RE: Desertion
Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C.
20301-1900
To whom it may concern:
Recently, I was made aware of allegations concerning
several
violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ) by George
W. Bush during the Vietnam War. The alleged acts
include being Absent
Without Leave (UCMJ Article 86) for a period
of more than a year from
his National Guard assignments in Texas and Alabama.
According to the UCMJ,
a person who is AWOL for more than 30 days with
evidence of no intent to
return to duty is guilty of Desertion. (UCMJ
Article 85)
To understand the gravity of this offense, one
need only read the section 4.9.5 e.
of Article 85, which states that the maximum
punishment for desertion in a time
of war (3), is, "Death or such other punishment
as a court-martial may direct".
As far as I am aware, George W. Bush has never
received any punishment
for these alleged crimes, nor has he ever been
charged.
When I read about these allegations in national
media outlets including,
but not limited to; The Boston Globe(1), The
Washington Post(2), The
Birmingham News(3), and The Dallas Morning News(4),
I decided to call
the Department of Defense to find out what the
Statute of Limitations was
for these crimes. I was informed that because
of the nature of the crimes;
deserting one's country during a time of war,
that there is NO statute
of limitations, and these crimes, if proven,
can still be prosecuted today.
The purpose of this correspondence is to make
a formal written complaint with
circumstantial and documentary evidence of George
W. Bush's violations of the UCMJ.
Since he is the Commander in Chief of our armed
forces, the details of his past service
or lack thereof, are of particular interest
to the American people.
DETAILS:
From May to November 1972, George W. Bush was
living in Alabama
working on the US senate campaign of Winton Blount
and was required
to attend drills with the Air National Guard
unit in Montgomery, Alabama.
There is no record that he attended any drills
whatsoever. Additionally,
General William Turnipseed (r) who was commander
of the unit at that
time has stated in interviews that he never saw
Bush report for duty.
On September 5, 1972, Bush had requested permission
to perform duty for
September, October, and November at the 187th
Tactical Recon Group in
Montgomery. Permission was granted, and Bush
was ordered to report to
General William Turnipseed. In interviews, Turnipseed,
and his administrative
officer at the time, Kenneth K. Lott, have stated
that they had no memory
of Bush ever reporting.
Seven months later, at Ellington Air Force Base
in Texas, Bush's two superior
officers were unable to complete his annual evaluation
covering the year from
May 1, 1972 to April 30, 1973 because, "Lt. Bush
has not been observed at
this unit during the period of this report."
Both superior officers, who are now dead,
and also Ellington's top personnel officer at
the time, mistakenly concluded that Bush
served his final year of service in Alabama.
Bush returned to live in Texas after the
senatorial election in November, 1972, so this
is obviously not true.
According to the records available from the National
Guard, the period between
May 1972 and May 1973 remains unaccounted for.
George W. Bush himself has
refused to answer questions about this period
in his life,other than to state that he
fulfilled all of his National Guard commitments.
If this were true, why is there no
record of him fulfilling these commitments at
either of his posts in Texas or Alabama?
Why is there not one commanding officer that
can come forward and state
unequivocally that Bush reported for duty?
If the allegations are true that Bush deserted
his country during a time of war, this is
one of the gravest offenses one can commit against
their country, short of treason.
This is why there is no Statute of Limitations
concerning these crimes.
My father served proudly as a field surgeon in
Vietnam, and it distresses me greatly
that a person could use his family's influence
and power to not only avoid the draft for
service, but then to not fulfill the duties that
he was assigned in substitute for serving in Vietnam.
These crimes are not to be taken lightly, and
I believe that all men and women who serve
America proudly would be shocked that a soldier
was allowed to abuse the system in the
way that George W. Bush allegedly has. These
charges warrant investigation, and until a
satisfactory record of Bush's service is produced,
I can only assume that Bush did indeed
desert his country in a time of war.
I implore you to investigate these charges. In
this time of war and talk of preemptive strikes
against other countries, it would serve the American
people greatly to know that our
Commander in Chief did not run away from duty
during Vietnam. If this man is to send other's
husbands, wives, and children to die in a foreign
land, we must make sure that he fulfilled his
obligations and commitments to America before
he demands that others do the same.
Sincerely,
A BuzzFlash Reader