Letter from LBJ to soldier arrives 36 years later

tritsofme

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:41 PM
Original message

Letter from LBJ to soldier arrives 36 years later

Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 04:47 PM by tritsofme

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/bal-te.letter12nov12,0,837379.story?coll=sfla-news-fringe

SAN ANTONIO - Almost completely recovered from a wound left by a piece of shrapnel that had missed his heart by half an inch, the Army staff sergeant was just a few days away from getting shipped back to Vietnam.

So, the night of June 14, 1968, William Swoveland pulled himself out of his bunk and sat down to write a letter.

"I have seen my men hurt and killed and sometimes it seems there's no reason for it," Swoveland wrote. "All of the civilians who have died in Saigon and yet we can't bomb capital because we're Americans.

"Just what is the answer?"

This year, nearly three decades after the end of the Vietnam War, Swoveland finally got his reply from Lyndon B. Johnson.
<SNIP>

LBJ was a monster, but at least he had some form of a conscience.

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stevedeshazer

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:45 PM
Response to Original message

1. I think you mean "conscience", but I get the drift.

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UdoKier

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:45 PM
Response to Original message

2. "conscience" not "conscious"

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Zuni

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:46 PM
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3. LBJ wasn't a monster, he just made bad decisions

he was so devestated by it that he didn't run again and died a few years later

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Killarney

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:47 PM
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4. Wow. Can you imagine Shrub answering a letter from a non-supporter?

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Bucky

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Fri Nov-12-04 05:13 PM
Response to Reply #4

9. or from anybody?

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Blue_Tires

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:47 PM
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5. incredible

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saracat

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:52 PM
Response to Original message

6. LBJ wasn't a monster. He was a social activist.

Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 04:53 PM by saracat

He enacted more social legislation than any president in history. 1000 peices of legislation. Without him we would not have the Civil Rights Act. If you think Kennedy would have passed it , you are crackers. Johnson had a real and personal interst in Civil Rights. He was one of the great social issue presidents but that all gets washed away when people discuss Vietnam. It is really too bad. He was a far better president than most and at least he had family serving in Vietnam, unlike the current POS in the WH.

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tritsofme

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Fri Nov-12-04 04:59 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. 58,000 young men will never be able to see

Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 05:00 PM by tritsofme

all the great victories you say he accomplished.

Some were my friends, members of my family.

It does get washed away, and with good reason.

He was a monster, and the blood of those young men are forever on his soul.

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saracat

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Fri Nov-12-04 05:05 PM
Response to Reply #7

8. So you don't think that legislation was worth anything?

Edited on Fri Nov-12-04 05:06 PM by saracat

I respect your feelings ,but in comparison , Bush has killed even more people if we count civilians and he has done no good at all. I protested the Vietnam War and took a lot of heat for it. One of the reasons I supported Kerry was because he protested the war. The Vietnam War was an abombination, but Johnsons social legislation will(hopefully) benefit us forever.

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tritsofme

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Fri Nov-12-04 05:30 PM
Response to Reply #8

10. I think it was worth a lot

But I don't think it grants him clemency by any means.

I put LBJ in much higher esteem, because at least he showed remorse for his mistakes at the end of his life, something I don't think Bush is capable of.

That was one of the things I loved about Kerry, and you really have to wonder what has happened to some of these people over the past 30 years who were out there doing the same thing as Kerry then.

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saracat

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Fri Nov-12-04 05:42 PM
Response to Reply #10

11. I don't think it grants him clemency either. And I ,too, wonder about

those people? How could some have changed so much? Maybe they were really disappointed that the change wasn't complete or perfect. Maybe they wanted too much. But I wanted too much and I haven't changed, except gotten a bit madder! I just can't understand it.

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