Evidence Shows Crewmate Rev. Alston Never Served Under Sen. Kerry

August 10, 2004 | The Bandit

[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.

[tracer]

And why does said shirtless white dude's head cast a symmetrical shadow -- to the front as if backlit -- while Kerry and another guy have shadows that trail off to the right of each man's head??

[The Bandit]

Get the Word out! Use this final draft of my report! Kerry is nailed solid!

Bandit's Final Draft on Alston/Kerry

[Eighth Square]

No doubt in my mind that the Halliburton cartel is behind this dreadful insinuation! Surrender the nation, it's the sensible thing to do!

[VOA]

" 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)

What a close call...for a moment I feared that Kerry might fall prey to the
obvious temptation to "wear religion on his sleeve".
(end sarcasm)

[VOA]

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."

If G-d had sent me a buddy who'd have access to about ONE BILLION DOLLARS during
war...I'd say nice things about that buddy as well.
LOL!!!

Heck, that would be enough to get me to beome a "Reverend" and
even forgo the use of the word "heck"!!!

[The Bandit]

Would camera flash account for those shadows?

[Ciexyz]

btt

[ccmay]

Unlike other scars, keloids continue to grow over time.

Moreover, black people are far more prone to developing chronic keloids than are persons of other races. They can be very persistent and disfiguring, growing slowly over many years. Surgery may actually make the condition worse.

-ccm

[ValerieUSA]

Nope, back then you would have used a silly camera flash cube probably to take pics in the dark - but you wouldn't have bothered to waste a flash in the bright sunlight.
I have color-corrected some photos of a friend who served in Vietnam. His pictures from over there were badly faded by now and required quite a bit of photoshop work to bring back true color and contrast.

[Number_Cruncher]

Discrepancies noted in Kerry's record
Ex-skipper says website wrong
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | April 23, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Vietnam combat records posted on John F. Kerry's campaign website for the month of January 1969 as evidence of his service aboard swift boat No. 94 describe action that occurred before Kerry was skipper of that craft, according to the officer who said he commanded the boat at the time.

On the site, the Massachusetts senator is described as the skipper of Navy boat No. 94 during several actions in late January 1969.

However, Edward Peck, who was the skipper of the 94 before Kerry took over, said combat reports posted by the campaign for January 1969 involve action when he was the skipper, not Kerry. Peck, who was seriously wounded in fighting that took place on Jan. 29, 1969, said he believes Kerry campaign aides made a mistake in claiming Kerry as skipper of the 94 at that time.

On the Kerry website, the report of the combat on that day on the 94 boat is posted as occurring during Kerry's time as skipper of the boat. Peck said Kerry replaced him after the Jan. 29, 1969, event.

"Those are definitely mine," Peck said, referring to the combat reports that the Kerry campaign posted as representing Kerry's action. "There is no doubt about it."

A Kerry campaign spokesman, Michael Meehan, said in an e-mail that the campaign had obtained the combat reports for the 94 from the Navy. He did not directly address the question of why the campaign describes Kerry being skipper of the 94 at a time when Peck says he commanded the boat.

The reports at issue are in a 20-page batch representing Kerry's combat in January 1969. The reports include references to some dramatic action, including an ambush of Patrol Craft Fast, or PCF, 94. In addition to posting the information online, the campaign sent out an e-mail yesterday afternoon repeating the claim that Kerry was the skipper of the 94 boat throughout January and describing action the campaign said Kerry experienced while commanding the craft.

For example, in a summary of action that occurred Jan. 26, 1969, the campaign says Kerry served on boat No. 94 alongside another boat, No. 66. "PCFs 94 and 66 escorted troops up the Ong Doc River early in the morning when they were ambushed by gun and rocket fire from approximately 40 men on both sides of the river," the campaign summary says. "Two B-40 rounds hit close to Kerry's boat, while PCF 66 received 2 B-40 rocket hits. Three men on PCF66 were wounded. A junk containing South Vietnamese troops was also sunk, killing 11 South Vietnamese troops. Intelligence reports after the mission indicated that the Viet Cong troops may have planned the ambush in advance."

Peck said he was the skipper of the 94 at this time and that Kerry was not on the craft. While combat reports show several boats traveling with the 94, the campaign website says only that Kerry was the skipper of the 94 and does not try to place him on the other boats.

In another report, the campaign summarizes action that took place on Jan. 29, 1969, this way: "While Kerry's boat and another [PCF72] were probing a canal along the river, Kerry's boat came under heavy fire and was hit by a B-40 rocket in the cabin area. One member of Kerry's crew -- Forward Gunner David Alston -- suffered shrapnel wounds in his head. His injuries were not considered serious and he was sent to the 29th Evac Hospital at Binh Thuy."

Peck said he was the skipper on this day as well. Peck was also injured in the ambush and was hospitalized.

As a result, Kerry then took over the crew, Peck said. The Navy combat report posted by the Kerry campaign states that Peck and Alston were injured in the same event. There is no mention of Kerry in that report.

Kerry's commanding officer, George Elliott, said in a telephone interview that he vividly recalls Peck's injury and hospitalization and Kerry's replacement of Peck. "I think somebody made a mistake who doesn't know" the timing of Kerry's service, Elliott said. Kerry was skipper of boat No. 44 in December and January before taking over command of the 94, he said.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/04/23/discrepancies_noted_in_kerrys_record/

[BJungNan]

Is this original FR content, as in a FReeper has put this together? What is the source on this?

[BJungNan]

What is going on with the shadows in this picture?

[stockpirate]

The site you list has been crashed off the net.

Go figure.

[rjsimmons]

A web search turns up PCF (Patrol Craft Fast)-94 as being Senator Kerry's boat. The Swiftboat.net site is down, so I couldn't verify their info, but a web search on PCF-66 turned up very little. Navy records are sparse about the flotillas and divisions, but PCF-66 and PCF-94 were clearly from different divisions.

Senator Kerry's web site indicates PCF-94 was his boat, as does the Viet Nam Vet's Against Kerry web site. Swiftboat net might be mistaken.

[RippleFire]

bump

[MamaLucci]

Have you seen this???

Alston never served under Kerry

From Jan. 30 to March 13, 1969, Kerry and the crew of the PCF-94 would conduct 18 missions in the Mekong Delta river system. In that time, Kerry would earn a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and add two Purple Hearts to the one he received earlier.

Bingo! Yachtzee! Alston received his serious wounds in that same exact battle that took Peck out of service. On January 29th, Alston was medevaced out to a hospital with head wounds and no records indicate that he ever returned to the unit. Kerry took command of PCF-94 the next day. Alston never served a day under Kerry's command. In fact, Kerry received a replacement, Fred Short, on 28 February as a replacement for Alston.

[mabelkitty]

This showed up on Captains Quarters this morning...linked Short Cuts on L.dot, as well.

[mabelkitty]

Why is Alston wearing heavy fatiques, and everyone else is wearing t-shirts or shirtless? It was obviously hot that day, yet this guy isn't squinting or even unbuttoned his shirt. That is what struck me.

[mabelkitty]

That's why people are paying attention now.
Clinton was the lesson learned - it will never be repeated. Even Dems recognize this, which is why they are FREAKED about this information coming out.

Honey, it ain't 1992.

[poindexter]

"Clinton was the lesson learned - it will never be repeated."

Yet the polls do not budge. That worries me.