Built on lies
A military man refuses to sanctify a bogus war, one that claimed his son’s life
BY PAUL ROCKWELL
Raymond Jones Sr. is a military man in a military family. His own father served in World War II, and Raymond Jones himself received a Purple Heart after he was wounded in Vietnam, His son served with honor in Iraq. However, 1st Sgt. Raymond Jones Jr. won’t be home for Father’s Day. Hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, Jones died in Bayji, April 9, 2004. Jones was a tall, slender, good-looking man with dark hair. He attended the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Gainseville, Fla., and his old classmates remembered him for his love of miniature horses, which he often displayed in school.
Raymond was studying to become a veterinarian before he was killed in the Iraqi war his father detests.
After the funeral at Arlington National Cemetary, April 26, Raymond Jones Sr., spoke with me of his anguish, and he immediately denounced the war aims of President Bush: “As far as I’m concerned, the government lied to the public about how we got into this war.”
Q: What lies do you mean?
A: We had inspection teams, and I know how they work. They check everything. They had satellite systems and photographs. There’s no way Saddam could have moved material without being detected. So far everything Bush said to get us into Iraq you could light a match and let it go up in smoke. And you want to know something else? You remember when Nixon got his ass in trouble? To me what Bush has done is a lot worse. I’m going to say it this way. When a President can get in front of a whole nation and swear up and down there’s weapons of mass destruction and start a war over it, I think it’s very probable that he might now decide to plant something to win the election.
Q: You say your son should never have been sent to war, and you are a parent who feels betrayed by deceit. On TV, however, we often see\ parents who refuse to acknowledge any relationship between the misinformation that led to war and the death of their loved ones in Iraq. It’s almost as if they feel compelled to sanctify the very war that claimed their child’s life. How do you respond?
A: It’s hard to admit that you have lost someone for a worthless cause. The government has brainwashed people into thinking this war was right from the start. Only now are people starting to look at what the war really is. The sense of betrayal makes it hard for everybody. When the government betrays you, you lose a son, a daughter, a blood-kin. It’s hard to swallow. It’s like what you feel when your spouse betrays you. And when the government betrays the whole nation, that’s a big problem. I know for some it’s too painful to recognize they’ve been lied to. But speaking the truth is the only way to prevent others from going through this.
Q: You received a Purple Heart in Vietnam. So did John Kerry. What is the scuffle between Bush and Kerry about service and Vietnam all about?
A: Bush can’t even prove he was in the military to start with.
He can’t prove he even showed up. What’s the difference with
that and a deserter? There’s very few of my High School graduating
class left. I lost a lot of friends in Vietnam. One friend of mine from
Alabama lost an eye. The war still carries its effects, even though it
was a “police” action. Kennedy sent advisors, then the government
sent troops to back up advisors. But in Iraq, this president just lied
to the people to get the people to back him to get troops over there.
It was about his getting revenge on Saddam. We don’t belong there.
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