Vice-Commander of Tri-State Women Veterans Appalled By Reporters Attack On Misty Hart Military Service

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    A fellow veteran running for a political office was rudely “rebuked” in the Evansville Courier this past Sunday by writer, Thomas B. Langhorne. It was an obvious attempt to attack her integrity as a veteran and diminish her service because she was not a “combat veteran.” I was not happy. I am sharing this post to the City County Observer, because it’s time for some unity in our veteran community.

    JR Schembre, USAF MSgt retired
    Vice-Commander, Tristate Women Veterans

    Dear Misty,

    Thank you for your service to our country. And thank you for your willingness to continue to serve. I was truly appalled at Sunday’s article in the Courier. The divisiveness of those among our veteran community who choose to differentiate between combat veterans and those who provided support has diminished the strength of all our organizations since the 60s when our returning Viet Nam veterans were treated so poorly. Just as a quarterback cannot win a football game alone, Patton too, without his legions of support troops, would not have seen a victory for our nation.

    We, as veterans, continue to honor the ultimate sacrifices of those who gave their lives for our country. We intimately know and share the sadness of the loss of our fallen brothers and sisters, the pain of our wounded combat veterans and the invisible scars of the spiritually wounded who silently struggle among us.

    We need to also acknowledge and honor and thank the veterans in our community who continue to serve and support. You ARE an “Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom veteran” who served this community and our country honorably. The writer, Thomas B. Langhorne, did you and our entire veteran community a great disservice in soliciting and slanting the article to slander your campaign and your service. Regardless of the outcome of the election, you are already a winner in my book.

    Respectfully,

    JR Schembre, USAF MSgt Retired
    Vice-Commander, Tristate Women Veterans

    40 COMMENTS

      • /////////> Langhorne. He is a complete JERK. But that’s typical of the Evansville Courier and Press these days under the GOP Thug Tim Ethridge.

    1. Isn’t this C&P writer married to Missy Mosby’s sister? I think so.. That tells us where this came from… Again, EVIL people.

      • Evil newspaper. Well, really they are not a newspaper so much as a propaganda service. Only their opinion counted locally for so many years. They still believe they can operate the same way. It is like they never heard of the internet, with the possible exception that they may have bought FB stock, seeing as how they are trying to force anyone who wishes to comment on their propaganda to open a FB account. Good luck with that, as you shrivel on the vine.

        • That good old propaganda Courier and press!! We should all be so lucky as to have unbiased, fair reporting like that which we see from the CCO 😉 😉 😉

        • Re: C&P a bit of an exaggeration but not to far off the mark

          Re: FB commentary. Most news outlets, on-line magazines, etc are using FB or Discqus or some other service to allow comments and moderate them without babysitting them.

      • This should make people sick of Missy and not vote for her. She is trouble with a capital “T”. And she is no Democrat in my book.

        • Why should this make people not vote for Missy? What did she have to do with this article?

      • No. He is not married to Missy sister. So I guess that doesn’t tell you where it came from

    2. I read Langhorne’s article and I’m a little confused as to how he attacked Ms. Hart. Weren’t all the negative quotes from Democrats, some running in the primary? Wasn’t it a Democrat who brought up her trying to fool primary voters into thinking they would be voting for Mary Hart instead of Missy Hart by not having her first name on the ballot?
      While I don’t question Ms. Hart’s military service, isn’t this letter a bit of attacking the messenger? It seems the Democrats have no shame when it comes to dirty politics against their own.

    3. This is either forged or JR Schembre is clueless.

      Let me take a quote “You ARE an “Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom veteran” who served this community and our country honorably. ”

      I have seen several military personnel post on the C&P story regarding this.. There was no operation called Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom. They are separate operations and judging by the posts on C&P, all veterans know this. So not only did Hart attempt to mislead, this person called her a vet of an operation that did not exist.

    4. Line 13 on her DD 214 will put all this controversy to bed. If you qualified for the ribbon or medal, it will be on line 13 of your DD 214.

      • I would add that at one time it was a common practice of returning discharged veterans to have a copy of their DD 214 recorded at the County Recorder’s Office.

        • That’s not the issue. No one disputes that she is a veteran. What is in question is if she can call herself a veteran of “Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom” if she never went overseas.

    5. I can’t believe that someone who is a retired Master Sgt. and the Vice Commander of a veterans organization could be so clueless. “You ARE an Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom veteran”. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OPERATION IRAQI ENDURING FREEDOM! Those are two separate campaigns, and unless you did multiple deployments you can’t be both. She should know this. No one is trying to say she isn’t a “real” veteran, anyone who serves honorably is a veteran in my book, regardless of when or where you served. However saying you are an “Operation Iraqi Enduring Freedom” veteran when you never left the state of Indiana is a little bit of a stretch. If you supported your unit from a stateside post while they were there, that’s awesome, the troops overseas can’t do it without the support of the stateside ones. My dad was stationed in Korea in the early 70’s while Vietnam was raging, and I’ve never heard him refer to himself as a Vietnam veteran, because he wasn’t there. I can see where it might rub some combat or war veterans the wrong way when your accomplishments are “inflated” somewhat, especially when you’re using it for personal gain. As said before, all of this could be nipped in the bud if she would release her DD214 with her personal information blacked out, any vet knows the 214 is the end-all-be-all when it comes to your record.

    6. Also, maybe someone can answer this for me: is there anything that prompted the article in the C&P? Misty Hart said in the article she has never claimed to be a “war veteran”, and I don’t have any reason not to believe her. Is there something she said at a campaign event, speech, ect that would have raised someone’s eyebrow as to her military service? Has she embellished her service record to anyone? I’m just trying to understand what, if anything prompted the article in the first place.

      • West, Her ad on this site an other campaign lit. states she is a veteran of the campaign. It’s leading people to believe she served in Iraq or Afgan. I would have a lot more respect for her if she said she was a veteran or Air Force veteran and let it go at that.

        • You are LYING and EXAGGERATING again. You are typical of people who watch Bill O’Reilly and Fixed News TV Channel. Do you work for that fat ugly British TV Station owner?

          • Sir you can slap my momma and grab my wife’s behind right in front of me; but never call me a Bill O’Reilly Fox News republican. Nothing could be further from the truth.

        • I agree.

          Ji am a veteran of the “cold war, but hi have NEVER claimec to be a combat veteran.

          I have alreay voted; her misleading claim

          cost her my vote. I am a veteran of the “cold war.” Yes, bettween Korea and Vietnam.

    7. It took a while to come up with this writer. Someone should contact the VFW and ask if her Terre Haute service qualifies her for the “Veterans of Foreign Service”. As Press said, release the DD-214. That will show for sure. The C&P article said she was reluctant to do that.

    8. Therein lies the question. Pretty sure the 181st which she was attached to served in either Iraq or Afghanistan. So since the unit received the medal, did she receive it, despite not leaving the country? I can’t find the answer to that one. Only her DD214 knows for sure.

      • West, Unless something has changed you have to be there to qualify for a campaign ribbon. If not what would keep the person in the states who figures the paychecks from saying they were in the operation.

        • When my unit went to Afghanistan, there were some that stayed behind in Kuwait in an admin/support role. They got the medal. That’s why I’m curious if she has it or not.

          • West, I believe Kuwait has been considered in theater starting in the first Iraq invasion. Early 90’s ?

            • The DoD website says that you have to be on the soil or airspace or sea of Iraq or Afghanistan to qualify, but that’s what is perplexing me. Since she was attached to the unit does she receive the medal with everybody else or not? I can’t find a definitive answer. Like I said, if she would release her DD214 minus any personal information it would clear this all up, and the fact that she won’t with only days to go before the primary makes me suspicious.

            • She won’t release that information because she falsely represented herself. Just like she has done on the ballot. M. Hart. She has NEVER went by that name. It didn’t fool me though. She lost my vote because she seems to be dishonest.

    9. Oh all of you cut the political bullcrap shes a Veteran and supported enduring freedom as ordered, where ordered. So. Not on the line of contact in county, so what, she served, did her duty, quit picking it over. Considering the political opponent now , pfft… a kitten fart. Go for the change.

      Facts less all the Evansville political bullshit. —>

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Enduring_Freedom

      • It has nothing to do with politics to me. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool democrat, I’m not out to “get” anybody. I just saw some questions raised in the article, and I am interested in what the truth is.
        What facts was I supposed to gain by reading your link?

        • Your a idiot, any second grader could figure out what the real deal is. and any eighth grade fool could sport a rebuttal to your political licking BS.

          • Do you mean “you’re” a idiot? Any second grader could use proper grammar. And if any eighth grade fool could sport a rebuttal to me, why don’t you? Seems to me calling somebody an idiot isn’t much of a rebuttal. And whose boots am I licking? I don’t know or support anybody in this race, I can’t even vote in it because I live in the county.

    10. The correct answer is that neither Mussy or Musty deserves our votes. They’re both examples of the worthless garbage that both major political parties are offering as “candidates” to fill our elected offices.
      We deserve better candidates.

    Comments are closed.