U.S. Sen. John McCain’s New Hampshire Veterans Advisory Committee chairman, retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Paul Chevalier, today called on GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani to apologize to veterans who have experienced torturous acts while serving their country.
“Last week, Rudy Giuliani implied that he had experienced the torture of sleep deprivation while running for president. His hyperbole is an insult to all American soldiers who have had to endure real torture and mistreatment while in enemy hands. This practice was common during the Vietnam War. One of John McCain’s closest friends, Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, USMC (Ret.), was subjected to this treatment while he was held as a P.O.W. in North Vietnam and can personally assure Mayor Giuliani that the experience was far more severe than the loss of sleep he experiences as a candidate.”
Chevalier is a life member of Portsmouth Emerson Hovey Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 168 and has served four times as post commander. Chevalier has also served his fellow veterans as VFW District 7 commander, state commander of the New Hampshire VFW, and as a member of the board of directors for the New Hampshire Veterans Home.
