As a congressman in these United States, you have disgraced yourself and your office with your statements about the U.S. Marines. I would hope that you would understand what you have done, and step down from your office. But, I am sure that your won’t and you will find a way to make this ‘ok’ in your own mind. You could be the man everyone thought you were when elected and do the right thing, or not, sleep well sir.
Randy McElwain
GOE/PGR/DAV
Charlotte, N.C.
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Dear Congressman Murtha;
As a former military officer and a Viet Nam vet, I am appalled that you of all people don’t seem to understand the ramifications that your personal actions as a politician have on our military forces. How demoralizing it was to all Viet Nam vets to have our hands tied and every action taken dictated by the politicians! You above all should remember what it was like to try to win a war that the politicians would not allow us to fight!
Yet here you are doing the very same things to our military forces that are only doing as they are instructed in waging this war. The main difference
between these troops and the Viet Nam troops is that they are all volunteers, who have willing taken the oath to preserve our freedoms! They deserve more, a lot more. Especially from people like yourself! They deserve your thanks and unflinching support! Not your criticism, not your unfounded accusations. In every war ever fought, there have always been a few mavericks that don’t or won’t follow the ROE but you seem to forget the “sneak attack” on the World Trade Center, the killing and torture of innocents and other atrocities committed by the terrorists! Yet you are so quick to condemn our own. Should they be held to a higher standard? Yes they should but they also should be able to defend themselves and their squad mates without fear of being second guessed by every politician in the United States.
I would recommend that you take up a weapon and enter and clear a room and try to make a split second decision as to whether or not the combatant lying on the floor is alive or dead, armed or unarmed, about to shoot you or one of your buddies. Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t be so damn quick to condemn! Maybe then your “political expediency” wouldn’t come so quickly!
Have you truly forgotten what it means when we all pledge “Duty, Honor, Country”? If you have, then you never knew what that meant to start with. And that is your shame.
Sincerely,
Butch Govoni
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A veteran, such as yourself, should understand that war is war. A veteran, such as yourself, should understand the soldiers’ code of supporting your brethren, not using them as political pawns. Our soldiers are the best trained in the world and they ALL volunteered to serve. As a Patriot Guard Rider, I have been to many Welcome Home missions, spoken with the brave and determined men and women who have forged personal relationships with the Afghan and Iraqi people. They talk of their work as though it is their ministry. I have not heard one regret other than they would like to return to a country that understands why they feel committed to the mission. I have also attended the funerals of the fallen, spoken with their loved ones who want nothing more than to know the battle will be won and that their hero will not have died in vain. It is DEEPLY disturbing that as a veteran, especially a Marine, you have allowed yourself to be used to advance a political objective and are now without honor. It is DEEPLY disturbing that as a congressman you did not adhere to the most basic tenet of presumption of innocence. The voters will judge you, your fellow Marines will judge you, but most importantly God will judge you. May He have mercy on you for what you have done.
Most sincerely, Barbara Willis, Camden, OH
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Dear Congressman,
Your comments regarding “Our troops killing in cold blood” was not well received by the American people. I would suggest, now that most of the evidence is in, that our troops were not killing in cold blood, but doing there jobs as they were both instructed, and trained. I believe the time has come for you, Mr. Murtha, to step forward and give your fellow comrades in arms an open apology for your premature remarks. Part of being human is to be emotional, and make quick judgements. Also part of being human is remorse, and making it right with those you have harmed. It is time for you, Mr. Murtha, to step up and make this apology to our troops. It is the right thing to do, and it is the right time to do it.
Very Sincerely,
Ron Kemmerer
Vista, Ca
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The first word that comes to mind when I think of the manner in which Congressman Murtha has consistently undermined the efforts of brave and selfless soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in fighting on our behalf in the global war on terror.
He does not support the troops. He does not support the war effort. He is only interested in self promotion and self preservation by appealing to his liberal anti-war constituency.
Like the Copperheads of the Civil War era, history will prove Murtha and his cohorts in the Democrat party to be wrong and misguided at the very least – traitorous and damaging to our national security at the worst.
STAN DYKSTRA
Williamsburg, VA
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Congressman Murtha, I feel you need to apologize to the military and the nation for your statement that Marines had, “killed innocent civilians in cold blood”. — The Tilleys
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Mr. Murtha,
You owe LCpl Sharratt, his family, as well as the other 2 marines and their families, a SINCERE apology for acusing them of commiting ‘murder’ !! You owe ALL Marines an apology.
After you apologize, WE THE PEOPLE, would sincerely request you to resign from your position as congressman of the state of Pennsylvania.
APOLOGIZE AND RESIGN Mr. Murtha
Kathleen Kennedy
Lupton, Michigan
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Congressman Murtha,
As a Vietnam Veteran, I take great exception to you ruling against LCpl Sharratt before knowing his whole story. You (as a veteran) should know better than to belittle a fellow warrior. That is exactly what I ran into when I came home. People went out of their way to accuse me of all kinds of horrible things because of other veterans, like John Kerry, spouting complete untruths about our time in country.
I believe you owe LCpl & all vets a PUBLIC apology. You & others like you are the reason I am now a proud Republican after a lifetime of being a very loyal Democrat.
Since this is not from your district you will probably just throw it out but believe me there are many unhappy Vets all over the U.S. due to your ignorance. Why don’t you do the honorable thing & resign?
Thank you
Jay Goodman
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Ask the Congressman how long he will continue to put our great nation in danger while you are at it. I’m currently working as a government contractor in Afghanistan and I care about the way Rep. Murtha and his ilk have undermined the war effort. My home town is Danville, VA
Ron Scearce
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Congressman Murtha,
You should be ashamed of yourself! Your reckless rush to impugn several brave and honorable Marines has caused an incalculable amount of devastation to the lives and reputations of these young men and their families. you Sir, have been judged, and found wanting. At the very least an apology and a circumspect look at your own shortcomings is in order!
K. Christine Allen
A Proud American
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In my humble opinion, you sir are a TRAITOR. Nothing less than a public
apology & tendering of your resignation is acceptable.
MSgt H.L.Shaw
USMC Ret.
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Rep. Murtha,
As a 3 tour combat veteran and retired Marine I condemn your un-factual comments prior to any investigation, by the military, or other group. I’ve heard you were once a Marine. You DO NOT have the”Semper Fidelis” in you that you were charged with. You should hang your head in shame. You should also be on patrol with the grunts in Iraq………..you are NOT my brother in arms. Get a backbone and realize were you call home.
“Shooter” USMC, Ret. RVN 67-69
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Heroes grow old, people and heroes change. I just wish he’d just get lost. thanks for the opportunity! war is war! — Fred
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Congressman Murtha,
I have been following the progress of the trial of LCPL Sharratt. I am amazed at your rush to judgement so early in the investigation to be so silent now. Where is your honor? You of all people should be recanting your words and apologizing to this young man, his family, the Corps and the Country for such a terrible mistake you made. It appears you folks in Congress has adapted a dangerous attitude of “Whatever it takes to advance politically my point of view” no matter if there is any truth in your statement or not.
It would be difficult for me to understand if you get elected again given the amount of your time spent in front of the camera making a spectacle of yourself . If you are a example of your fiduciary in your district I pray I never go there.
Lastly in plainer terms you may understand from years gone by, I have never been embarrassed to associate myself with a fellow Marine until now. You are the scumbag we all heard about on Parris Island, For you to use a fellow Marine as a stepping stool to advance your point is treasonous to the United States Marine Corps. The day you were in sick bay the other Marines in your Platoon were learning about Semper Fidelis , you remember that silly slogan about ALWAYS FAITHFUL. You also may vaguely remember in the Marine Corps hymn about guarding the streets of heaven, well you’ll be burning out the crappers for the real Marines
Marc Philemon
Sgt, USMC 65-69
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Dear Congressman Murtha,
As the mother of a United States Marine, I find it completely upsetting the way you handled the Haditha incident. Before any evidence was in, you called our Marines cold blooded killers. You a representative of our government! It is a disgrace.
By your behavior you have caused immense suffering to our troops and their families, and I believe have put our soldiers in danger because they were then afraid to carry out their jobs for fear they too would judged unfairly.
Now the evidence is in and there is not sufficient evidence to convict. In fact, the evidence supports the report of the Marines themselves. In light of this, as you went public and called out troops who are defending our country and have made sacrifices for our freedoms killers, I believe you should also publicly apologize for your irresponsible, disgraceful behavior and statements. Then you should resign.
My son recently returned from Iraq. Although I was naturally concerned for his safety, it is the behavior of people such as you that made it more difficult to endure. You are a disgrace to our military and to those of us who have sacrificed so much in our families for our country.
Sincerely,
Theresa Bonopartis
Harrison, NY
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Mr. Murtha,
You are a disgrace for the rush to judgement comments you made in 5/06 about LCpl. Justin Sharratt. At the very least an apology is long overdue to this Marine and to all US Marines. You are an embarrassment to the US Congressional office you hold. I only wish that there were legal actions that could be taken against you for your slanderous comments. You are a poor excuse for an American.
Ronald Campbell, Poughkeepsie, New York
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Mr. Murtha,
I am sure while you were serving your country you would have been horrifed and scared if a Congressman had accused you of murdering in “cold blood”, your first thought would be “how will I get a fair trial” and the answer of course would be that the military is fair and impartial and just like many American’s justice would be blind. I believe that it is only fitting that you apologize to these men who have placed their lives on the line as you once did for this great country. It is not a blemish on a man’s character to apologize however it is when he is wrong and foolishly chooses not to. I hope that you will see that in your rush to indict President Bush and that is your choice you instead indicted many young men who were doing their jobs in a war that you and your fellow members authorized.
Erin
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Mr. Murtha,
It appears you have gotten loose with your mouth. The same thing happened to the DA in the Duke college case. Both of you had people tried and convicted of a crime before they were even on trial. That DA had to resign and embarassed himself and his profession. And he may wind up on trial for his actions. I suggest you apologize and resign as well. You are a disgrace to yourself and your profession.
Pete in CT
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Congressmen Murtha,
Now is the time to Apologize and Resign. You have disgraced yourself and the office you hold by declaring our Marines guilty of murder before all the
evidence was in and a trial held. You should be ashamed of your actions.
YOUR RESIGNATION NOW!
Paul Swannie
Viet Nahm Veteran 1968-1969
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In light of the recent developments regarding the “Haditha Marines” I feel that it is only fair and decent that you call an immediate national press conference and publicly apologize not only to these young heroes but also to the Corps and the American public in general Your rush to judgment in this case has caused damage beyond description not only to the war effort but to the reputation of America around the world.
Bart Near
Legislative/Governmental Affairs Chair, Rolling Thunder®, Inc. Chapter 6 NC
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
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Congressman John Murtha:
In light of the fact that you made condemning remarks about LCpl Sharratt while all along forensic evidence was pointing to his innocence and such remarks were made while THE INVESTIGATION WAS IN PROGRESS, YOU Congressman John Murtha need to make an apology to this Marine and as far as I’m concerned you are not fit for office, you need to resign-you are NOT the Judge nor are YOU the Jury-your remarks were and are an affront to the Laws of this land.
Wm. Chambers
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Please forward to Mr. Murtha our displeasure at him defaming our Masrines without so much as a shred of evidence. He should apologize and resign. He is more willing to give the enemy the benefit of the doubt knowing the atrocities they committ, yet he is willing to hang our soldiers out by just assuming that the committ atrocities.
These young soldiers are fighting an enemy that has many forms, meaning you can’t tell the good from the bad. By alleging they kill innocent people puts our soldiers at risk because they may hesitate fearing repurcussions from our own country while they’re fighting. Many in our congress are doing their best to undermine our troops. They need to stop NOW. Please tell that to Murtha. Please ask him to step down.
Respectfully,
Mary Cranden
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As a former resident of Pennsylvania, I can only be embarrassed for Congressman Murtha. All my family lives in PA and why they support the actions of this person so off the main stream of most Americans who work for a living is not understandable to me. We need Statesmen in Congress, not career politicians. It is extremely hard for me to believe that he was ever in the armed services with the disrespect that he has paid to our fellow countrymen and women.
He should be ashamed of himself, and the voters should remove him from office.
Regis Farabaugh
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Dear Mr. Murtha,
I will make this short and to the point. I think you owe several Marines as well as America an apology. You had the nerve to accuse some of our young HEROES of murder. You did this before there was an investigation and just assumed that these young people were guilty. That, I believe, is not the American way of doing things. You have caused many people to go through a living hell because of your actions. There are the HEROES that you accused, the family and friends of these men, and, many other Americans that you angered. I actually think that what you did was treason. I am glad that I don’t live where you serve as there is no way I could ever vote for a person such as you. You have ruined many lives with your selfish act of getting re-elected. Shame, shame on you.
From the beginning I found it difficult to understand. Especially since you were in Vietnam and a Marine. I would like to know what war there ever was that civilians were not killed! You supposedly fought in a war not a lot different that the one we are in now. I would only have to believe that it would be very hard to know who was or was not the enemy since they wear no uniforms. I wonder if you would have taken the time to ask what you thought was your enemy if they were!! I rather doubt that because you are still here. An enemy would have taken advantage of the time you took to ask what his intentions were. How you can call yourself a Marine is beyond me! While on that subject I would like to say that Lt. Jeffrey R. Chessani should be found not guilty as should everyone involved in this mess that you have made. He is what I would call an honorable and trusting Marine. He is there for his men and has always been loyal to them as well as the Corp.
I have a loved one in the Marines. He is on his third tour over there and I fear for his safety more than ever. It is people like you that cause turmoil and stress for everyone and could possibly cause more injuries and death for the very people that are fighting for all of our freedoms. That is pretty ungrateful and especially for a politician! It could be that you should not only apologize to American but you might consider resigning. You obviously do not have American in your thoughts. You have yourself and only yourself on your mind.
I am wondering if a lot of you politicians have America as your best interest.
We have been attacked on our soil. Everyone who has an ounce of brain power knows this could happen again. We know they have the means and the hatred to do this again. Who will be guilty of the innocent lives lost then? I guess it will be all of you that want end this war. We know they are here and just waiting for their chance. I ask you Mr. Murtha, how will you feel when something like that happens again. I will never forget, and, there will always be that fear of it happening again.
Thank you for your time,
Pamela Dustin
Bakersfield, CA
P.S. I ALSO WONDER HOW MANY OF THESE LETTERS YOU WILL ACTUALLY READ! I WOULD SAY PROBABLY NOT MANY. THESE, AFTER ALL, ARE COMING FROM THE AVERAGE “PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN” PEOPLE.
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