Today's Union-Tribune has an article on 53-year-old Air Force veteran David Patterson who has sent his medals back to President George W. Bush to protest the war in Iraq.

Mailing them via the USPS doesn't have the drama of "pulling a Kerry" -- tossing someone else's medals over the White House fence -- but it's still a strong statement.

So in March, the mild-mannered Air Force veteran with graying hair sat down and wrote to the President of the United States of America:

“I am saddened to give up my hard earned medals. But the hate, torture and death you have instrumented in this world tarnish the symbolism they carry.”

He's saddened -- or is he?

Patterson had to order the medals because he didn't have them at hand. The military doesn't award most medals when troops are discharged – just ribbons, he said. It cost him $38 to get the actual ones.

So, he treasured those medals so much that he never ordered them in the first place? He treasured them so much, he never had them displayed in a shadow box?

And then there's the kicker:

The White House has no record of receiving either man's medals, said Blair Jones, a spokesman. The White House gets a large volume of mail, so Jones is not disputing that they were sent, he said.

He was uncertain how many medals the White House has received in protest of the war. When it does, “they are kindly sent back to the owners,” Jones said.

That's right, Patterson's going to get his treasured medals back, because the White House isn't going to accept them.

Oh well, at least it got him in the paper.