This "man" has absolutely no clue. WE want to remember those who were brave enough to keep communism off our shores. Sort of like terrorism...hmmm. I appreciate every life on that wall, all the lives affected, and the lives that haven't made it to the wall yet. I always have. My daddy taught me right. Kerry should...? I don't know, what does a stupid man give a wise man? Show him how NOT to do things? Thank you for your service. God bless you.

When did this finger salute occur?

Supposedly back during Memorial Day weekend.

Bill- not to be a wet towel concerning the Ted
Sampley story, but is there any third party confirmation of this? I remember reading about it, and it was one of this "he said, she said" deals.

I heard about Kerry flipping off Ted Sampley. I have also seen the campaign by Kerry's people to smear his name. This is not surprising considering the disgusting lies that he told during the Vietnam war. He trashed our soldiers then, and he is doing it again! He is also questioning the service of President Bush repeatedly. The officer who swore President Bush in as a member of the Guard just spoke out. He stated that George Bush volunteered for duty in Vietnam, but was turned down due to lack of hours in the F-102. This is not the first time I have heard that. Yet Kerry keeps attacking. This is an effort to draw attention from his activity in Vietnam and afterward. He doesn't think people will notice that he has not authorized the release of his military records. I encourage eveyrone to log on to dirtykerry.com and sign the petition asking him to release his records.

From my understanding, gathered from Sen. John McCain, Ted Sampley is a piece of shit, and richly deserves the finger. He has made a living off of the exploitation of the POW/MIA issue and even spead the story that Bush's father bailed out on his gunner in WWII.

Agreed, klaatu. Dean Esmay covered the incident at the time, which is when I found out that Mr. Sampley is not the sort of fellow I would choose to represent vets.

Apparently one of his more egregious habits is marketing POW/MIA stuff, then pocketing the profits, while switching back and forth between various front companies.

Dean, who is no Kerry supporter, even said at the time that Kerry should have slugged Sampley, but I disagree. I think it was one of the few times that Kerry showed anything remotely resembling class, since he had Secret Service agents protecting him. He could have taken a free shot at Sampley, who would have been promptly flattened by the agents if he swung back.

I think this "incident" is below the radar, in the same way that Cheney's "f**k you" crack was.

Speaking of "the salute," I'm surprised more milbloggers didn't say something about it, specifically. I mean, check me if I'm wrong here, but isn't it the case that:
-civilians never salute
-service personel only salute in uniform
-Kerry gave us a sporry, sloppy example of a salute

I would think that that would be a good example of how John "I was in Vietnam" Kerry never did understand the men he served beside which he served, for a very short time.

Casey-

In the past...civilians didn't salute, but Ronald Reagan changed that. Notice how even Bill Clinton, despite his loathing for all things associated with the military, felt compelled to salute.

Not that I mind it and all...but if you're gonna do it, learn to do it right. And yeah Kerry gives a sloppy, half-assed salute.

IRT to Ted Sampley...be aware that most of the stories about him were generated from the McCain or Kerry groups. Why? Because during the POW/MIA hearings, Sampley aggressively questioned/criticized the members of that committee concerning their report, republicans and democrats alike. Some egos got bruised in the process. He was an equal opportunity offender in that regard. There is a long standing, ugly grudge between those parties (Sampley, McCain, Kerry). So anything I hear out of Sampley irt to McCain/Kerry and vice versa, I treat with a *BIG* grain of salt. I do know that Sampley is one of the founders of Rolling Thunder, a group which has consistently raised awareness concerning *all* POW/MIA's, not just those from Vietnam, Scott Spiechers case being just one example.

Bucky Katt: For Ted Sampley trashing President George H.W. Bush for his service in WWII with lies and inneundo on his own website, see here: http://www.usvetdsp.com/story46.htm

Sampley is a true tinfoil hat man, or just scum.

Casey: Unfortunately, the civilian salute thing is out of control. As Bucky notes, Reagan started it. I would prefer that presidents follow the rules, maybe salute with hand-over heart if they feel they should.

There’s a story behind President Reagan’s decision to start returning salutes. At the beginning of his presidency he wanted to but didn’t think he was allowed to, then a senior military officer reminded him that he was Commander in Chief and had the authority to decide for himself what the rules should be. I’ll try to remember to come back with a link to a better write-up on that; the story made the rounds in the days immediately following President Reagan’s death and I’m sure Google knows some places you can read it. I personally think it’s perfectly fitting for the Commander in Chief to show his respect for the military by returning salutes, even if I do know Clinton chafed at being stuck with the tradition President Reagan started.

Regardless of what Ted Sampley may or may not have done in the past, we do not need a president whose diplomatic skills are exemplified by publicly flipping off people who disagree with him. Jean Fraud Kerry had no right to use The Wall as a photo-op backdrop. I’ve seen the Wall once, at night using a flashlight I borrowed from the man at the all-night POW/MIA booth near the wall, before the lights were working. I damned sure didn’t feel any need for photographers to watch my reaction to finding and touching the names of men I’d grown up admiring. But then, I’m not a “hero” seeking the nation’s highest office.

Klatuu...

Thanks for the link and the Tin-Foil hat remark was spot on in this case. I'm not sure of Sampley's past history irt Bush41.

However...even a blind pig finds a nut once and awhile and, whatever your feelings about Sampley, one must admit that as one of the founders of RT he helped raise the awareness of the plight of POWs/MIAs.

Whatever you may think of Sampley (and I don't know of him, other than what I've read here and other places), Kerry's behavior of shooting the bird was very juvenile.

Did it really happen? Supposedly it did. There was a photographer reportedly present, and he caught it on film. This is also reportedly where the John O'Neill and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth got the picture for the cover of "Unfit for Command". Now, I haven't taken the time to google up links and such to confirm this, so take it with a grain of salt until/unless you can confirm it elsewhere.

Most of my family was/is Navy, and they practically went into hysterics at Kerry's pseudo-salute. Even a cadet or raw recruit can usually salute better than that after a few days practice!

Thanks for the blog, and keep up the wonder stories. God bless and keep you and your 'kids' safe, and know that support for all of you here at home is stronger and stronger each day.

I don't get too indignant about guys flipping the bird, or telling people to "go f yourself."

I'm so glad to see folks who know what a salute should look like affirming my impression of Kerry's salute. I'm a relic of the Korean War era, a grandmother who learned to salute at an R-Day practice at the US Military Academy at West Point and I do believe my salute is snappier than his!

For that matter, my brain is snappier than Kerry's.

Thanks to all of you who have served our fantastic country so well. In spite of what the media would have you believe, most of us honor you.

Sunnye, thank you. I just turned your comment into a post on my home blog so more people would see it. I also checked out your blog and added you to my blogroll.