"Democratic challenger Al Weed criticized the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress for their handling of the war in Iraq on Monday.

His comments came at the end of a 45-minute tour of the National D-Day Memorial with area veterans and several of the region’s Democratic Party leaders.

The challenger for the 5th Congressional District seat, currently held by U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, also played up his own military service, first in Vietnam, and then his return to active duty in 1995 for the Bosnia conflict.

“Having served in the Army and reserves for 42 years, and in the reserves for 36 of those years, I know something about what it means to be a soldier and a reservist,” Weed said to the small crowd assembled in front of the “final tribute” statue overlooking the memorialized beachfront battlefield.

“President Bush certainly led us to this situation, but Congress is equally culpable for not standing up to question the implications of undertaking a war in Iraq. My opponent, Virgil Goode Jr., did not ask those questions,” he said.

“I don’t think we have a clue about what it takes to build a democracy in Iraq,” he added afterward. “We will be spending massive amounts of resources and thousands of lives to validate a bad decision.”

Before speaking, Weed placed a wreath in front of the “final tribute” memorial, a helmet atop an upturned rifle stuck in the ground by its bayonet. The sculpture is a tribute to the more than 4,000 soldiers who died in battle that day.

“This is why I must voice my objections to the treatment of our reservists by a president who is trying to hide the true costs of the war in Iraq, which he elected to undertake,” he said.

Weed said reserve units, which are meant for supplementing troops, have been used in lieu of the active duty military.

“I have watched with increasing dismay the misuse of our reserve forces in a war that was not necessary, was not planned for with any foresight, and for which there is no end in sight,” he said.

Further, he said, reservists are not guaranteed their job will be waiting for them when they return home from active duty.

“I hear story after story of soldiers coming home to a career that is permanently derailed because their place of employment has moved on without them,” he said. “While they were gone other people were hired, co-workers were promoted, and the changes squeezed out the position that the reservist used to hold.”

Weed also criticized the lack of equipment support for troops deployed in war zones, citing explosives hitting unarmored Humvees and the “many stories of soldiers in Iraq injured because their company did not have body armor for every single soldier.”

He questioned why the Bush administration and Congress would let that happen.

“I say put our troops ahead of our defense contractors. I will work to make sure that all soldiers deployed to combat have adequate equipment, including armored Humvees and body armor. We must honor our soldiers with more than just eloquent words and colorful ribbons,” he said.

Goode, reached by phone Monday afternoon, said he supported the federal appropriations to supply troops in Iraq.

“I voted ‘yes’ on that, and I’d vote ‘yes’ again today,” he said. “I support any appropriation to provide the newest and best equipment to the troops.”

Roy Stevens, a D-Day veteran who lost his twin brother during the June 6, 1944, invasion, walked along with the tour, introducing himself to Weed before setting out.

The two veterans spoke briefly before the tour.

Weed acknowledged the Stevens family’s sacrifices during the D-Day invasion when the tour stopped at a plaque honoring the D-Day veteran’s Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment.

Stevens said he knew little about Weed, but felt a kindred spirit with the fellow veteran.

“He’s an old vet, so I have to take up for him,” Stevens said." (Kevin Crossett, Lynchburg News & Advance, September 14, 2004)