Vietnam Ace Cunningham caught with hand in cookie jar

This is really a sad postscript for a true warrior and hero. Duke got three of his kills on one mission which ended with he and his RIO having to eject from a mortally wouned F-4. I shook his hand once when he came up to the cockpit on a flight out of DCA. It was an honor.

While headed back to the carrier, Cunningham’s Phantom was hit by a SAM over Nam Dinh.

Despite extensive damage, including both hydraulic systems, Duke somewhat controlled the Phantom with the rudders, enabling him and Driscoll to stay in the crippled jet. Fire warnings sounded in the cockpit, but they worried more about becoming POWs. Every extra second in the cockpit brought them closer to the coast and rescue. Finally the last systems failed and the Phantom began to spin uncontrollably.....

http://www.acepilots.com/vietnam/cunningham.html
 
mtsu_av8er said:
LMAO - hero? He's crooked!

He's dishonoring those of us that have served, and go on to live our lives with dignity!
Click to expand...

I agree. But it still doesn't wipe out what he did. I got to meet John Glenn too and still consider him a hero but winced at some of his politics. Maybe heroes should stay out of politics. Stick with doing commercials, like Chuck Yeager.
 
Or to put it another way: If a former KKK Kleagle (recruiter) who filibustered the civil rights act, swore to never allow blacks to serve in the military, and as late as 2001 used the "N" word in a public interview, defending it, can be today be a highly respected Senate leader then, just maybe, we can remember that before Duke Cunningham was a corrupt poitician he was a genuine American hero.
 
Whew! I was going to zap an email to John Glenn telling him to kiss my rump! :) (j/k)

Apparently, Duke was famous for the phrase: "You fight like you train".

I think the real tragedy is that corruption spans across party lines and he's just the most recent to get caught. There are and will be more, unfortunately with a two-party system, both with hands in the honey pot, this is the type of conduct to be expected.
 
mtsu_av8er said:
LMAO - hero? He's crooked!

He's dishonoring those of us that have served, and go on to live our lives with dignity!
Click to expand...

No doubt about it. He is crooked. HE will face the music for what he did. That aside, I still hold Duke Cunningham, not Congressman Randy Cunningham, as a hero. He put it on the line mission after mission achieving the title of ace. The only ace the navy had in that war. Does he dishonor us veterans? To an extent, yes. Will I ever, or have I ever put it on the line like he did? No. It is a fact that I will never experience the level of valor that he did. I admire what he did back in the day. It is a shame that his name is tarnished like it is now. I can think of a few big names that were found inocent in the courts, and people still look up to them. Because Duke did not try to buy his way out of trouble, and face the consequenses, well I think people still have a reason to look up to him. Just my two cents.
 
Fair enough.

I do admire that he was honest and admited to his wrongdoing. That was the right thing. You don't gete a medal for doing that, though . . .
 
Um, it's not like he had a resurgence of conscience and 'fessed up of his own volition--his admission was obviously part of a plea bargain to avoid stiffer penalties. Had the San Diego Union Tribune not investigated the sale of his house to the defense contractor, he'd likely still be at it.
 
aloft said:
Um, it's not like he had a resurgence of conscience and 'fessed up of his own volition--his admission was obviously part of a plea bargain to avoid stiffer penalties. Had the San Diego Union Tribune not investigated the sale of his house to the defense contractor, he'd likely still be at it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for shooting me down Aloft. You have a good point. I will give you that. Ok OK. Randy Cunningham gave me money to say the nice things about him. Just kidding. Don't send the Tribune after me. I do think that if he wanted to fight this, he would have as good a chance as any high profile defendent these days. He chose the righteous path. Oh no, I sound like a preacher now.
 
Ah jeez...Pretty sad and pathetic at the same time. Funny, two days or so ago I was watching "Dogfights: World's Greatest Air Battles" (Or something along those lines) in History channel and he looked like a pretty nice guy :(
although he did what he did, he's still an ace and an important figure for America's aviation history.
 
I think this is a good example of someone who completely changes when they step into the dirty world of politics. I have known a few politicians, before they made office. After just 2 years in their positions, both would do things that they would have frowned upon prior to being elected.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top