply, "active duty for training" doesn't qualify a person for veteran status. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/38/101.html
Title 38, United States Code, Part I, Chapter 1, Section 101, Paragraph 2: The term ''veteran'' means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable (emphasis added)
Title 38, United States Code, Part I, Chapter 1, Section 101, Paragraph 21: The term ''active duty'' means - (A) full-time duty in the Armed Forces, other than active duty for training (emphasis added)
Title 38, United States Code, Part I, Chapter 1, Section 101, Paragraph 22: The term ''active duty for training'' means - (A) full-time duty in the Armed Forces performed by Reserves for training purposes (emphasis added)
2. According to Bush's military records, Bush has a discharge from the Air Force Reserve, and was issued a NGB 22 (National Guard Bureau Form 22, Bush's Report of Separation and Record of Service in the Air National Guard of Texas). A NGB 22 isn't a DD214. Under Line 30 on Bush's NGB 22, only training is listed. There are no periods of active duty are listed on Bush's NGB 22.
http://www.glcq.com/docs/arf_discharge.htm
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3. According to an Associated Press article, Bush was never on regular active duty. Bush served only in the Texas Air National Guard (TANG). I've searched all the "AWOL" anti-Bush web sites, but I can't find where Bush was ever issued a DD214. If Bush was ever on active duty, he must have been issued a DD214. The news clip below shows Karen Hughes tried to blur the lines by saying training was equal to active duty. You may want to call the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Air Force, and the National Guard Bureau to get official definitions first, without revealing that you're investigating Bush.
http://www.theunionleader.com/Gourmet_show.html?article=538&archive=1
July 17, 1999, Associated Press:
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - In 1978 campaign literature, George W. Bush said he served in the Air Force, a statement his Presidential campaign says is legitimate based on time he spent training and on alert while a member of the Texas Air National Guard. The Air Force says once a guardsman, always a guardsman, even if called to active duty for training or another temporary assignment. The Republican Presidential front-runner already had faced questions about whether he received preferential treatment when he joined the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. A pullout ad from The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on May 4, 1978, shows a huge picture of Bush with a "Bush for Congress" logo on the front. On the back, a synopsis of his career says he served "in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard, where he piloted the F-102 aircraft." Asked about the statement that the Texas governor served in the Air Force, spokeswoman Karen Hughes said yesterday that it was all accurate. She said that while Bush was attending flight school from November 1968 to November 1969, he was considered to be on active duty for the U.S. Air Force. Also, at several times when he was serving in the Guard, he was placed on alert and considered to be on active duty as well, she said. The Air Force says that Air National Guard members are considered "guardsmen on active duty" while receiving pilot training. They are not, however, counted as members of the overall active-duty Air Force.
4. According to CNN, then-governor Bush appeared in person before The Legion convention in 2000 as a member of Post 77 in Texas:
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0009/06/ip.00.html
BUSH: George Bush, Post 77, reporting for duty. CROWLEY: Criticized for criticizing military readiness, George W. Bush went to an American Legion convention and launched an offensiveŠ.
Bush is expected to speak again before the Legion convention that starts this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.
5. According to the Houston Chronicle, as recently as August 2003, Bush claimed to be a member of Post 77 in Houston, Texas:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/iraq/2067941
"Bush, a former Texas Air National Guardsman and a member of the American Legion's Post 77 in Houston, emphasized the positive benchmarks of the war Š."
The question here is this: Did the Houston Chronicle reporter check to see if Bush was a member in good standing at the local Legion Post?
6. According to membership application at The American Legion web site, a prospective member must meet these three requirements:
"I certify by forwarding this application that
<1> I served at least one day of active military duty
<2> during the dates marked below and <3> was honorably discharged or am still serving honorably." The Legion application requires "active duty," and there is no reference to "active duty for training." Sure, Bush has an honorable discharge from the TANG between 1961 and 1975, but Bush has no discharge from active military duty produced by the White House. https://join.legion.org/be_a_member/bm_applyonline.php
7. Each local Legion post must keep a copy of every member's DD214 on file as evidence of membership eligibility, otherwise anyone could walk off the street and join. Here's their address and phone number where Bush claims to be a member: American Legion Post 77, 1216 West Clay Street, Houston, TX, (713) 522-0971. Someone may want to contact Post 77 in Houston to verify his membership status and get a copy of his DD214, with his Social Security Number blacked out.
Here's another issue: According to the news clip below, Bush let his Legion membership expire in 2002 ! http://www.caller2.com/2002/april/04/today/texasnew/27692.html
"Tom Harris, assistant director for membership at the group's national headquarters, said Bush joined Post 77 in Houston in 1995, the same year he took office as governor. Bush was part of the Texas Air National Guard in the Vietnam era. Bush's membership has expired because he did not pay the Houston post's $25 in annual dues before the end of last year, but Harris said Bush could renew."
In the event the local Legion Post doesn't cooperate, here's the number for the Legion National Headquarters: (317) 630-1200. The Legion convention starts this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.
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