Posted on 08/10/2004 10:21:42 PM PDT by The Bandit
For years now we have been lead to believe that both Sen. Kerry and the Rev. David Alston had served together on the PCF-94 in Vietnam, and therefore, making David Alston an eyewitness to Kerry's actions and heroism. The fact that Sen. Kerry has used a famous photo of himself together with David Alston and other crewmates while serving on swift boats in Vietnam, left little reason to believe anything differently. As with most anything having to do with Sen. Kerry -- nothing is ever as it first appears to be.
There can be little doubt that Sen. Kerry and David Alston wanted to deceive people into believing the two served together on the PCF-94 swift boat by the following statements:
David Alston said of Kerry, "We were in a lot of firefights," Alston said. "You learn a lot about people. After a firefight, John would come up to me and he would put his hand on me and he'd say, 'David, are you all right?'" And Kerry added: "I didn't know then that I had a man of God on my boat. That's probably why I'm here today." (Orlando Sentinel, 1/31/04)
"I stand here before you only because almighty God saw our boat safely through those rivers of death and destruction, by giving us a brave, wise, and decisive leader named John Kerry." (David Alston in a speech before the Democratic Convention, and the world.)
Rev. David Alston says, "When the bullets started to hit the side of the ship, we found out that John Kerry [could] lead. (Kerry for President Campaign Ad that aired early February '04)
Only problem with the above statements is that the are flat out false because David Alston was never a crew member under Sen. Kerry nor could he had ever participated in combat operations with Sen. Kerry because they were from two different boats. From December to January 29, 1969 Sen. Kerry commanded the PCF-44 while David Alston was the Gunner onboard the PCF-94 under Lt.(jg) Peck. On January 29, 1969 both Peck and Alston were wounded and hospitalized. We know Alston was wounded on that date because his causality report was made available briefly by the Kerry Campaign before they removed it. Here is what it said:
AWFA: GMG2 DAVID MARION Alston, USN, 99T 57 46
BRAVO: ACTIVE DUTY, ATTACHED TO COASTAL DIVISION ELEVEN AT AN THOI, RVN
CHARLIE: INJURY, HOSTILE FIRE
DELTA: 29, JAN 69, 1030H, SONG CUA LON - SONG BO DE, WHILE SERVING AS FORWARD GUNNER ABOARD PCF 94, ENGAGED IN CORDON AND SEARCH OPERATIONS IN THE ABOVE RIVER, GMG2 Alston RECEIVED SHRAPNEL WOUNDS TO HIS HEAD WHEN PCF CAME UNDER INTENSE HOSTILE ROCKET AND A/W FIRE.
ECHO: CONDITION GOOD, PROGNOSIS GOOD. PRESENCE OF NOK IS NOT MEDICALLY WARRANTED AS REPORTED BY CORPSMAN.
FOXTROT: MRS. IDA MCQUILLAR Alston, MOTHER
GOLF: NOK NOT OFFICIALLY NOTIFIED. REQ NOK NOT REPEAT NOT BE NOTIFIED.
HOTEL: SERVICEMAN TREATED BY CORPSMAN AND MEDEVACED TO 29TH EVAC HOSP. BINH THUY.
2. PATIENT ABL TO COMMUNICATE WITH NOK.
3. NO FURTHER INFO WILL FOLLOW.
This confirms the date of David Alston's wounds, but it does not tell how seriously wounded David Alston was. There is no military medical records available for David Alston, and you cannot go by the causality reports description of good and prognosis is good because they will always say that even if you had both legs shattered -- and then there is the fact no medical doctor had yet evaluated him. But we can today see the severity of the wound Alston suffered as shown below from as Rev. Alston stood before recent Democratic Convention delegates.
As one can see, it was a sever wound indeed, and Alston most likely lost tissue and scalp from this injury. This is important evidence for dating another picture of him with Sen. Kerry below.
Now let's take a closer look at Alston.
No signs of a serious head wound, or the treatment of such a wound, which would had required visible head shaving that still would have been visible weeks later if this picture was taken in early March as sometimes suggested by writers. Thus, we can be confident that the picture in question was taken prior to January 29, 1969 when Sen. Kerry was still skipper of the PCF-44 and Alston was the gunner on the PCF-94. How did Sen. Kerry get in this picture then? We know Coastal Division 11 and 13 were participating in joint operations in January of 1969 from the Command History of Division 11 released by the Navy, and no doubt that the crews from each division shared the same faculties and socialize among themselves.
Now that we know when and how Alston was wounded, we can see how Alston could not have been part of Sen. Kerry's crew on the PCF-94 because he had been replaced, just as the wounded Lt. Peck had been replaced by Kerry after the January 29th incident that lead to both Alston and Peck being hospitalized. Was David Alston able to return to the PCF-94 during anytime between February 1 and March 13, Kerry's last combat mission? No evidence that he did or even the suggestion he physically could have with the injury he had suffered, because we know that on February 28, 1969, Fred Short was onboard and described as an replacement for a wounded David Alston. We Know David Alston was not onboard for Kerry's last combat mission on March 13, either. Therefore, we can confidently say David Alston was never part of Kerry's PCF-94 crew from February 1 through March 13, 1969 because he was still recovering from his head wounds.
Now we need to answer whether David Alston could had been able to participate in combat missions with Kerry from a different swift boat? Looking at the daily combat missions for Coastal Division 11 we do not find both the PCF-44 (Kerry's boat) and the PCF-94 (Alston's boat) involved in any joint missions together. This conclusion is further supported by the fact David Alston or any other Kerry supporter has ever ventured to describe specific missions that Alston and Kerry could have participated in. All discussion of Alston and Kerry together is vague, generalized and non-specific.
Everything we were told by David Alston, Sen. Kerry and his people are clearly false about in regards to Kerry's relationship with David Alston. This is not a mere little slip of the tongue, but an orchestrated scheme over the last few years to outright deceive people about Sen. Kerry's military service. Why did the Rev. David Alston put himself into this position of deception and lies?
"I owe John Kerry my life," the Rev. David Alston was quoted as saying, "But John Kerry owes his life to me, too." This just might be true, but not in the sense that Kerry saved Alston's life during Vietnam, but for what he may have done for Alston after Vietnam and what Alston is doing for Kerry now for his run for the White House.
After both Kerry and Alston departed Vietnam, the two stayed in contact and Kerry had invited Alston to his first wedding, to Julia Thorne in 1970, and sent Christmas cards to Alston's parents' house. Kerry aides contacted Alston in 1996, after a story in a Boston paper "accusing him of being a killer," Alston told the Charlotte Observer.
"That was just false, and I was happy to tell people that," Alston said. "In Vietnam, killing an enemy soldier meant saving men's lives. It was something that had to be done." The incident in question here was on February 28, 1969, for which Alston was not part in because he was recovering from a head wound.
David Alston's mother-in-law, Beulah Lowery, has said: "He didn't like to talk about it [Vietnam], so we didn't press him," Lowery said. "But David always appreciated what he (Kerry) did for them. He talked real nice about him." Was Sen. Kerry so good to the Rev. Alston that Alston would do anything for him, like mislead voters on his behalf? Only David Alston can answer this question.
Another troubling question arises from this disclosure -- why haven't the rest of Sen. Kerry's supporting "Band of Brothers" stepped forward and correct the record of the Kerry/Alston relationship, something they know firsthand cannot be possible? Perhaps we will be find Kerry has been very good to them as well.
---It won't matter, unfortunately. We had the goods on Bill Clinton in 1992, big time. He got elected anyway. And re-elected. ---
If you're referring to the "bimbo eruptions" there was a certain plausible deniability to those assertions. There didn't exist the documentation and Clinton wasn't running as a saint anyway. Remember that interview with Hilary and Bill up on stage and Clinton says that he might have met Flowers, but he met a lot of people and Hillary is nodding her head in support. That was good enough for a lot of people at the time barring hard evidence. And to a lot of people Clinton was a charming rascal.
Kerry is not a charming rascal and Vietnam is not Jennifer Flowers.
I also see a second JG on the Grassy Knoll.
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/images/day2/06.htm
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/images/day2/05.htm
names and photog on one listed at these links...
162 - "So he was a JG during the time in question. Those seem like slow promotions to me in wartime."
Army has faster promotions and demotions, particularly in wartime. Navy and AirForce are(were) markedly slower, on both ends. Demotions are uncommon.
Good link. Three of the sailors are the same in the two pics.
That photo should be shown to every kid who wants to get something or other pierced. (Says the husband and father of three piercees. :) )
the globe got this one right ..John Kerry (dead center of course) "poses"
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/images/day2/01.htm
I think that was just a poor choice of words. It probably should have read "replaced with Kerry" rather than "by Kerry".
170 - "I know from some personal experience that record keeping in Nam was not the very best. I would suspect that written records would not hold up in court. My own payroll and leave records were a mess. I never bothered trying to get them straightened out because I was afraid it would delay my separation."
Hear, Hear !!
In the first photo, what the hell is that thing on the back of the guy's head????
It looks like a tumor or a pile of doo doo on the back of his head. Is the photo altered???
definitely a bttt
I would never have thought it was possible for a scam to be so crooked that a barrel of fish hooks looks straight by comparison.
If he's lying about it, it's not bogus. The selection of President is about more than issues. It's about picking someone who can handle the job. Handling the job takes character, and lying, especially a deliberate fabrication, rather than just a throwaway boast in idle conversation, does not indicate the kind of character needed for the job.
So what's bogus is the idea that character doesn't count. That was Slick Willie's line wasn't it?
A constitutional provision no less. Art. 1 Sec 6. end of first paragraph.
Clinton had help from Perot...Bush 41 gets elected otherwise.
Superb research and analysis!
I wonder if the picture is a result of some photoshop work.
I am not expert, but I think it would be worth to have an expert look at it.
1. Kerry is by himself, while the others are close together.
2. Kerry has a shadow on the left, and the left side of his face is darker, as if the sun were shining from the right of the picture, while the rest look, as if they are looking right into the sun. The guy standing between Alston and the guy with the glasses, has almost the same facial pose as Kerry, and both sides of his faces are fully lit, as if he were looking into the sun, while the left side of Kerry's face is in the dark.
As I said, I am not expert, but the picture itself looks suspicious to me.
A constitutional provision no less. Art. 1 Sec 6. end of first paragraph.
Section. 6.
Clause 1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
If I read this correctly -- They are not only not required to tell the truth, they are immune from prosecution for lying (except regarding the specific crimes listed).
Name one major news media outlet that is going to report this accurately besides FOX?
As a matter of fact, I challenge anyone to give me a reason why the MSM is going to report on the "Character"
of Kerry!
*L* .. check out Meeks picture in #178
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