Fiddlesticks

Today I listened to Mike Yon defend himself on the G. Gordon Liddy Show.  Gordon had Jimbo and Yon on at the same time.


Here is the full audio.  Please listen to it, then read what I wrote to Yon on face book, and his reply after the jump.

Here is what I posted (which he has since deleted, leaving only his banhammer comment):

Mike, you came off as paranoid and a bit unhinged. You claimed that the caller (David) who supports you was a plant. You called Jim names. You were in full on rant mode. Not calm, rational, and professional, but emotional, angry, and quite unsettled. Not a good showing for you, I'm afraid. You could have made your case much better without the name calling. I feel sorry for you.

And Yon's action and reply:

Michael Yon
Chuck Ziegenfuss is part of the milkookery and has been blocked for taking part in misleading the public along with Blackfive.

I am a lot of things. But one of the things I am not it misleading.  I have NEVER lied about someone on this site.  I have linked to others who made erroneous comments (and who, in the interests of full disclosure, have apologized and corrected their commentary.)  I was never misleading or dishonest on your site.  I have always been upfront and honest, and there was nothing in what I wrote on your page but an honest evaluation of your interview.

(That was all I planned to write, but then I got carried away.)

Mike Yon has written a lot of shitty things about a lot of good people.  I am proud to be included in that group.  All it takes is an honest, unemotional review of his interview on Liddy to see just how nanners he is.  He always claims that what he does is for the troops, his supporters constantly claim they support the troops.

Hey Mike (et al)--Those troops you "support?"  I am one of them.  Where is your support for me?  I am one of the guys who picks up a rifle and defends this country, not the guy who, when hearing his friends were killed in Iraq, grabbed a camera and note pad and went on embeds to write about it.  I'm the guy who got his body splattered all over a bridge in Iraq (I guess you would find fault with me, because it was a bridge in MY area of operations, and thus my responsibility.)  I'm the guy who, while laying in a hospital bed, came up with a program which has helped over 5000 OTHER wounded warriors find their "New Normal" after losing limbs defending their country.

I'm the guy who continues to serve, continues to wear the uniform, and continues to blog about my experiences--in addition to defending the nation.   Where is your support for me?  I know you like to tout your (limited) time in Special Forces as part of your street cred.  I also know that SF is still hiring, IF you want to man-up and serve.  I know you have a thousand reasons to not re-enlist, chief among them is that you wouldn't be able to publish what you wanted, when you wanted.  You would have a "filter."  You put your blogging and your opinions, smears and half-truths above service to your country.  That's your choice.  MANY in uniform put writing further down on their priority list.  We will continue to do the heavy lifting so you can have something to rite about when you aren't taking pictures of burning trash piles in Thailand while blegging people to pay for your work in Afghanistan.

I'm the guy, one of thousands, who will go back to the same country that already cost him and his family so much, and fight there once more.  I'm going back to Iraq in December.  As a combatant.  Carrying a weapon, and blogging when I can.  I know how much you want to be in the action Mike, so much that you will violate the laws of war, switching from non-combatant to combatant,

Yon had already screamed at the unmoving soldiers to attack. Now he called to them for a grenade, which they did not have. So he picked up Prosser's empty M-4 rifle, loaded in a 30-round magazine, and fired three shots into the shop.  (Source:  L.A. Times, 09 Feb 2006.)

but you can't decide one minute to be a warrior and the next to be a writer.  What you should do is put on a uniform if you want to be a soldier.  Your actions were dangerous, put lives and missions at risk, and quite frankly are more in line with a glory hunter than someone who deserves respect.

I strongly urge anyone who is thinking of, or continues to support Mike Yon to reconsider doing so.  I have seen good things from him in the past, but it is glaringly apparent that all he does now is republish emails without checking facts, republish emails without concern for troop safety, publish articles written by other people, beg for contributions, and insult and demean soldiers serving their country.

Before you contribute a dime to Yon, consider instead donating to soldiersangels.org, an organization of amazing people from Kandahar to Kansas, from Baghdad to Bastrop, from Landshtul to L.A., who seek to help every soldier, with whatever they may need, and ensure that no service member goes unloved.

--Chuck