12-5-05

We survived our Branson trip. Went up early Saturday morning then came back that evening. Traffic was a booger and there were too many people at Silver Dollar City, but everybody had fun.

After getting to Branson, we stopped at ate at Fuddrucker's, one of my favorite restauraunts. Had a massive slab of meat on home-cooked buns. Most excellent, I do say so.

Don't know about you, but there are some things going on as far as Christmas that are really bothering me. So many groups try to take Christmas out of Christmas, which really makes no sense.

Now, they say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". I know, they are trying not to offend some people, but they are offending me. The reason for the celebration is because it is Christmas.

Target will not allow anything mentioning Christmas in their stores and their employees are encouraged to say "Happy Holidays", instead of "Merry Christmas". All the signs in the store folow the same route.

The store also won't allow the Salvation Army to ring the bells outside the store. This is a major fundraiser for the organization, which does so much good for so many people. It feeds and clothes so many people who need a helping hand, but won't do jack to help the organization.

But the store goes out of its way to help gay and lesbian groups. That isn't right. If they want to help the gays and lesbians, that is their right. But I don't understand why they feel this is okay while helping the Salvation Army and making any reference to Christmas is not okay.

I got an email this morning from a friend talking about this. At the end, it said Target was a French-owned company. I have no idea if this is true or not. There are no Target stores around here, but even if there was one and the prices were much better, I wouldn't buy anything from them.

Our little town is fortunate that every year, the KCS brings a train to town with excellent decorations and does make large contributions to the Salvation Army, along with gifts to local children. Huge crowds turn out. This is funded by contributions from employees and vendors.

One thing that bugs me is it is not the KCS Christmas Express. It is the Holiday Express. If I lived in an area with a lot of Jewish residents and there was something special for them called the Hanukka Express, I wouldn't be offended. Just like I never will be offended if I see a store alluding to Happy Hanukka, right next to a Merry Christmas greeting.

Another item I received this morning. It was concerning Jane Fonda being called one of the 100 greatest women of the last 100 years. The writer of the message is at the bottom. This is the text message I received:

Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the "100 Women of the Century" by Barbara Walters.

Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms.Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificedduring Vietnam.

The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot

The pilot's name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat.

In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison the "Hanoi Hilton."

Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American"Peace Activist" the "lenient and humanetreatment" he'd received.

He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed, and was dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward on to the camp Commandant's feet, which sent that officer berserk.

In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended hisflying career) from the Commandant's frenzied application of a wooden baton.

From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the47FW/DO (F-4E's). He spent 6 years in the"Hanoi Hilton", the first three of which his family only knew he was "missing in action". His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in preparation for a "peace delegation" visit. They, however, had time and devised a plan toget word to the world that they were alive and still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of his hand.

When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the line, shaking each man's hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: "Aren't you sorry you bombed babies?" and "Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors?"Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their sliver of paper. She took them all without missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper.

Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Colonel Carrigan was almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we know of her actions that day.

I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in1968, and held prisoner for over 5 years.

I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one year in a cage in Cambodia; and one year in a "black box" in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, SouthVietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near theCambodia border. At one time, I weighed only about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs.)

We were Jane Fonda's "war criminals."

When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi , I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with her.

I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real treatment we POWs received... and how different it was from the treatment purported bythe North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as" humane and lenient."

Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees, with my arms outstretched with a large steel weights placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane.

I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She never did answer me.

These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of "100 Years of Great Women." Lest we forget..." 100 Years of Great Women"should never include a traitor whose hands arecovered with the blood of so many patriots.

There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Jane's participation inblatant treason, is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can.It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget. RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt, USAF 716 Maintenance Squadron, Chief of Maintenance DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343.