Years ago, when William Miller talked about being in the Vietnam War  if he talked about being in the Vietnam War  he would tell people he served on a Swift boat.

At least now they have heard of it. But not in the way he would like.

“I was proud of what I did, and all the guys I was with,” Mr. Miller said. “Now somebody says ‘Swift boat’ and it’s a whole different meaning. They don’t associate it with the guys we lost. That’s a shame.”

“Swift boat” has become the synonym for the nastiest of campaign smears, a shadow that hangs over the presidential race as pundits wait to proclaim that the Swiftboating has begun and candidates declare that they will not be Swiftboated.

Swift boat veterans  especially those who had nothing to do with the group that attacked Senator John Kerry’s military record in the 2004 election  want their good name back, and the good names of the men not lucky enough to come home alive.