Jim Webb Lies-Again
The Washington Times has A Jim Webb Fib. Jim Webb's bio says this
In 1982 he first proposed, then led the fight for, including an African American soldier in the memorial statue that now graces the Vietnam Veterans memorial on the National Mall.(Link)
Washington Times writer Milton R. Copulos calls Webb out saying
Impressive, if true, but it isn't. I know, because I was there. Instead, like a crinoline-swathed antebellum debutant attending her first Cotillion, Mr. Webb came to the party late and left early. His claim to have "first proposed" an African American figure is made up of whole cloth.
It was the sculptor, Frederick Hart, who chose to include an African American figure, not Mr. Webb or anyone else. Moreover, there was no "fight" over placing an African American image on the Mall. Rather there was a brief dispute between Mr. Webb and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) Chairman Jack Wheeler about the number of figures in the sculpture. I was able to resolve the dispute with a call to the VVMF's President and founder, Jan Scruggs who immediately overruled Mr. Wheeler. So if anyone other than Mr. Hart deserves credit, it was our erstwhile opponent, Mr. Scruggs who was the hero of the piece.
But it is not just in regard to the inclusion of an African American in the statue that Mr. Webb has misstated his role.
He speaks of his "leadership" in the fight to modify the memorial. This, too, doesn't square with the facts.
The first person to raise the questions about the memorial was Tom Carhart, a West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran. His testimony at an October 13, 1981 Fine Arts Commission hearing was the first public expression of veterans' concerns regarding the design.
There is much more in the article so check it out. Webb has been called out yet again. Copulos writes
While this is not the only example of Mr. Webb's shameless self-promotion, more than any other, it shows his true nature.
Indeed. Jim Webb-Born Fibbing
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