Thursday, May 29, 2008

Klein: Did Obama's grandfather engage in combat? Claims in speeches apparently contradict senator's autobiography, Army records

"Two days after a speech in which Sen. Barack Obama erroneously claimed his uncle helped liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp, inconsistencies remain regarding the much-touted military service of the presidential candidate's family," Aaron Klein, Jerusalem bureau for World Net Daily wrote May 28, 2008.

During the Memorial Day speech in New Mexico, Obama suggested his grandfather, the late Stanley Dunham, engaged in combat. But the Democratic senator's autobiography says his grandfather never saw "real combat." Also, Army records apparently contradict Obama's claim his grandfather signed up the day after the Pearl Harbor attack.

As WND reported, Obama told the New Mexico audience, which included military veterans, his uncle was part of the division that freed Auschwitz. But bloggers and the Republican National Committee immediately pointed out the Nazi death camp was liberated by the Soviet Union in January 1945. The campaign later said it actually was Obama's great uncle who helped liberate Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp.



"Obama several times has suggested his grandfather served in combat," Klein wrote.

During Monday's speech, Obama said: "My grandfather marched in Patton's Army, but I cannot know what it is to walk into battle like so many of you."

In a 2002 anti-war speech, Obama told the audience, "My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain."

But in his autobiography, "Dreams of My Father," Obama states his grandfather never engaged in combat.

"Gramps returned from the war never having seen real combat, and the family moved to California, where he enrolled at Berkeley under the GI bill," he writes. "But the classroom couldn't contain his ambitions, his restlessness, and so the family moved again."

Obama's 2002 claim his grandfather enlisted in the Army the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor is contradicted by Army records showing Dunham signed up June 18, 1942 – six months after Pearl Harbor.



"Obama's campaign did not immediately return a WND request for clarification," Klein wrote.

Read the rest of Klein's article here.

Also see
  • Kenneth E. Lamb, Barack Obama: Washington Post, Chicago Tribune investigations confirm autobiography lies; now asking: Is "African-American" a lie too?, Reading Between the Lines, February 14, 2008.
  • Amanda Ripley, The Story of Barack Obama's Mother, TIME, April 9, 2008.
  • AllahPundit, Obama: My uncle liberated … Auschwitz? Update: No mention in 2002 speech; Update: Video added; Update: New video, Hot Air, May 27, 2008.
  • Jeralyn Merritt, Obama's Auschwitz Gaffe, TalkLeft, May 27, 2008.
  • Clarice Feldman, Obama's Memorial Day gaffe parade, American Thinker, May 27, 2008.
  • Obama lied the second time about his uncle, Audacity of Deception and Hypocrisy, May 27, 2008. h/t JCM
  • SusanUnPC, Obama’s Momentum-Shifting Gaffe - It Is Dishonorable, Disgraceful, Deceitful, No Quarter, May 27, 2008.
  • Obama: My Uncle Helped Liberate Auschwitz (Bzzt! Wrong!) - Update: Video Added, Little Green Footballs, May 27, 2008.
  • Jeralyn Merritt, A Theory on Obama's Family History Misstatements, TalkLeft, May 27, 2008.
  • Salena Zito, The Drudge effect on the campaign, Primary Colors blog/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 27, 2008.
  • Juanita Gonzales, Emotionally Challenged Moron, Stop-Obama, May 27, 2008.
  • Very funny writers weigh in on the situation chez O’ville, gaffes and all…(and then for the serious part, off LAT), Valentine Bonnaire, May 28, 2008.
  • Lynne in Lakeland, It's Deja Vu All Over Again, Liberal Rapture, May 28, 2008.
  • Rick Moran, Obama’s Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome. Barack Obama's verbal gaffes are becoming more frequent as the campaign goes along. But do the voters really care?, Pajamas Media, May 28, 2008.
  • GRL, Final Update: Obama in NM Results in Excuses, 3 Pinocchios, and a Rebuff from Vets?, InsightAnalytical, May 28, 2008.
  • Mark Hemingway, Lobbying for Obama. Media misses, National Review Online, May 28, 2008. h/t RV
  • Larry Johnson, Barack Obama Family Military Lies [UPDATE II], No Quarter, May 28, 2008.
  • Dan Riehl, A New Problem For Obama?, Riehl World View, May 28, 2008.

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