View From The Battlefield: Why American Veterans Are Voting Obama

Nine days ago at an election eve rally at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, a Vietnam veteran, tears welling in his eyes, wildly shouted his support for Senator Barack Obama.

Two fellow vets helped him to his feet to join in a raucous standing ovation for Obama. That Vietnam veteran, Noah Coakley of Key West, FL, is a man of dignity and reserve, a man who served his country for 20 years in the U.S. Army, including five tours of duty in Vietnam.

Noah Coakley is a veteran passionately supporting Barack Obama for president.

Across the country, this scene is repeated. Veterans in enormous numbers, with passion and fervor and commitment are turning out in support of Barack Obama.

Vietnam veterans are printing literature, "slim jims," at their expense, highlighting Barack Obama's support of veterans. An Iraq war vet, a merchant marine, and the daughter of a Vietnam vet are reaching into their pockets to buy "Veterans for Obama" signs.

Republican veterans -- from a 30-plus year career Marine in Beaufort, South Carolina, to a lifelong Republican who served three Republican presidents in the White House and the Pentagon - are turning out for Barack Obama, urging fellow veterans to support and vote for him. Retired Marine Corps Command Sergeant Major John L. Estrada, only the 15th Command Sergeant Major in the history of the Corps, has gone on the campaign trail and joined the chorus of veteran voices actively, passionately supporting Barack Obama.

From flag rank officers to grunts, veterans of every era and rank are turning out for Barack Obama.

Why? Where is this passion and commitment for a non-veteran coming from?

The answer is simple. It is because Barack Obama, the grandson of a World War II vet who fought in Patton's army, is passionate and committed to the issues that affect veterans and their families.

Senator Obama, when he arrived in Washington, volunteered for the all important, but not very glamorous, Senate Committee on Veteran's Affairs. In the wake of the housing and medical evaluation scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Obama introduced a sweeping bill, called the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act, calling for comprehensive reforms in how our combat veterans and their families are treated.

Vets support Obama because he will fully fund the VA healthcare budget, will bring Priority 8 vets back into the VA healthcare system, will expand the GI Bill to allow spouses and children to be eligible to use veteran benefits and will treat Guardsmen and Reservists equally, and he will comprehensively address the pain and devastation brought onto vets by PTSD and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

And of critical importance, Barack Obama has pledged a "zero tolerance" policy to end veteran homelessness. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans noted in Congressional testimony that "We extend our deep gratitude to Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for catapulting homeless veteran issues onto the Senate agenda ...."

It is for all these reasons that veterans support Barack Obama for president. But mostly America's veterans support Barack Obama because his support of veterans and their families is passionate and unqualified.

And yet while we are veterans, we are Americans first. We see in Barack Obama a transformational candidate; we see, not a politician who wants to be president, but a man who wants to change our country.

Senator Obama embodies the bold, fresh, innovative, outside-the-Beltway thinking that we, as Americans, desperately need. He possesses the leadership and passion, the vision and thoughtfulness, the wisdom to unite our divided country, to re-establish our friendships around the world, to restore our standing as the greatest, most generous, caring, freest nation in history.

Barack Obama, beginning on day one of his presidency, will restore the greatness and promise of America.

Comments

[medialv]

I humbly suggest people who are supporting other candidates (other than Ron Paul) check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNB1U1tgX1g

It is from the Florida GOP Debate in October 2007 & the only debate Ron Paul has been given equal time in a debate (for whatever reasons)

Just check it out & form your own opinions. I have a feeling people who are supporting Hillary or Obama would be pleasantly surprised by

how intelligent & honest Ron Paul is & realize how Hillary & Obama are really giving vapid answers (telling you what you want to hear) instead of intelligence.

Just take a look, it will only take about 10 minutes of your time. We are all in this together.

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[RadioResearch]

What about Ron Paul?
Ron Paul has received more contributions from active duty personnel than all other candidates combined. As a Vietnam vet I support Ron Paul because of his record on veteran's affairs and his message of freedom and liberty, in other words, that which we fought for.
Hillary has a much better record on veteran's issues than does Obama though he certainly is more likable. On the other hand, Hillary was a real hawk on the Iraq war even though she was aware of (or should have been) the discrepancies in intelligence. Ron Paul, I should add, was completely against it from the beginning whereas Obama was generally unsure about which way the political wind was blowing and waffled on the subject.
Indeed, the only presidential candidate in the field who has a clean record on the subject is again, Ron Paul. Most veterans, even liberal vets, would be better off supporting Ron paul than any other candidate for he is at least interested the discussion rather than trying to be the next Frat/sororoty club president. Mitt and Huck appear to be running for president of heaven rather than the US and McCain is still fighting the Vietnam war, running on his grossly overrated "heroism" which in reality was no greater than anything a large number of us did.
In truth, there really aren't any front running candidates who can command the majority of our votes at this time. Mind you, though I am an old fashioned conservative Republican, I find that both Hillary and especially Obama are much closer to my own positions than any other repub but Ron Paul.

[AnninCA]

Hillary has gotten some very outstanding endorsements from military in Iraq.

Why ignore that fact?

[alkamm]

The Dems are so eager to have a winner that they are willing to line up in support of Hillary. The surge in support for Obama is in part due to his inspiring voice which trumps the lesser voice Hillary and Bill use to downplay Obama's.
These clear reasons for vets to support Obama need to be repeated and understood rather than opposed as pure boosterism.
The real boosters are those who seem to be willing to support the Clintons all the way to their loss in November.
Obama over McCain in a landslide and we all win.

[DennyCrane]

I don't understand why any vet would support Hillary. I have great respect for anyone who serves in the armed forces because they put their lives in the hands of people like Bush and Cheney who think nothing of risking their lives to further their own political goals. And Hillary falls into the same camp. She voted for the war not because she believed in it, but because she wanted to look strong on national security. There's nothing more dangerous than a commander in chief who commits our soldiers to battle to improve his or her image. Such a person should be disqualified from running for President.

[vbond]

I still have the ceremonial helmet that my uncle John Bond wore as a member of the Second Armored ("Hell on Wheels") Division in WWII, under George Patton.

Your post brought - is bringing - me to tears.

I know that my uncle would be proud to know of my support for Barack Obama, because Obama understands the difference between a "good" war and a "dumb" war, and he has the balls to do the first and damn the second.

[kennedy]

I have three vets in my family and they all support Senator Clinton.

[MRb1000]

Yeah while the Clintons were in the white house they did not care much for the veterans. The only time she started to care for vets is when she want to be a senator. Now, she want to be commander and chief. Sorry, I would not vote for her because she has to be president for all veterans not some. She can not be trusted. If you cannot stand by your word you are not commander and chief material. If you cannot do the right thing when no one is looking you cannot be commander in chief.

[jrockbg]

Why do I feel like this post should be in the advertisement section? Does Barack Obama "support this message"?

[GPRogueCowboy]

Yup the surge is working for someone, but I can’t figure out who. According to news articles there were about 2000 Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq in January 2007 and the “SURGE” has resulted in killing or capturing about 500 in the past year. The US has spent over $100 Billion in the past year, Iraq has spent about $4 Billion and our “ALLIES” have spent about $1 Billion. Please check my math. If I divide 500 into $105 Billion my calculator says it cost $210 Million per Bad Guy killed or captured.

“The 500 Al Qaeda captured or killed in the past year have cost $210 Million each, plus 1000 American Lives, 5000 Wounded Americans, 2000 Iraqi Military Lives, 5,000 Iraqi Military wounded, and over 15,000 Iraqi civilians killed”!

What if we posted a reward of $25 Million for each Al Qaeda captured or killed and we just left Iraq except for a small contingent of protect and disburse the cash?
If we paid for 1000 Bad Guys the cost would only be $25 Billion.

2008 will cost over $130 Billion and the permanent bases Bush and McCain want will probably cost another $500 Billion.

Jim Frego Grants Pass, OR

[Zanti]

"Vets support Obama because...."

Why do you presume to speak for all vets? This vet supports Hillary.

As for the "outside-the-Beltway thinking" cliché, I had enough of that from Reagan and GWB. I think we all did.

[altohone]

Thanks for the post.

I would have thought Obama's emphasis on going after the people who actually attacked us would have been important too.

I noticed McCain recently stressing his own quest for getting Bin Laden on the campaign trail... the mis-allocation or distraction of Iraq is clearly a major weakness for him and the GOP in their whole ideology based corner Bush has backed them into.