For the most part, the Democratic debate was a terrible bore, featuring a bunch of old white socialists tried to one up each other on handouts and took turns demonizing Republicans. The one bright spot for those ordinary Americans who tuned in? War hero Jim Webb. Webb was asked what enemy he was most proud of having made and his answer drew shock:
I’d have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to…
The media jumped all over the line, and has been battering Webb ever since. Gawker called it “creepy.” Ken Vogel of Politico did the same.
Now, Webb’s family is standing up for him. Webb’s son, an Iraq Veteran, is appalled at the coverage:
If you watched the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night, you probably heard the closing comment by my father, Jim Webb. Without hesitation he answered that the enemy he was ‘most proud of’ was the Vietnamese soldier who wounded him with a hand grenade. He then added that “…he isn’t around anymore.”
While there were those in the media and around the country who were a bit stunned, and perhaps even put off by this answer, my fellow veterans and I were not. If anything, his blunt (and perhaps a bit brutal) honesty was much appreciated, and further endeared him to us as a candidate. We veterans are also more likely to have a fuller picture of my father’s record. He’s the man who gave us the post-9/11 GI Bill. We also know him as a highly decorated combat veteran who earned the Navy Cross for the entire episode surrounding that grenade, not just the snippet that has been focused on.
The Navy Cross is the second highest honor that can be awarded to a Marine. Webb’s actions on that day were absolutely heroic, as he saved the lives of countless Marines. As the Daily Caller notes:
Webb went in to clear the first bunker when three enemy soldiers armed with hand grenades jumped out. “Reacting instantly,” the citation reads, “he grabbed the closest man and, brandishing his .45 caliber pistol at the others, apprehended all three of the soldiers.”
Accompanied by one of his men, Webb then approached the second bunker when an enemy soldier threw a grenade at him, which detonated in close proximity. Then, “First Lieutenant Webb detonated a claymore mine in the bunker aperture,” the citation says, “accounting for two enemy casualties and disclosing the entrance to a tunnel.”
Upon searching the tunnel, Webb discovered enemy equipment and “numerous documents containing valuable intelligence data.”
When he reached a third bunker, another enemy threw yet another grenade at him. Seeing that the grenade landed dangerously close to one of his men, Webb fired his weapon at the enemy, pushed the Marine away from the grenade, and shielded him from the explosion with his own body.
Although Webb sustained fragmentation wounds from the explosion, he managed to throw a grenade into the bunker which destroyed it.
We all have different ideas about what America’s role in the world should be, but liberals shrinking from Jim Webb describing the blunt realities of war is a harsh reminder that a good portion of this country is absolutely unserious about the nature of the threat we face. Jim Webb deserved better
AAN Staff
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