I don't know who wrote this, but it's good.
George

Undoubtably, you have heard about the 'misspeaks' of a Mr. Richard Blumenthal who is running for Senate replacing Chris Dodd. On numerous occassions he has stated, "While I served in Vietnam...." When called out on these statements he claimed he 'misspoke'. He is not the first who has stolen valor by way of service, awards or deeds. Nor will he be the last.

Funny thing about the word 'misspeak'. To me a misspeak is like when you meant to ask for the pepper but, you ask for the salt instead. If a person was in Vietnam that person would sure know it. You cannot be confused. For many it was over a year out of their life, carrying 55 pounds of gear, sloshing through rice paddies in 100+ heat. Not to mention the casualties.

Mr. Blumenthal did not misspeak....he lied. However, the bar is so low for politicians these days this will hardly mean a thing. It is commonplace to excuse the inexcusable.

Now, let me tell you about W. E. Krippel. He died just the other day at age 86 in Fort Worth, Texas. His death will go un-noticed by most.

Mr. Krippel is about as different from Mr. Blumenthal as night is to day or white is to black.

If it wasnt for the visit from an old Army buddy in the 1970's his family might never have known about his experience as a prisoner of war during WW11. The visitors name was Stonewall, a veteran just passing through Fort Worth. Mr. Krippel and Stonewall sat down on the sofa in the Krippels' home and talked about their shared experiences in the Army and in particular in a German POW camp. Mr. Krippel, as it turned out, had been the ballturret gunner on a B-17 bomber that was shot down over Austria on July 26, 1944. The pilot and co-pilot was killed that day.

They started talking about different things. It was then Mrs. Krippel learned her husband was down to 107 pounds, he was abused and was marched across Germany in the dead of winter. Many died on the march and were picked up by wagons and unceremoniously disposed. Often Mr. Krippel and the men were served one potato in a bowl of water for weeks on end.

The children and Mrs. Krippel sat around on the floor listening to the stories. It was 30 years after his capture and up until the visit by Mr. Stonewall neither the wife or children had ever heard one word about Mr. Krippel's ordeal.

Over the years Mr. Krippel was known for never complaining about anything. His wife said he was just a really good guy.

Mr. Blumenthal claims he 'misspoke'. Spending a year in Vietnam is something that you cannot misspeak about. You actually will know, for the rest of your life, whether or not you were there.

Mr. Krippel did not have a similar problem. He knew where he was. And, like many soldiers through history he chose not to speak or misspeak about it.

Memorial Day is fast approaching. Remember and Honor.