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Hero Speaks Out Against Kerry
Northwest Veterans Newsletter via BLACKFIVE ^ | 16 Aug 04 | Major General (ret.) Patrick Brady

Posted on 08/23/2004 6:24:32 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4

America has no kings or queens but we do have nobility – our nobility is called Veterans. That nobility is responsible for the bounty that is America but tragically their influence has faded in recent years and the values they died for are under attack. But this election year they are back in demand and some have said the veteran vote could decide this election. It may have put Bush in the White House. With this in mind, John Kerry is seldom seen with out his band of brothers and constantly plays the” hero” card as a cornerstone of his bid for president, indeed, as the definition of who he is. Kerry defines patriotism as “keeping faith with those who wear the uniform of this country. He also brags that he “defended this country as a young man”. If Missouri is the show me state, Veterans are the show me voters – we are not much for words, deeds are our stock in trade. Lets look at Kerry’s deeds.

Before Kerry played his “hero” card, he played the atrocity card. When Kerry came back from Vietnam he joined with Jane Fonda and in 1971 denounced “those who wear the uniform” as terrorists-like rapists and assassins who “cut off heads, taped wires … to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks” … and said he “committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of others”. He made these charges under oath. Kerry says today that he would have framed some of what he said in 1971 differently. But he does not say he lied, which he did, nor does he apologize. How can one properly frame the denunciations of ones comrades in arms as modern day Genghis Khans?

The very day that Kerry was calling Vietnam veterans’ war criminals the family of one of those “war criminals”, Michael Blanchfield, was posthumously receiving the Medal of Honor for Michael who had thrown himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. How different from Kerry was the way this man kept faith with those who wore the uniform with him. How different from Kerry was the manner Michael defended his country.

He could have attacked the war without attacking the warrior. He could have questioned policy without supporting the communists’ claim that our soldiers were war criminals. He could have kept faith with those who wore the uniform with him. But he did not and he should be held accountable.

By every measure, the Vietnam veteran has been an exceptional citizen; but there is one disturbing statistic -- their suicide rate. In the first 5 years after discharge the rate was 1.7 times higher than non-veterans. After 5 years it was less. This may have been due to the treatment the Vietnam veteran received from the media – and the anti war movement led by Kerry -- in the early years after the war. Living with the scars of war is difficult, for some unbearable, but all veterans suffer. The Vietnam veteran suffered physically as much, perhaps more than any veteran of the past century, but no veteran has suffered the mental agony of that veteran.

What Kerry/Fonda and the media elite did to the Vietnam veteran and his family is deplorable. They opened a gash in his psyche and then rubbed salt in it. Not just the living but also those who died and their families who questioned if a loved one is a war criminal. And the POWs some who believed the Kerry/Fonda cartel extended the war, increased their torture and filled more body bags. Whether Kerry and Fonda have blood on their hands is debatable but there is no doubt they have salt on them.

Kerry’s “hero” card is based on medals he received in Vietnam and is much celebrated, and unchallenged, by the mainstream media. I know many Medal of Honor recipients who have received less publicity for their medal than Kerry has for his. But medals don’t make a hero. It is how one uses medals that make a hero. Every honest soldier knows that medals are a function of circumstance, even happenstance, but most of all the support of ones fellow warriors.

I was awarded the Medal of Honor; but my fellow soldiers who supported me in the actions and took the time to write it up earned it. I wear it for them, they own my medals. And every Medal of Honor recipient and hero I know believes as I do. Medals should be a sign of patriotism, a symbol of sacrifice, support and defense of a great nation. The highest form of patriotism is service to our youth; heroes also wear their medal for them to signal the importance of courage. Heroes do not use their medals for personal political gain. As I said they are not theirs to use.

Senator Kerry threw his medals away (or ribbons, they are symbolically the same), a political act very difficult for any veteran to understand. He must have been proud of them for he wore them even on his fatigues, in violation of all regulations. But they were not his. They belonged to those who he served. By that act he symbolically denounced his fellow veterans -- again. Does one keep faith with those who wear the uniform by throwing away their medals?

But perhaps most telling of his leadership qualities is his use of his Purple hearts to abandon his band of brothers, his command, on a technicality. Kerry may be the only person in history who took advantage of a Navy regulation that allowed him to leave his command after 4 months for 3 purple hearts none of which ever caused him to miss a day of duty. In my experience men fought to stay with their band of brothers, especially commanders. All the commanders I know would get out of a hospital bed to be with their men. Some one had to take his place; someone probably less experienced who would have to learn the ropes. That put his command more at risk than if he stayed. It is not hard to understand why those who stayed in combat for the full year are upset with Kerry.

And veterans today would be upset with Kerry’s support of Flag Burning his non-support of weapons systems and his 12 votes against military pay raises. But his use of veterans and mis use of his medals should bring into serious question his loyalty, integrity and character all of which equal leadership. He is not fit for command.

Major (later Major General) Patrick H. Brady, U.S. Army, Medical Service Corps, 54th Medical Detachment, 67th Medical Group, 44th Medical Brigade. Near Chu Lai, Republic of Vietnam, 6 January 1968 demonstrated conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. He distinguished himself while commanding a UH-1H ambulance helicopter, by volunteering to rescue wounded men from four sites in enemy held territory all of which were reported to be heavily defended by and in close proximity to the enemy forces. Throughout that day, Major Brady utilized three helicopters to evacuate a total of 51 seriously wounded men, many of whom would have perished without prompt medical treatment. Major Brady's bravery was in the highest tradition of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army. Major Brady was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery that day. Major General Patrick Brady was inducted into the DUSTOFF Hall of Fame on 17 February 2001.



TOPICS: Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 229; patrickbrady
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BLACKFIVE

The Northwest Veterans Newsletter: Guest Op-Ed by Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady

1 posted on 08/23/2004 6:24:32 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

This would be a nice op-ed piece in every major newspaper in the country!


2 posted on 08/23/2004 6:34:59 PM PDT by Jewels1091
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Great post. The General has an excellent point. I had forgotten about all the suicides. How many times did Steve Magarett stop some looney VN vet with a rifle from killing a bunch of people on Hawaii 50?
Kerry owns, along with his VVAW buddies, thousands of lives. Not only in VN, but when they got home.


3 posted on 08/23/2004 6:40:03 PM PDT by ProudVet77 (Kerry is Toast du Francai')
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To: Cannoneer No. 4
What Kerry did or didn't do in Viet Nam is really a moot point. Let's stop debating the RATS about it. What counts is what he did after he returned to the United States.....

:

Honest men can disagree about whether or not Kerry fluffed up his deeds to get a purple heart, but his testimony before Congress was crystal clear: It's part of the Congressional record and tape recorded for posterity. His actions in testifying before Congress and in leading the VVAW gave great aid and comfort to the enemies of freedom. Only God Almighty knows the entire toll Kerry's actions had on the lives of the men he sold out, and on the innocent people of South Viet Nam who perished. My eyes well up with tears when I consider the years so many of our finest and bravest men suffered from injuries that were inflicted upon them by the enemy emboldened by Kerry's rhetoric. The names on the wall. The ones we will never know. Their blood cries out from the ground. Surely, we can in charity forgive John Kerry for his folly, maybe even excuse his actions because he was "swept up with the times." Maybe. But should this man ever be allowed the honor of serving as the President of the United States of America? Never.


4 posted on 08/23/2004 6:48:03 PM PDT by ppaul
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To: ProudVet77
FREEPERS

PLEASE CRATIQUE THIS LETTER TOT HE EDITOR THAT I AM THINKING OF SENDING. (SOME SAY IT IS TOO LONG TOO)

Here is the kind of liar that Kerry is:

Kerry titles his book "Tour of Duty" for his service in Vietnam. He also claims that he had TWO tours of duty in Vietnam (because of his time on the USS Gridley).

Kerry twists the truth so much; you have to watch EVERY WORD HE SAYS. He will lie to you and weave a story (lie) so subtly that you are unaware that he is taking you down the prim-rosed path until it is too late.

Here is the truth as compared to Kerry's lies. KERRY NEVER EVEN SERVED ONE TOUR IN VIETNAM. HE IS A LIER.

Yes he was in Vietnam (for 4 months) and yes he was on the deep-water coast of Vietnam on the USS Gridley (for 5 weeks) but he did not serve a tour in Vietnam.

A Tour in the Nam was 12 months, one year, 365 days, one circle around the sun. Guys would count down the days until their time was up. It was a big deal. When you only had a few weeks to go until your year was up, you were "SHORT", going home soon.

This issue is important for this reason. John Kerry knows that he didn't serve a Tour, let alone TWO Tours, yet he brazenly reports that he did, he lies. Kerry seems to lie about almost everything. That's my point. He cannot be trusted.

One might argue 'Well, the time that Kerry spent in Nam was HIS tour, so what is the big deal". If that is your argument then Kerry should have named his book "My Time in Nam" or something. Not lie and give the impression that he spent a tour in Nam. AND, there is NO excuse for his claim for TWO TOURS in Nam, my God. What a liar.

As far as Unfit for Command is concerned, I have read it. The Swifties could give a crap less if John Kerry got medals, their issue is the same as what I explained above (and the fact that Kerry smeared their good name with his lies) and that is that Kerry cannot be trusted. He is unfit for command.

Kerry embellished (lied) in his after action reports to get medals that he didn’t deserve. He lied when he came back from Vietnam when he spoke before the Senate Intelligence Committee when he said that his fellow Vietnam Veterans committed atrocities. He has never provided any proof that his accusations were true, and in fact now admits that his accusations were “over the top”. Over the top! They were lies!

POW’s who were in North Vietnam prison camps when Kerry was telling his lies to the Senate and the American public were tortured and threatened to be tried as War Criminals and “would never go home” because of Kerry’s lies. Kerry’s lies are unforgivable.

General Vo Nguyen Gaip , the Commanding officer of the North Vietnamese Military and Bui Tin who served on the General Staff of the North Vietnam Army and received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975 both claim that North Vietnam was poised to negotiate a surrender because of the Communist’s military failures during the 1968 Tet Offensive and thereafter. But because of the Anti-War movement in America (led by John Kerry and his lies) they felt that the Demonstrations “gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses."

America was kicking the Communist’s butt in every battle. General Westmoreland had the Communist’s number and was winning the war. America’s pullout of Vietnam was due to Kerry and his group of Demonstrators. Kerry’s lies played a very significant part in causing America to lose the war in Vietnam.

Because of John Kerry and others like him there are more names on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D. C. than there otherwise would have been. There was also the slaughter of 3.5 million South Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians when America pulled out that is significantly attributable to John Kerry and his lies. John Kerry has blood dripping from his lies.

When I returned home to Los Angeles from Vietnam in 1971 my head was spinning as I walked through the Terminal at LAX, thinking about the culture of war that I had just left while looking around at the opulence of America. When I stepped outside onto the sidewalk a group of “Longhairs” walked by and one of them spat on me while the others called me a “Baby Killer”. I feel that the treatment that I received, and have lived with for the past 33 years, was due to John Kerry and his lies.

John Kerry does not have the moral integrity, honesty, or judgment to be the Commander-In-Chief of the world’s most powerful military. John Kerry is unfit for command.

5 posted on 08/23/2004 6:49:06 PM PDT by Viet-Boat-Rider ((KERRY IS A NARCISSISTIC LIAR, GOLDBRICKER, AND TRAITOR!))
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Could this op-ed be sent to my local newspaper? It is the Daily Oklahoman and the Edmond Sun. I also would like to thank all veterans for their service to our country. You are all heroes in my eyes.


6 posted on 08/23/2004 6:51:36 PM PDT by phoenix0468 (I like Cubans. I could smoke 'em all day. Yeah, with my M-4 carbine.)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider

We will not quickly join those who march on Veteran's Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands of lives who died for the 'greater glory of the United States. We will not accept the rhetoric.We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. We will demand relevancy such as other organizations have recently been able to provide. We will not uphold the traditions which decorously memorialize that which is base and grim."
-John F. Kerry, Epilogue to "New Soldier" (MacMillan Publishing, Co, Fall, 1971)


7 posted on 08/23/2004 7:01:36 PM PDT by MEG33 (John Kerry has been AWOL for two decades on issues of National Security)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider
America was kicking the Communist’s butt in every battle. General Westmoreland had the Communist’s number and was winning the war. America’s pullout of Vietnam was due to Kerry and his group of Demonstrators. Kerry’s lies played a very significant part in causing America to lose the war in Vietnam.

Yes, and many of those "Longhairs" still swell with pride when they talk about how they "brought our soldiers home from a war they didn't want to fight." Then when those soldiers got home they treated them like criminals. I hope every liberal hippie anti-war protester will spend their time in hell boiling in spit. Thank you VBR, and I think your Letter to the Editor would be fine as is.
8 posted on 08/23/2004 7:05:55 PM PDT by phoenix0468 (I like Cubans. I could smoke 'em all day. Yeah, with my M-4 carbine.)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider

I like it, but it IS too long for a letter to the editor. Edit it down. Also, make sure you spell check.


9 posted on 08/23/2004 7:06:19 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: All
It isn't John eFing Kerry's military service in Vietnam that counts...

It is what he did when he came home that counts!

10 posted on 08/23/2004 7:07:25 PM PDT by sonofatpatcher2 (Texas, Love & a .45-- What more could you want, campers? };^)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4
and the hits... just keep right on coming!!! and an MOH hit at that
11 posted on 08/23/2004 7:09:23 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: ppaul

"Surely, we can in charity forgive John Kerry for his folly, maybe even excuse his actions because he was "swept up with the times." Maybe. But should this man ever be allowed the honor of serving as the President of the United States of America? Never."

Excellent assessment, ppaul.


12 posted on 08/23/2004 7:10:59 PM PDT by avenir (DUEL: The song which fiends and angels sing, word for word.)
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To: phoenix0468
Could this op-ed be sent to my local newspaper?

I suppose it could. Think they'd publish it?

13 posted on 08/23/2004 7:11:05 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider
Send it and don't worry about it being too long -- they will edit it to the size they want.

They may also edit the 'daylights' out of it, but that's the risk of sending anything in to the paper.

Good luck!

14 posted on 08/23/2004 7:19:25 PM PDT by Ed_in_NJ
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To: ppaul

BTTT


15 posted on 08/23/2004 7:42:15 PM PDT by lainde (Heads up...We're coming and we've got tongue blades!!)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider

bttt


16 posted on 08/23/2004 7:43:44 PM PDT by lainde (Heads up...We're coming and we've got tongue blades!!)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider

"KERRY NEVER EVEN SERVED ONE TOUR IN VIETNAM. HE IS A LIER."

Do you want to spell that LIAR?


17 posted on 08/23/2004 8:19:10 PM PDT by AUsome Joy
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider
Send it, Boat Rider. Check your spelling but never change your thoughts; those are the thoughts of so many of us who spent time in VN and returned home to the grinder.

Clear skies and a following wind.

18 posted on 08/23/2004 8:44:59 PM PDT by BIGLOOK (I once opposed keelhauling but have recently come to my senses.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4; gorio; Dawn_USAF; CheneyChick; ODC-GIRL; The Sailor; kjfine; Old Sarge; ...

Hero Speaks Out Against Kerry PING!



Thanks to FReeper gorio for the thread on where the links were!

The New Soldier by John Kerry and Vietnam Veterans Against the War

FREE Download of The New Soldier by John Kerry
and and Vietnam Veterans Against the War

Print and distibute the book that John Kerry "forgets" to mention!

The one book he refuses to bring up.

"honor" John Kerry

Help America know what a "hero" he was at the Winter Soldier
scam he and Jane Fonda pulled on the USA when he came home.

Make sure Kerry "fans" get their copy!


http://nomayo.mu.nu/archives/New%20Soldier%20Inro.pdf
http://nomayo.mu.nu/archives/New%20Soldier.pdf
http://nomayo.mu.nu/archives/New%20Soldier%20Epilogue.pdf

From Kerry's "The New Soldier":
Al Hubbard Sgt., 22 Troop Carrier Squadron Aug. ’65-June ’66

Emotions: Walking down the flight line at Saigon past stacks of aluminum cases containing American bodies and past stacks of aluminum luggage containing American currency. Seeing the tight, sad face of an Airman loading the bodies aboard a dirty Air Force Transport and the wide smiling face of a stewardess greeting the passengers aboard a clean Pan American Clipper Jet. Hearing a Vietnamese beg you to leave his country and an American colonel tells you to bomb his country. Hearing a Vietnamese invite you to live in his home, after the war and an American explain why you can’t live in his block, after the war. Flying over barren, brown, safe American held terrain and over lush, green unsafe enemy terrain. Feeling happy to be leaving a country in which you do not belong and sad to be returning to a country in which you are not allowed to belong. Sacrificing a portion of your consciousness so you won’t have to deal with being there and building mental blocks so you won’t have to deal with having been there.

- Al Hubbard, proven fraud who never set foot in Viet Nam. The only Vietnamese he ever met was when he was collaborating with the North Vietnamese in Paris on the American Communist Party's nickel.

John Kerry's explanation: "He (Hubbard) simply exaggarated his particular position. But nobody knew it at the time. And those things happen."


19 posted on 08/23/2004 9:11:36 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Thank You Troops : Present, Past and Future)
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To: Viet-Boat-Rider

GRIDLEY Crew members (67-68) say Kerry exaggerated in TOUR OF DUTY

"...John Kerry and I were shipmates in the guided missile cruiser USS
Gridley (CG-21) in 1967 and 1968. He served as First Lieutenant, the
officer in charge of the deck division, and I was Executive Officer,
or second in command..."

"...But there is also no doubt in my mind that his anti-war
activities while our troops were still fighting, dying and being
tortured in filthy Vietnam prisons were despicable.

For that reason, even aside from his anti-defense voting record in
the Senate, he is one ex-shipmate that I could never support as
commander-in-chief of the armed forces."

J. F. Kelly, Jr.

USS Gridley (CG-21) Executive Officer in 1967 and 1968.

GRIDLEY Website page on John Kerry

http://home.nycap.rr.com/pwcarter/the%20kerry%20page.html

Other crew members speak about John Kerry

(Looks like Kerry's shipmates, who did serve with him,
say he lied and told whoopers about his time on the GRIDLEY.

Remember these are not Swift Boat Vets,

BUT Kerry's crewmates who served with him on the GRIDLEY)

Examples follow:

"As everyone must surely know by now, John F. Kerry came on board
GRIDLEY as a boot Ensign when we returned from our 1967 Westpac
Cruise. He remained on GRIDLEY through the 1968 cruise. Politics
aside, shipmates of the time who have read TOUR OF DUTY, the
authorized campaign biography, will have something to say about the
chapter on GRIDLEY. "



1. Kerry never talked about his time on GRIDLEY. He says on page
74 that it is because “nothing much of note” happened while
he was
onboard. He uses words like monotony and tedious, when, despite
being a boot ensign he was given every opportunity for responsibility
by Captain Slifer and Commander Kelly (XO). He came aboard
designated for Electrical Officer (80100), a grunt position in the
Engineering Department and spent four months in that position. He
was assigned duty as First Lieutenant, as Commander Kelly recalls,
because of his knowledge of seamanship and his experiences with small
boats and sailing. Besides being responsible for the decks of the
ship, the First Lieutenant is also responsible for the ship’s
small
boats. He also was assigned collateral duties as Public Affairs
Officer. Despite all the responsibilities he was given, he gives the
impression that serving on GRIDLEY was somehow beneath him. He
certainly had less of an opportunity to collect “gongs” there.

2. Page 78 – “motivate 400 swabbies” – The First
Lieutenant is
responsible only for the personnel of 1st Division, not the entire
crew. 1st Division had a roster of about 30 in 1968. To the extent
that other divisions had responsibility for deck space, their
officers would have been responsible for motivating them.

3. Page 87 has Kerry “shuttling sailors and provisions”
between
GRIDLEY and KITTY HAWK in a small motor whaleboat out in the Gulf of
Tonkin. The regular method of travel between the two ships was via
helo. That is how I went over to the KITTY HAWK. If such an event
did occur, it would have been unusual and hardly a shuttle.

4. Later on page 87 Kerry talks about Olongapo in the Philippines.
He talks about bloated corpses floating in the river and starving
women with babies dying of malnutrition. Now Olongapo was a wild and
wooly town that existed solely for the entertainment of the US Navy,
but in over three years of calling there, I never saw a single
instance of either thing happening. Kerry uncovered this in his
first visit. If this was from his letters home then he was certainly
writing for dramatic effect. Balderdash.

5. The trip to Danang – GRIDLEY went into Danang for briefings
before going to Northern SAR. This section is so full of hyperbole
that the urge to giggle is almost uncontrollable. “The panic and
pressure onboard GRIDLEY, strapping on a .45, wondering if I would
have to use it, B-52’s howling overhead”. A B-52 over Danang
would
have been so high that only contrails would have been visible, cloud
cover permitting. David Simons confirmed my recollection that during
our brief stay in Danang Harbor, the sky was overcast to the point of
being ominous.

More seriously, no one can remember John Kerry going ashore. I was
part of the shore party that went to Monkey Mountain. We were taken
in a screened in truck (to protect against grenades being tossed in)
and made to unload our .45’s. The driver said that he did not
want
us newbies to shoot anyone by accident.

Neither Commander Kelly nor LCDR Rueckert (Kerry’s immediate
boss)
can recall approving a trip ashore for Ensign Kerry. The author uses
remarks of David Simons IC2 as a lead in to the Danang section. I
spoke to David and he has no personal knowledge of Kerry going ashore
at all. He did talk to a researcher and made some generic remarks
about Danang but had never discussed Danang with Kerry. He recalls
arguing with the researcher because he tried to put the
words “cowboy” in his mouth, which ended up in the book.

There is no mystery about the “gruesome site of a pile of dead
VC.”
We saw no sign of anything like this. However, our escort to Monkey
Mountain did tell us how the VC bodies were stacked up on the
LZ’s
after the TET Offensive, which had been several months before.
Ensign Kerry would have been told this story by members of the shore
party.

If, indeed, he got to the pier, because he was in charge of the
motor whaleboat, it certainly would not have been within his purview
to wander Danang, eating dog meat and drinking beer in a bar (under
arms). It also seems amazing that he had all these observations on
Vietnam in such a brief visit.

6. In command – Again with the hyperbole. Kerry makes much
about
being “in charge” of the ship after the Captain and XO. The
OOD is
in charge of the operation of the ship during his four hour watch but
hardly in charge of the ship. Kerry qualified almost immediately as
OOD(P), in port OOD but that is a given. For much of his time
onboard he would have been Junior Officer of the Deck when underway.
Although his fitness report as of 22 March says "he is qualified as
OOD(I) now" (Independent steaming – with no ships or land
anywhere
near) , only OOD(P) is listed under duties. His Fitness Report from
July 1968 lists two months as OOD(I) which would mean he qualified
after leaving the war zone.


20 posted on 08/23/2004 9:15:14 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Thank You Troops : Present, Past and Future)
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