Va. vets rally for Jim Webb
2006-11-02
Source: The News Leader
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rss feedThey fought for their country. Now they're fighting for Jim Webb.
Six distinguished Virginia veterans gathered at Blue Mountain Coffee on Wednesday to drum up support for Webb, a former Marine and Secretary of the Navy challenging George Allen for his seat in the U.S. Senate.
The group included retired Brig. Gen. Gail Reals, the U.S. Marine Corps' first female general officer and retired Lt. Col. Kate Wilder, the nation's only female Green Beret.
Webb's wartime experience at all levels of the military, his support of veterans and his experience as the father of a Marine serving in Iraq ranked high among the group's reasons for support.
"Jim's a hero, a genuine American hero," said Nelson Jones, a former Marine with a daughter in the Navy.
Allen has no military experience and supports President Bush's course in Iraq, a stance criticized by several members of the panel.
"You don't deploy our troops on the pillars of incompetence and ideology," said Andre Sauvageot, a retired Army colonel who served nine tours in Vietnam. "Jim Webb will be a voice for oversight. We haven't had oversight in the executive branch."
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