bobdina
08-20-2009, 11:48 AM
August 20, 2009
Florida Times-Union
A Florida man whose gun range is under siege for violating zoning regulations had to handle a different fight Tuesday: Cleaning up a mess brought on by what one friend referred to as "running off at the mouth."
Richard Willich of St. Johns County is fighting with county code enforcement officials who want to shut down a shooting range he has in a planned housing development area where ranges are not an approved use.
But during an interview with WJXT TV-4 about the squabble, Willich compared the experience to being captured in Vietnam.
"I was a prisoner of war briefly, Vietnam," Willich said. "I kind of felt like that again. Their attitude toward me was that aggressive, that arrogant, controlling. I felt like a POW."
Within hours of making the statement, Willich's picture was posted on pownetwork.org with the notation "Never a POW."
"As soon as an article hits anywhere, we start getting reports," said Mary Schantag, an historian with P.O.W. Network. "You got a lot of veterans out there. This stuff spreads like wildfire."
But Willich said Tuesday he was referring to a night he spent in captivity during a firefight in Vietnam.
"I never claimed to be classified as a POW," he said. "I have never claimed to be anything that I wasn't."
During the battle, he said, he became separated from his unit and was captured by the enemy. He said he was rescued after being held in a hut for several hours.
The law authorizing a medal for prisoners of war says only that it is for military personnel "taken prisoner and held captive," without specifying a length of time.
Willich's public biography mentions that he received the Purple Heart while a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam, but does not say he was a POW.
This case isn't the same as the fraudulent POWs rightly called out by organizations like P.O.W. Network, said Dick Stratton, a friend of Willich who spent years as a POW in Vietnam.
"The guy was running off at the mouth and tripped over his tongue," Stratton said. "I know what he's done for veterans. He's not one of the slimebags."
Willich said Tuesday that, looking back, he should have chosen his words better.
"In a firefight, I was separated from my unit and under the control of the enemy," he said. "Maybe I should have just said I was separated and captured."
Florida Times-Union
A Florida man whose gun range is under siege for violating zoning regulations had to handle a different fight Tuesday: Cleaning up a mess brought on by what one friend referred to as "running off at the mouth."
Richard Willich of St. Johns County is fighting with county code enforcement officials who want to shut down a shooting range he has in a planned housing development area where ranges are not an approved use.
But during an interview with WJXT TV-4 about the squabble, Willich compared the experience to being captured in Vietnam.
"I was a prisoner of war briefly, Vietnam," Willich said. "I kind of felt like that again. Their attitude toward me was that aggressive, that arrogant, controlling. I felt like a POW."
Within hours of making the statement, Willich's picture was posted on pownetwork.org with the notation "Never a POW."
"As soon as an article hits anywhere, we start getting reports," said Mary Schantag, an historian with P.O.W. Network. "You got a lot of veterans out there. This stuff spreads like wildfire."
But Willich said Tuesday he was referring to a night he spent in captivity during a firefight in Vietnam.
"I never claimed to be classified as a POW," he said. "I have never claimed to be anything that I wasn't."
During the battle, he said, he became separated from his unit and was captured by the enemy. He said he was rescued after being held in a hut for several hours.
The law authorizing a medal for prisoners of war says only that it is for military personnel "taken prisoner and held captive," without specifying a length of time.
Willich's public biography mentions that he received the Purple Heart while a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam, but does not say he was a POW.
This case isn't the same as the fraudulent POWs rightly called out by organizations like P.O.W. Network, said Dick Stratton, a friend of Willich who spent years as a POW in Vietnam.
"The guy was running off at the mouth and tripped over his tongue," Stratton said. "I know what he's done for veterans. He's not one of the slimebags."
Willich said Tuesday that, looking back, he should have chosen his words better.
"In a firefight, I was separated from my unit and under the control of the enemy," he said. "Maybe I should have just said I was separated and captured."