148 Military Brass and Veteran Luminaries Endorse John Kerry for Commander-in-Chief; Kerry-Edwards Campaign Announces Veterans National Steering Committee

148 Military Brass and Veteran Luminaries Endorse John Kerry for Commander-in-Chief; Kerry-Edwards Campaign Announces Veterans National Steering Committee

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) September 27, 2004 -- The Kerry-Edwards campaign announced its National Veterans for Kerry Steering Committee. Co-chairman Edward Baca, a lieutenant general and the former Chief of the National Guard Bureau, made the announcement in Las Vegas in advance of John Kerrys address to the General Conference and Exhibition of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS). Baca said The strength of this National Steering Committee speaks to the confidence and commitment of Americas military brass, veteran leaders and decorated soldiers, that John Kerry will make a strong Commander-in-Chief."

The committee includes veteran luminaries: generals, admirals, former VSO commanders, Medal of Honor winners, and elected officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

John Kerry has not only served in battle for our country, he has shown resolve in ensuring that our veterans get the support they deserve after they leave the battlefield," said Baca. While Bush has been figuring out ways to cut funding for veterans health, John Kerry has been working to streamlines veterans health care and end the unfair disability tax that hurts those who need help the most."

The National Veterans for Kerry Steering Committee comprises 38 federally elected officials, 37 generals and admirals, 11 former National Commanders of Veteran Service Organizations, and 6 non-commissioned officers. These individuals are joined by many Prisoners of War and honored veterans from wars in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. Senator Kerry's crewmates and Swift Boat veterans will also serve on the steering committee, along with members of Easy Company and Tuskegee Airmen.

Baca is joined on the committee by co-chairpersons Claudia Kennedy and Senator Daniel Inouye. Kennedy is the first and only woman to have earned the flag rank of lieutenant general in the U.S. Army, serving for 31 years. She is one of 12 women on the steering committee. Inouye, a seven-term Senator from Hawaii, earned the Congressional Medal of Honor with the U.S. Army in 1945 while leading his platoon in Italy.

Among other military leaders co-chairing this committee are: retired Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, former Senator Bob Kerrey, General Tony McPeak, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and William Crowe, Medal of Honor recipients Paul Bucha and Hershel "Woody" Williams, former Senator Max Cleland, and Congressman Charles Rangel.

The co-chairs are committed to sharing John Kerrys vision to win the peace in Iraq and his plan to assure that American soldiers wont make up 90 percent of the casualties and American tax payers will not bear 90 percent of the burden for this war.

Senator Kerry also has detailed a plan to provide assistance to those who have put their lives on the line in battle. Kerrys Military Family Bill of Rights would ensure that all military reservists have health care.

These committed veterans will join the 50 Kerry Edwards veterans state coordinators in organizing 1 million veterans nationwide to elect a John Kerry a combat veteran with a plan to put Americas soldiers first in the White House.

Veterans for Kerry-Edwards
National Steering Committee
Co-Chairs

Lt. General Edward Baca (ret.)
USA
New Mexico

Paul Bucha
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
New York

General Wesley Clark (ret.)
USA, Supreme Allied Commander, NATO
Arkansas

Fmr. Senator Max Cleland
USA
Georgia

Admiral William Crowe (ret.)
Fmr. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
USN
Oklahoma

Senator Daniel Inouye
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
USA
Hawaii

Lt. General Claudia Kennedy (ret.)
USA
Virginia

Fmr. Senator Bob Kerrey
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
USN
President, New School University
Nebraska

General Merrill Tony" McPeak (ret.)
Fmr. Air Force Chief of Staff
USAF
Oregon

Congressman Charles Rangel
USA
New York

General John Shalikashvili (ret.)
Fmr. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
USA
Washington

Hershel Woody" Williams
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
USMC
West Virginia
Steering Committee

Master Sergeant Manuel Almeida (ret.)
USA
New Jersey

David Alston
USN, Gunners Mate PCF 94
South Carolina

Lee Archer
WWII -- Tuskegee Airmen
Army Air Corp., USAF
New York

Congressman Joseph Baca
USA
California

Phyllis Bachman
Past President, American Legion Auxiliary
North Carolina

Skip Barker
USN, Skipper, PCF 31
Alabama

Rand Beers
Fmr. Special Asst. and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism, National Security Council
USMC
Washington, D.C.

Dr. Sam Billison
WWII, Navajo Code Talker
USMC
New Mexico

Senator Jeff Bingaman
USA Reserves
New Mexico

Congressman Leonard Boswell
USA
Iowa

Major General Jack Bradshaw (ret.)
USA
Illinois

Rear Admiral Herbert Bridge (ret.)
USN Reserves
Washington

Dr. Roscoe Brown
WWII -- Tuskegee Airmen
Army Air Corp.
New York

Brigadier General Rosetta Burke (ret.)
Army National Guard
New York

Phillip Butler, PhD
Prisoner of War, Vietnam
USN
Oklahoma

Betty Calder
Past President, American Legion Auxiliary
Arizona

State Senator Terry Care
USA
Nevada

John Carney
Past National Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars
USN
Florida

Senator Thomas Carper
USN
Delaware

Rear Admiral William Bill" Center (ret.)
USN
Washington

Colonel Roxanne Cheney (ret.)
USMC
South Carolina

Lt. General Daniel Christman (ret.)
USA
Ohio

Ronald Conley
Past National Commander, American Legion
USAF
Pennsylvania

Sergeant Major Keith Cook (ret.)
USA
North Carolina

Senator John Corzine
USMC Reserves
New Jersey

John H. Dalton
Fmr. Secretary of the Navy
USN
Texas

Brigadier General Tom Daniels (ret.)
USAF, Air National Guard
Texas

Colonel Thomas Davis (ret.)
USA
Virginia

Jimmy Dean
Past National Commander, American Legion
USA
Mississippi

Congressman William Delahunt
U.S. Coast Guard
Massachusetts

Brigadier General Richard DeMara (ret.)
USA
Michigan

Bill Detweiler
Past National Commander, American Legion
USA
Louisiana

Senator Christopher Dodd
USA Reserves
Connecticut

Major General Donald Edwards (ret.)
Army National Guard
Vermont

Congressman Bob Etheridge
USA
North Carolina

Congressman Lane Evans
USMC
Illinois

Mack Flemming
Fmr. Staff Director, House Veterans Affairs Committee
USA
South Carolina

Brigadier General Evelyn Pat" Foote (ret.)
USA
Maryland

Major General James Fretterd (ret.)
USA
Maryland

Alice Galka
Past President, American Legion Auxiliary
Indiana

Congressman Richard Gephardt
Air National Guard
Missouri

Fmr. Senator John Glenn
USMC
Ohio
Hershel Gober

Fmr. Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs
USMC
Arkansas

Congressman Charlie Gonzalez
Air National Guard
Texas

Dick Grenier
Prisoner of War, Korea
USA
Maine

Rear Admiral Roland Guilbault (ret.)
USN
Florida

Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn (ret.)
USN
California

Forrest Guth
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Delaware

Dr. John Hardebeck
Past National Commander, China-Burma-India Veterans Affairs
Army Air Corp
California

Senator Tom Harkin
USN
Iowa

Steve Hatch
USN, Boatswains Mate, PCF 44
New York

Major General Charles Henry (ret.)
USA
Kentucky

Silvestre Herrera
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
USA
Texas

Congressman Maurice Hinchey
USN
New York

General Joseph Hoar (ret.)
USMC
Florida

Senator Ernest F. Hollings
USA
South Carolina

Rear Admiral John Hutson (ret.)
USN
New Hampshire

Major General Randolph Randy" Jayne (ret.)
Air National Guard
Virginia

Congressman William Jefferson
USA
Louisiana

Ed Joint
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Pennsylvania

Robert Jones
Fmr. Director, AMVETS
USA
Maryland

Jack Jones
WWII -- Navajo Code Talker
USMC
New Mexico

Sergeant Major Ray Jones (ret.)
USA
Georgia

Major General Nicholas Kafkalas (ret.)
Army National Guard
Pennsylvania

Mary Lou Keener
Fmr. Deputy Assistant Secretary Air Force
USN , USAF Reserves
Georgia

Senator Edward Kennedy
USA
Massachusetts

Brigadier General Keith H. Kerr (ret.)
USA, Army Reserves
California

Lt. General Donald Kerrick (ret.)
Fmr. Deputy National Security Advisor
USA
Florida

Judy Droz Keyes
Gold Star Widow
Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
California

Young Oak Kim
WWII -- 442nd Regimental Combat Team
California

Barbara Kranig
Past President, American Legion Auxillary
Wisconsin

Keith Kruse
Past National Commander, American Legion
USA
Wisconsin

Governor Ted Kulongoski
USMC
Oregon

Senator Frank Lautenberg
USA
New Jersey

Joseph Lesniewski
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Pennsylvania

Clancy Lyall
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Maryland

Ray Mabus
Fmr. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Fmr. Governor
USN
Mississippi

Brigadier General Donald McAuliffe (ret.)
USAF
North Carolina

Earl McClung
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Colorado

Richard Dick" McCool
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
USN
Washington

Congressman Jim McDermott
USN
Washington

Brigadier General David L. McGinnis (ret.)
USA, Army National Guard
Virginia

Michael Medeiros
USN, Quartermaster, PCF 94
California

Ray Miller
Chair, National Association of Black Veterans
USAF
Washington

Major General Melvyn Montano (ret.)
Army National Guard
New Mexico

John Moon
Past Commander-in-Chief, Veterans of Foreign Wars
USMC
Ohio

Bobby Muller
Veterans Advocate
USMC
New York

Congressman John Murtha
USMC
Pennsylvania

Senator Bill Nelson
USA Reserves
Florida

Richard ODell
Fmr. National Officer, Vietnam Veterans of America
USA
Virginia

Dr. Sandra Ortega
USAF
New Jersey

Congressman Bill Pascrell
USA
New Jersey
William Perry

Fmr. Secretary of Defense
USA
Pennsylvania

Douglas Pete" Peterson
Fmr. Ambassador of Vietnam, Fmr. Congressman
USAF
Florida

Master Sergeant Phillip Potter (ret.)
USMC
Pennsylvania

Darrell Shifty" Powers
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Virginia

Jim Rassmann
USA, Mike Force Officer, 5th Special Forces Group

Oregon
Senator Jack Reed
USA
Rhode Island

Joe Reeder
Under Secretary of the Army
USA
Washington

Brigadier General Virgil A. Richards (ret.)
USA
Texas

Larry Rivers
Past Commander-in-Chief, Veterans of Foreign Wars
USMC
Louisiana

Pat Runyon
USN, Engineman, PCF 71
Ohio
Major General Gerald Sajer (ret.)
USA National Guard
Pennsylvania

Wade Sanders
USN, Skipper, PCF 98
California

Del Sandusky
USN, Lead Petty Officer, PCF 94
Florida

Congressman Robert Bobby" Scott
Army National Guard
Virginia

Congressman Jose Serrano
USA
New York

Vice Admiral John Shanahan (ret.)
USN
Washington, DC

Fred Short
USN, Gunners Mate, PCF 94
Arkansas

Jeffrey Smith
Fmr. General Counsel, CIA
USA
Washington, DC

Congressman Vic Snyder
USMC
Arkansas

Senior Master Sergeant John Soltero (ret.)
USAF
Arizona

Congressman John Spratt
USA
South Carolina

Congressman Pete Stark
USAF
California

Rear Admiral Alan M. Steinman (ret.)
USPHS/US Coast Guard
Washington

Percy Sutton
WWII -- Tuskegee Airmen
Army Air Corp
New York

Richard Swartz
USA
Florida

Congressman John Tanner
USN
Tennessee

Brigadier General Preston Taylor (ret.)
USAF
New Jersey

Bruce Thiesen
Past National Commander, American Legion
California

Gene Thorson
USN -- Engineman, PCF 94
Iowa

Congressman Edolphus Towns
USA
New York

Tracy Droz Tragos
Filmmaker -- Be Good, Smile Pretty
California

Congressman Jim Turner
USA
Texas

Admiral Stansfield Turner (ret.)
USN
Maryland

Colonel Lew Tyree (ret.)
USA Reserves
West Virginia

Master Sergeant John Valdez (ret.)
USMC
California

Lionel Van Deerlin
Fmr. Congressman
USA
California

Jerry Waldie
Fmr. Congressman
USA
California

Jim Wasser
USN, Lead Petty Officer, PCF 44
Illinois

Brigadier General Robert Westphal (ret.)
Army National Guard
Washington

Drew Whitlow
USN -- Boatswains Mate, PCF 44
Arkansas

General Johnnie Wilson (ret.)
USA
Ohio

William Wingett
WWII -- 101st Airborne, Easy Company
USA
Oregon

Brigadier General Jack Yeager (ret.)
Army National Guard
West Virginia

Bill Zaladonis
USN, Engineman, PCF 44
Florida

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