As a Vietnam vet and a retired Navy chief petty officer, I have come to the conclusion that John Kerry is totally unacceptable to fill the position as commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, let alone the position as President of the greatest nation on the face of the earth. The reasons for this conclusion are few and I will list some of them.

1.) He personally visited with members of the government of a nation that we were at war with, which was holding prisoners of ours in conditions far below the Geneva Convention standards. In my opinion that amounts to treason, just like Hanoi Jane, except she has apologized for her actions, which he has not.

2.) His statements given under oath, to the Congress of the United States, stated that he had committed war crimes and atrocities while serving in Vietnam. These statements were used to attempt to get U.S. POWs to turn against their country by the interrogators of North Vietnam. This added to the pressure and excessive hardships endured by our brave POWs. He is not worthy to stand on the same ground with them.

3.) He either is a self-confessed war criminal, who has committed atrocities against the people of Vietnam, or he is guilty of perjury to further his anti-U.S., anti-war agenda. In either case he does not have the moral character to serve as commander-in-chief of our armed forces.

4.) His entire political career has been one in which he has continually voted and spoke against the U.S. military. This included pay raises, which he and Congress just gave themselves another one, and operational budgets, like the one he voted for then voted against in the present war. A person with a 20-plus year record of not supporting the U.S. military is not qualified to sit as the commander of the U.S. military.

If you have thought about voting in the coming election for John Kerry, I hope and pray you will reconsider, and think on what I have said. This is not only mine, but other vets I have talked to, opinion as well. We need to keep our present commander-in-chief in office for another four years. Please vote for a man who knows where he stands, George W. Bush.

Joseph Moreland ATC(AW) USN RET.

Oak Harbor