Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) decided to post on the Internet military records on his service in the Vietnam war after questions were raised about one of the medals he was awarded.(AFP/Getty Images/Stephen Chernin)
Posted on 04/20/2004 5:48:11 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid questions about his military records, John Kerry's campaign on Tuesday provided documentation of Vietnam War injuries that included shrapnel wounds to his arms, legs and buttocks that earned him three Purple Hearts.
Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said the campaign was in the process of compiling the rest of Kerry's naval record and planned to begin posting it on Kerry's Web site by day's end. Kerry said all his military records are available to the public during an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Meehan said the Massachusetts senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee requested a copy of his record from the Navy last month and received roughly 150 pages last week.
Conservatives, talk radio and some newspapers editorials have questioned whether Kerry was deserving of the three Purple Hearts, fueling questions about his Navy service from 1966 to 1970 and the seriousness of his injuries.
He served two tours of duty, four months on the USS Gridley frigate off Vietnam's shore and nearly five months as a swiftboat commander in the Mekong Delta. He volunteered for the second tour and earned all his medals during the second stint.
Meehan gave The Associated Press 13 pages that included documentation for the Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. The Boston Globe obtained some of the records last year for an extensive series on Kerry.
The documents also included declassified reports that briefly explain the injuries that led to Kerry's Purple Heart awards. They show Kerry had shrapnel wounds in his left thigh after his boat came under intense fire on Feb. 20, 1969, and he suffered shrapnel wounds in his left buttock and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close to his boat on March 13, 1969.
The campaign could not locate a similar report for Kerry's original Purple Heart. As evidence that Kerry was wounded, Meehan showed The Associated Press a "Sick Call Treatment Record" from Kerry's personal files that included a brief written note dated Dec. 3, 1968, and stamped from the naval support facility at Cam Ranh Bay.
"Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty," it said. The note is followed by a signature that appears to say "JCCarreon" and some illegible letters that Meehan said probably designate the medical official's rank.
Meehan said the campaign would allow a reporter to see the record at the campaign's headquarters, but not take a copy. He said it would not be made available to the public because Kerry considers it a private medical record.
Documentation for the second two injuries show that Kerry was deemed to be in good condition and returned to active duty after treatment. The documentation does not describe the severity of the injuries. A third Purple Heart meant Kerry could be reassigned out of Vietnam, and a document dated March 17, 1969, said Kerry requested duty as a personal aid in Boston, New York or the Washington, D.C., area.
Meehan said although Kerry could have asked to stay in Vietnam, it was the Navy's decision to request that he be reassigned. Kerry left the country in early April 1969.
Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager, accused Kerry's campaign of waffling on the release of his military records, saying the campaign's position on Tuesday to release the records in "due diligence" is contrary to Kerry's comments on "Meet the Press" that the records would be made public immediately.
"Senator Kerry's record of nondisclosure and his flip-flop on this issue should concern voters," Mehlman said.
Meehan responded, "Senator Kerry's record on the military is one we are running on, not running from. We are happy to compare Senator Kerry's record of service to anybody in the Bush campaign who has or has not served."
Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, but did not serve in combat. Bush released hundreds of pages of his Vietnam-era military records in February to counter Democrats' suggestions that he shirked his duty in the Texas Air National Guard.
The White House said the documents comprise his entire military record. The records did not provide evidence that Bush was in Alabama during a period when Democrats have questioned whether he reported for service.
Kerry on Friday questioned Republicans who avoided the war and now criticize him on national security, but he didn't mention Bush.
"I fought under that flag and I saw that flag draped over the coffins of friends," Kerry said. "I'm tired of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and a bunch of people who went out of their way to avoid the chance to serve when they had the chance."
The Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers who are wounded or killed by enemy forces. The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action, and the Bronze Star is for heroic achievement.
Kerry received the Bronze Star for his actions after being wounded by the mine, which led to the third Purple Heart. According to his citation, one of Kerry's boatmates was thrown overboard and Kerry pulled him to safety with "his arm bleeding and in pain and with disregard for his personal safety." Kerry and the man, retired Los Angeles police officer Jim Rassmann, had an emotional public reunion in January, two days before Kerry would win the Iowa caucuses.
___
On the Net:
Facsimiles of Kerry's Purple Heart citations are available at:
http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/purplehearts.pdf
Facsimiles of Kerry's bronze and silver star citations are available at:
http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/stars.pdf
Facsimiles of reports describing Kerry's wounds are available at:
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) decided to post on the Internet military records on his service in the Vietnam war after questions were raised about one of the medals he was awarded.(AFP/Getty Images/Stephen Chernin)
Another article from Associated press said "medic", not "medical officer".
Does it matter?
Yes, it does. The Purple Heart was not meant to be awarded for Band-Aid and Bacitracin (no stitches) Boo-Boos. It was meant to be awarded for consequential injuries.
The Regulations in effect at the time of Kerry's Vietnam service described a Purple Heart eligible wound as:
"A wound which necessitates treatment by a medical officer and which is received in action with an enemy......"
I find it hard to believe that "LT, MC, USNR" or "LCDR, MC, USN" cannot be deciphered on that medical record due to bad handwriting.
I want to see that signature.
If that was a Corpsman's signature, that would be the smoking gun that documents that Kerry sea lawyered himself into a phony Purple Heart which he later used to sea lawyer himself out of combat after only 4 months of service.
I cannot understand the mind of someone who would go to the Corpsman for something that only required a topical disinfectant. It suggests to me that his whole 'military career' was intended as nothing other than a political springboard from the very beginning.
I compare this to the Union officer in the Civil War who was completely disemboweled by a shell fragment. The surgeons told him that there wasn't anything they could do, he was a 'goner'. He insisted that they operate on him. He gutted it out, recovered, and demanded to be returned to duty.
Shoot, I didn't keep records every time one of my kids needed bacitracin for a boo-boo.
However will one of them qualify for the Senate, let alone the Presidency?
Kerry Reneges on Promise to Release Military Records
Dave Eberhart and Chuck Noe, NewsMax.comWASHINGTON – Sen. John Kerry has quickly reneged on his promise to release his full military and medical records to public scrutiny.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Kerry emphatically told Tim Russert on NBC's “Meet the Press” last weekend that “people” could come on down to his campaign headquarters to eyeball his full file of military records.
“They’re available to you to come and look at. People can come and see them at headquarters and take a look at them,” Kerry told Russert.
Russert had asked Kerry if he would release his complete file, as President Bush did after Democrats raised questions about his service in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
Kerry shot back to Russert’s request, “They are” – indicating the records were already released.
But Kerry has not realeased all his military records, only a small portion, and placed strict limitations on their examination.
This week several individuals and organizations, including NewsMax, followed up on Kerry’s open invitation.
When the media asked to take advantage of Kerry’s offer, however, Kerry's press spokesman Michael Meehan announced that the only records available would be those already released to the Boston Globe.
But the famously pro-Kerry Globe has pointed out that Kerry has never disclosed his full military and medical file to it.
The newspaper reported Tuesday that “the day after John F. Kerry said he would make all of his military records available for inspection at his campaign headquarters, a spokesman said the senator would not release any new documents, leaving undisclosed many of Kerry's evaluations by his Navy commanding officers, some medical records, and possibly other material.”
Thorny Issue
The issue of Kerry’s military records got a fresh infusion of interest and speculation recently when Kerry’s former commanding officer in Vietnam, Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, questioned a Purple Heart that Kerry received.
A Purple Heart is awarded to a serviceman wounded by enemy fire in combat and who receives medical treatment for his wound.
Hibbard explained that he at first turned down the initial Purple Heart for the young Lt. j.g. Kerry because he had questions as to whether Kerry and his boat crew took enemy fire, and he noted that Kerry’s wound was minor - resembling a fingernail scrape.
"I've had thorns from a rose that were worse," according to Hibbard.
Kerry’s first Purple Heart adventure occurred just 24 hours into his tour of duty.
Kerry was later transferred to Coastal Division 11 at An Thoi in South Vietnam, where apparently Kerry successfully petitioned to have his Purple Heart request reconsidered.
Hibbard recalls getting paperwork from Kerry’s new outfit, asking for his approval, also recalling that he might have signed off on the award in a harried moment.
If so, “it was to my chagrin,” he recollected.
Kerry subsequently got two more Purple Heart awards, qualifying him for an early trip home under informal regulations then in place. He spent four months in the combat zone.
According to the Globe, the Kerry campaign earlier this year showed that publication a document verifying that Kerry was indeed treated for the wound that resulted in the first Purple Heart and that shrapnel was removed.
Meehan has announced that this previously released treatment document would be shown to news organizations, as well as other records previously shared with the Globe, including documents describing Kerry’s actions when he was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars.
Notably, Kerry's campaign has not released to the Globe, or to anyone else, the formal evaluations from superior officers or his complete, uncensored military file, as President Bush has.
Bush earlier this year released 300 pages of documents after media outlets raised questions about his National Guard service. Those records, which Bush ironically promised to make available during his own appearance in February on “Meet the Press,” included all of the young pilot’s military evaluations and medical records.
Burkett Speaks Out
“Kerry can remove all doubt about his service by signing a U.S. government document referred to as Standard Form 180 -- this in effect is a limited power attorney that grants to third parties, including news organizations and individuals, the right to receive 100 percent of his military and medical records that are available to Mr. Kerry himself,” B.G. Burkett explained to NewsMax.com.
Burkett is a Vietnam historian and author of the best-selling book “Stolen Valor.” Burkett won the Army’s highest civilian award for his research on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
“This is the only way Senator Kerry can remove doubt and suspicion as to the content of his military and medical file,” Burkett said. “I wouldn’t certainly hope that Sen. Kerry would take this action because there are concerns about the true nature of his short service in Vietnam.”
Kerry was assigned to Swiftboat 44 on Dec. 1, 1968 and within 24 hours he had his first Purple Heart. Accumulating three Purple Hearts in just four months, the young officer never lost appreciable time from duty owing to wounds, according to reports.
According to published reports, the Naval Historical Center maintains all documents connected to such awards to U.S. Navy and Marine personnel.
“Casualty cards” list the date, location and prognosis of the wound for which the Purple Heart is given.
The record is produced by the medical facility that provided treatment for the combat wound. Reportedly, there are two such cards for Kerry - for his slight wounds on Feb. 20 and March 13, 1969 - but none for his December 1968 claim.
Pundits continue to ponder why Kerry’s Purple Heart full military file and medical treatment reports have been withheld from the public. Kerry holds the key.
Gillespie: What Is Kerry Hiding?
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie stepped up the pressure Tuesday by urging Kerry to keep the promise he made on "Meet the Press" and release the information.
"When President Bush committed to release all his military records on the same program, he kept his word. John Kerry should do the same," Gillespie said in remarks prepared for a Lincoln Day dinner in Lucas County, Ohio.
"Voters aren't stupid, and he shouldn't treat us as if we are."
Kerry Now Says 'Atrocities' Is a 'Bad Word'
Meanwhile, most media continue to ignore another controversy that Russert raised Sunday with the presidential candidate: Kerry's description of himself in 1971 as a war criminal.
The host showed a videotape from the same program 33 years ago in which Kerry said that he and other U.S. troops committed "atrocities" in Vietnam.
A similar but more detailed admission has ended the political career of one-time White House hopeful Bob Kerrey, former Democrat U.S. senator from Nebraska.
"I think the word is a bad word," Kerry said Sunday. "I think it's an inappropriate word. The words were honest, but on the other hand they were a little bit over the top. I don't like it when I hear it today."
Here's what he said in on April 18, 1971:
"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other >soldiers have committed."
And he still hasn't.
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