Missing the point

I’m sure you remember the post I did the other day about super-studly Eugene Reed and his obviously false story of his capture by North Vietnamese troops and his Hollywood-inspired escape. Well I wrote a letter to the author of the newspaper story, Sarah Thompson to warn her of the deception. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one to write to her because she sent a shotgun email to all of us last night;

Hello,

Foremost, I would like to thank you for reading my an article I wrote titled “A Time to Pause and Reflect.” It’s not very often a reporter in London, Ohio receives feedback from individuals living all across the country.

Over the last 48 hours, I have received numerous e-mails and several telephone calls concerning the validity of K. Eugene Reed’s experiences/medals during his service in Vietnam.

I contacted the Madison County Veteran Services office and received a legitimate public record (DD214) from them concerning Mr. Reed’s service and medals. This document confirms his tenure, as well as the medals he received (including a few he failed to mention). He was honorably discharged and went on to re-enlist. It also confirms several additional details that were not included in my story due to space limitations.

Again, I appreciate your concerns and thank you for contacting me.

Sincerely,
Sarah Thompson

Of course, none of this addresses the story that Reed told Thompson. I doubt very much that the Madison County Veteran Services Office just turned over Reed’s DD214 to a small town reporter. But even if they did, there’s nothing, aside from the award of a POW medal, that would have verified even one sentence of Reed’s story.

The fact that Thompson thinks that the mention of the DD214 settles the issue proves that she has never seen the DD214. Needless to say, I sent her the links that POW Net posted the other night, but at this point it’s probably futile. Thompson has decided what she wants the article to say and there will be no deviation. She’s another one of those small town reporters who sees themselves as the arbiters of truth, one of the saviors of mankind.

It’s what she wants to believe, so we must all believe it.

Category: Media, Phony soldiers