Vets For Freedom: Kansas City

The crowd was about twenty or thirty people. Some were veterans, families of serving members, a Gold Star family and a few interested parties. The media coverage here was not very good for the lead up, though I spoke to several people attending and they heard about the conference through various means. One gentleman, about 70 years old, is an avid reader of conservative blogs and named off an impressive list of blogs that he regularly reads including Powerline, Hugh Hewitt and the Belmont Club. Of course, I recommended the Castle and Blackfive for additional reading.

Another gentleman had heard about the event from KCCN Christian radio and still another Gulf War vet, a member of the Veterans of Modern Warfare, said he'd heard about the shenanigans up in Minnesota and decided that he had to come and support these vets. He didn't know everything about them or what they were going to say, but he believed that veterans should have the chance to speak and be heard. He believed that the Forest Lake HS incident was a "heinous failure" of our educational system and the high school specifically to not allow the students to hear this real history and what it means to serve our nation.

Bellavia later echoed that sentiment noting that we were sitting in the World War I museum and there were only two WWI veterans remaining (actually, David, I think we are down to one). Their stories, if not written down, are now forever lost to us. Our WWII veterans are also passing at a high rate daily and we will soon lose those voices, too. Who then is going to carry the story of the American Veteran when our Viet Nam veterans were shut out and shut up when they came home? We are just now really starting to appreciate their service. Bellavia, as he has done throughout the tour, continued to thank these veterans for paving the way for his generation and giving them the drive to make sure that their voices were heard.

A Viet Nam veteran, Martin Oelklaus, was kind enough to share some of his own experiences with me while we waited. I have two great T.I.N.S for the blog which I'll post tomorrow. Suffice it to say that somethings never change. One thing that he talked about and also echoed by Bellavia was "brotherhood". Thirty five years after he came back from Viet Nam, he searched the internet for the name of his friend who had come from Kentucky. By shear luck, there was only one such man in the area by that name and when he called him up, he had found his friend. He said they began talking and it was as if those thirty five years had never passed.

Our speakers Wednesday evening were Pete Hegseth, Tom Parks (of Overland Park) and David Bellavia, author of "House to House". We started out in the main auditorium, but moved to a more intimate setting around the conference table in the education room in the museum. While I was waiting, I finally saw what was under the glass roof below the tower: a field of poppies.

I've watched many of the videos of the speaking engagements and interviews, but it is even more impressive to meet and speak with these men in person. What comes across is their utter sincerity and the desire to get the truth out. Just as importantly, what you get is an immediate sense that these men are leaders and comfortable in that role.

Their approach to this conversation (and that's what it was, sitting around a big table) was three parts: information about Iraq/getting the information out; the service and the care of our veterans and honoring the service of our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with completing the mission.

Hegseth focused on the progress that had been made, the general situation before and the need to continue the mission to make Iraq successful. He included many details about his time in Samarra during the bombing of the Golden Mosque that sparked the most heated battles between the Sunni and Shia in 2006 and almost gave Al Qaida its sought after victory. He emphasized, repeatedly, that the "civil war" was over.

"the markets (in Doura) aren't just open, they are booming."

He empathized with the people that thought the war was a lost cause, noting when he came home he was convinced that we were using the wrong strategy. Hegseth had written several op-eds and emails home urging people to support their efforts and speaking about the need to change strategies in Iraq. Hegseth noted that, though he and some other units had been doing a version of COIN (counter insurgency), the effort had not been cohesive or spread across the entire nation. That meant that it could not be a success until the effort was made overall in every area.

It echoes, to some degree, Col. Gian Gentile's complaint that the pundits' idea that COIN was not occurring while his troops were sacrificing was simply wrong. But, opposite of Gentile, who disagrees that progress was based on this new strategy or the surge, Hegseth insists that it was the new cohesive nature of the approach as well as the US and Iraqi surge that turned the tide. He quoted figures that over 200,000 Iraqis had joined either the police and military or the concerned local citizens, now referred to as Sons of Iraq (SoI) in the last fifteen months.

Al Qaida was not protecting them, but was exploiting them.

Hegseth believes that there is a serious failure within the media to report what is really happening in Iraq, either in the past or today, that is harmfully coloring the opinion of the American people about our efforts there. He says that the VFF is advocating a new conversation about the war because it is imperative that we stay there and see Iraq secure and prosperous. Iraq and Iraqis are not "the enemy", but the enemy (al Qaida and various terrorist organizations) is there. They have invested much in winning the battle there and we need to put paid to their aspirations.

"No one is doing touch down dances, here, but we have changed the dynamic on the ground."

He asks that the American people join with Vets for Freedom to stand "shoulder to shoulder" and bring the war to the finish line.

Tom Parks, Chief Warrant Officer (ret) USMC, was on the drive to Baghdad in 2003 and talked about his experiences there as well as returning home as both a physically and mentally wounded veteran. He served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He spent some time talking about the drive to Baghdad, being attacked in "Ambush Alley", not by uniformed military or even the black clad "Fedeyeen Saddam", but by "insurgents" who had either taken off their uniform or never wore one. In one incident, these "insurgents" had taken a family hostage and one had the four year old daughter held in front of him with a gun to her head.

Parks said, all he could think about was his own daughter and, somehow, he was able to shoot that insurgent without harming the little girl. The second one gave up. His point was that these fighters did not stand and fight in the open, but hid behind civilians even then. The same tactic they have been using throughout the battle for Iraq these many years.

During the same attack in Ambush Alley, Parks dismounted, grabbing an anti-tank rocket and took out a T-55 Iraqi army tank. They were taking fire from all sides, from buildings along the route. He then ran between multiple tanks, using their outside (GI) "Joe" phones to coordinate a tank barrage against enemy positions. One tank did not have a phone so he had to run back to another to get them to radio the fourth tank to move as they were directed. The entire time, Parks was under fire from AK-47s, RPGs and various other weapons. For his actions, he received the Silver Star.

Parks said that he was no hero. His hero was his wife, a marine officer and the XO (executive officer) Mobile Command Marine Reserves at Richard Gabauer (where the 24th Marines are out of). She waited for him to come home and has been there for him this entire time as he transitioned from infantry to civilian. He said that his care at the KC VA medical center has been great. Its not the rat infested, wreck that made national headlines. However, it can't do everything and we have tasked the VA with many jobs to serve our returning veterans.

There are many things that we need to do to take care of these men and women who are returning. Parks emphasized that this is not the war of our fathers and grandfathers, but a 360 degree war where men and women must be ever vigilant, the enemy does not wear a uniform and the constant stress of battle can cause lasting damage if we do not address it early on. He admits that he has his own struggles with severe PTSD and the wounds he suffered. Yet, our veterans can come home to lead productive lives with the right motivation and assistance. Parks is now the Director of Operations for APU in Overland Park, KS.

David Bellavia, SSgt US Army (ret), spoke about the need to honor the sacrifices of the men and women who have fought in Iraq. His book is now #1. While Hegseth introduced him, spoke about his fight in the house of Fallujah and Bellavia Silver and Bronze Star (with the additional potential that Bellavia will receive the Medal of Honor as the first "living" recipient of this war), Bellavia did not dwell on his own story. Instead, he wanted to talk about the people that he served and sacrificed with, some of whom have returned to Iraq even today.

His message, "Let them win."

Without a doubt, Bellavia wears his passion for his cause unapologetically on his sleeve. He delivered his part of the presentation as his want: with humor and drive. The same love for his fellow service members and the need to honor them and their sacrifice.

Some words from Bellavia:

The thing that really touched me, that really changed my life, was the embrace we got when we came home.

We have to be accountable stewards. We have to carry the message.

These are the stories we need to tell. For far to long you (Viet Nam Vets) were stifled because you were told your war was unpopular or that your service isn't appreciated. We're burning down the house.

Our whole purpose is not only to say "thank you", but "we love you."

The only thing that can keep you alive is love. ...That is what keeps you alive on the battle field and keeps the memory alive of those who we buried.

Bellavia continues to re-iterate several themes. First, that this is not "partisan" or "politics". In fact, his main demand is that Republicans and Democrats get their politics "out of our war." He continues to thank Viet Nam Veterans for welcoming them home and for paving the way for his generation. He is insistent, though, that his generation is not going to suffer the same fate as the Viet Nam veterans. They are going to speak out and speak up. They will not allow their brothers and sisters to be demonized, patronized, victimized or left to slink quietly away. He asks these vets and the American people to join them in making sure that their voices are heard.

He believes that winning in Iraq is necessary. He says that he has met the enemy face to face, smelled his breath and felt his hate. In Fallujah, he fought the "all star team" for jihad and they came to Iraq to kill Americans. He insists that there is nothing that Pelosi, Clinton or President Bush can do to keep us safe from that hatred except to fight them and defeat them wherever we meet them. It is why we must stay in Iraq.

At the end of the day, though, he believes they can be defeated. The very fact that the enemy thrives on hate and death is the key to their defeat. Such hatred cannot be sustained, cannot provide any longterm meaning to life and must either whither away or be destroyed. The thing that will defeat them is love: love for freedom, love for our country and the love of a brotherhood, "fraternity", of warriors for each other and everything they deem important.

Warriors aren't just the men carrying rifles, they are the families, the people back home who help to support their effort. He thanked those who have been supporting them and those veterans who came before them.

I asked Bellavia about his run for Congress, he didn't want to make much of it at the time, but he went back to his original point that they needed to get the word out.

I did have the opportunity to ask several more questions that I will outline in the next post along with actual recordings from the event. Actually, I can't lie, with so few present and some not sure what to ask, yours truly monopolized a good part of these gentlemen's time which I wish to thank them for and apologize at the same time. I think that they were very tired after a long day , but they stayed to answer questions when they might have gotten another hour of down time. I don't feel bad about essentially holding the rest of the audience hostage with the questions. Hopefully, they got a little bit more information from the discussion.

Those who missed it, missed a great opportunity to meet some fantastic people with great stories and a really important message.

David Bellavia signed my book after the conference. During the conference, I mentioned that I was with a milblog (not wanting to give the idea that I was a covert operative for the meda). Bellavia and Hegseth thanked the milblog community for letting their voices be heard. I wanted to share what David wrote in my book with our readers and the rest of the milblogging community because the message was not for me alone, but for all of you:

Thank you for all you do for your nation at war. All the heroes of this war DON'T carry rifles - You are one of them.

Not me. You. I came after the many who paved the way and made the community important, who really gave the milblog community its start. Frankly, I'm just a punctuation mark in the greater milblog community, thankful to be able to post on this blog and meet such great people here as well as men like those at Vets For Freedom.

E Pluribus, Unum
Out of many, one

[PS...I met Uncle Jimbo with Blackfive and have some video to post of the inside of the bus, which was sweet.]