By:Hector Flores
For starters, the Bellmore VFW post is supposed to be nonpartisan. Friedman, 68, thought he shouldn't take part, because he didn't want the VFW to be seen as supporting a political party.
He also disapproves of the current administration's handling of the military, which he sees as depleted, overworked and stretched too thin. Friedman would like to see President Bush build a bigger army. "In 1990, there were 1.2 million in the military, and that was during peace time," Friedman said. "Now there are only 500,000 soldiers who are deployed in two wars [Iraq and Afghanistan], doing double work and working 12-hour days."
Friedman also worries about the current state of the National Guard. Usually, reservists serve one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer, for a maximum of 30 days a year. Now, however, because there are fewer soldiers, many reservists are being asked to serve for as long as 13 months. Some reservists' small businesses have gone under, and some have even lost their homes.
"The government has always said that deployment was possible, but no one ever believed that citizen soldiers would be called up and sent into combat for over a year," Friedman said.
But the veteran isn't a big John Kerry supporter, either. He thinks the Democratic presidential candidate exaggerated his combat experience and made soldiers serving in Vietnam sound like murderers, rapists and baby killers.
In the end, after much deliberation, Friedman decided that he could remain nonpartisan while representing the VFW at the GOP convention Tuesday night. He said it would be an honor to take part in the event. In addition to being a member of the VFW, Friedman serves as commander of American Legion Post No. 1749, which supported his decision.
Frank Colon Jr., 52, of Post 1749, said, "It is an honor any time an active-duty or retired serviceman is invited to present the nation's colors at a national event, especially when the president is involved."
Colon also said that presenting the colors is a show of national pride and a reminder of all the sacrifices that American military personnel make for their country. "In some European countries, military service is compulsory, whereas in the United States service is voluntary," said Colon. "That is why servicemen honor the nation's colors, because they volunteered to serve when they didn't have to."
Friedman was born in 1936 in Manhattan's Upper West Side. During the 1950s and '60s, local gangs regularly faced off against one another in his neighborhood. To get away from the fighting, Friedman joined the Air Force in 1953, at age 17. He was sent to Korea with the 51st Fighter Wing, whose members were known as "the MIG killers," MIGs being the Soviet fighter jets that were supplied to North Korea.
After his four-year tour, Friedman spent four more years in the reserves while holding a series of civil service jobs. In 1958, he worked at Bellevue Hospital for the then-Veterans Association. In 1962, he was employed by the postal service, and in 1963 he became a New York City firefighter, eventually retiring in 1989.
In 1969, Friedman moved to Bellmore with his wife, Catherine, and their two sons, Peter and Steven. And in 1976, he volunteered for the Bellmore Fire Department.
In 1990, during the Gulf War, he was called to military service again and was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where he taught sergeants military tactics. He retired from service in 1995.
Friedman has been the psychological operations history editor of the U.S. Army 2nd PSYOP Group's magazine Perspectives since 1990. He is also the American secretary and treasurer of the Psychological Warfare Society, mid-Atlantic states spokesman for the Psychological Operations Association and a member of the Psychological Operations Veterans Association.
Friedman has written more than 100 articles on psychological warfare, and has been an expert source for a dozen books and magazine and newspaper articles. He has also been interviewed for Japanese and American television, and appeared on British and Canadian TV. Some of his articles can be found at psywarrior.com and psywar.org.
Friedman has been awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross, New York state's most prestigious military medal, and the Town of Hempstead Veterans Medal for his dedication to "the betterment of his brethren."
