I have read and reread your message several times in the past two days. I find it remarkable in many respects and shocking in one.

It is remarkable, for example, that you state that our side (i.e., the Government of South Vietnam) won the war in 1972 when in fact the war did not end until April 30, 1975, at which time the GSVN clearly had lost the war.

The part of your essay which shocks me is that which relates to the incident which allegedly forms the basis for the award of a Silver Star to John Kerry. You charge, by insinuation and innuendo, that Kerry committed deliberate, cold blooded murder of a child, as a cravenly cowardly way to play ëJohn Wayne‰ so that he could nominate himself for a Silver Star in order to pad his resume for a future campaign for president of the United States. You seem convinced that aspiring to become president is an ignoble pursuit which parents should discourage their children from doing.

I assume that you have decided to repeat this extraordinary accusation in public appearances, such as Steve Sherman‰s Boston seminar, whenever you have the opportunity to do so.

If, in your heart, you honestly believe that there is substance to that accusation, you would be performing a great public service if you initiated an investigation in pursuit of the facts which would determine whether the charges you have advanced have merit. If you should ultimately succeed in unearthing evidence which would lead to Kerry‰s arrest and conviction, you would become a national hero who would be applauded by everyone, including those who have concluded that another Bush administration will not serve the country‰s best interests. No one wants a president who has committed a capital offense.

On the other hand, if you go about disseminating slanderous and groundless accusations, even against a presidential candidate, you will be placing yourself in a position of moral equivalency with Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore, whom George Bush 41 recently described as a -slime balls.