HERE'S A P.O.W. STORY FOR YOU, SEN. MCCAIN.

[TheZug]

http://anotherpowstory.blogspot.com/2008/11/heres-another-pow-story-for-you-sen.html

My uncle watched his older brothers enter the military as World War II began. He wanted nothing more than to join them in serving his country, but he was too young. Once he was old enough, he joined the ROTC in high school, and as soon as he was able, he entered the U.S. Army. He was shipped overseas, and entered Europe in Normandy, not very long after D-Day.

He was in the Battle of the Bulge, was captured, and spent the remainder of the war in a German POW camp. Though he was not a prisoner for as long, or suffer the scars that you did, he emerged from the war still in his early 20s, yet quite changed. The labor and conditions he endured can be felt in his weakened back to this very day.

He became a professional, married, had children.

He is a “decent family man”--AND he is an Arab.

His parents came here from the Middle East around the turn of the century. All of their children, the boys and the girls, served their country in World War II, and some continued working for the government until their retirement.

I will not disclose his name, and I will not disclose mine, because I will allow him to be harassed by the darkest segment of society—the very same dark segment that you have courted, Sen. McCain, and worked to whip into a fury.

Perhaps one day you will understand, Sen. McCain, how you have demeaned my uncle, his siblings, and so any others like them during your campaign. Perhaps one day you will reflect upon what you have done and express regret.

May God have mercy on your soul for the evil you have done in this campaign, Sen. McCain. You have stoked the fires of ignorance, bigotry, and hatred in your quest for power. You have maligned an entire group of people and their contributions to this country, and in so doing, disgraced yourself.

May God have mercy on your soul.

And on Nov. 4, I hope all decent-minded people reject what your despicable tactics.

[TheZug]

1. *bump*

[Orsino]

2. Boink. n/t

[appleannie1]

3. bump

[TomInTib]

4. My elderly neighbors died within a month of one another.

About a year ago.

The were both Dutch, and really old. I have lusted after their daughter, Tennika, since I first laid eyes on her.

Anyway, after they died, Tennika took "The Box" to a locksmith and had it opened. The Box had always been around, but never opened or discussed.

Inside was an account of her father's Dutch Navy experiences in the Pacific, including his capture after the Japanese sunk the ship he was on. He endured horrible, sadistic treatment at the hands of the Japanese and was kept in an underground prison in Nagasaki. One day, there was an earthquake.

The next day, almost all of the prison personnel were absent. The day after that, no one showed up.

After a few days, the prisoners decided to go for it.

When they got to street level, everything was gone. We had dropped the bomb.

Also, The Box held Tennika's mother's diary in which she recounted her adventures in the Dutch Resistance.

She was a shooter. She was a shooter, and she was twelve years old.

They never told their daughter, or anyone else for that matter.

[MinneapolisMatt]

6. Wow.

Amazing.

K&R for the real mavericks.

[ulysses]

5. hello!

K&R.

[roguevalley]

7. My good friend was a pow as a child in Manila during the Japanese

occupation. Bowing at dawn to the Japanese flag, beheadings where they had to line up and watch, starvation. People have stories and some of them are astounding. I am beyond disgusted that Arab is a dirty word in this country. Shame on that. Shame.