Roy, W7EL wrote:
"So using the same analysis, you`d have to conclude that vertically
polarized waves can`t propagate by ground waves either."

Earth isn`t perfectly conductive but even so permits propagation of
vertically polarized waves.

Another expert, Kraus says on page 412 of his 1950 edition of
"Antennas":
"The electric field of a wave traveling along a perfectly conducting
surface is perpendicular to the surface....However, if the surface is an
imperfect conductor, such as the earth`s surface or ground, the
electric-field lines have a forward tilt near the surface.... Hence, the
field at the surface has a vertical component Ey and a horizontal
component Ex. The component Ex is associated with that part of the wave
that enters the surface and is dissipated in heat. The Ey component
continues to travel along the surface.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI