Alston Never Served Under Kerry

Captain's Quarters ^ | 8/14/2004 | captain ed

[stayout]

For those of you who have not been fully following the Swift Vet's story, one of Kerry's traveling entourage (David Alston) claimed he was under Kerry's command on a PBF and found Kerry to be a great leader. He even gave a speech to that effect at the Democratic National Convention, where he said the following:

I know him from a small boat in Vietnam, where we fought and bled together, serving our country. There were six of us aboard PCF-94, a 50-foot, twin-engine craft known as a "Swift Boat." We all came from different walks of life, but all of us-including our skipper, John Kerry-volunteered for combat duty. And combat is what we got.

However, one intrepid blogger now has proven that to be a lie, Alston never served under Kerry because Alston was wounded and out of action before Kerry took command of Alston's boat. Here is the final bit of proof (published early this morning), I suggest you go to Captain's Quarters to find all the previous analysis leading up to this astonishing coup de gras (pass the word):

Alston Never Served Under Kerry

Thanks to reader Lori in Texas, I think we've just about pieced the record together on David Alston and his supposed service under John Kerry's command. Lori points out a sympathetic article on Dale Sandusky, one of the few Swift boat veterans supporting Kerry and one that served on his boat, specifically gives the timing on Kerry's command of PCF-94:

In January 1969, Sandusky's boat, PCF-94, came under attack during one such ambush. Lt. Ted Peck, the officer in charge, and another crewman were seriously wounded. Sandusky had to take command. The boat was sinking and on fire, but Sandusky steered it back to safety. They counted 155 bullet holes in the boat and found a live enemy rocket in the main cabin. It had come to rest in a sack of potatoes.

For his actions, Sandusky would receive the Bronze Star.

With their officer headed home, the crew of PCF-94 needed a leader. And Lt. j.g. John Kerry, whose crew on PCF-44 had rotated back home, needed men to lead.

"I was sure glad he came along," Sandusky said, "because to be honest, I didn't want to take command."

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.

Now what does that tell us about Kerry and his Viet Nam narrative?

1. He and Alston conspired to deceive people about Alston's service under Kerry. That conspiracy was intended to give John Kerry cover against exactly the kind of campaign he faces from the other Swiftvets.

2. The "end of January" language on Kerry's website was intentionally vague in order to fuzzy up the timeline and keep Alston's true status a secret. Obviously, Sandusky remembers the dates well enough, and Kerry could easily have gotten them from him if he wanted to be as specific as his other dates on the timeline.

3. The DNC either were saps or actively participated in the conspiracy in order to assist Kerry in his Viet Nam mythology. Otherwise, why would they have allowed David Alston to speak at the convention about his experiences serving with John Kerry on the boat?

4. Kerry's band of brothers have some complicity in this cover-up as well. Those who served on PCF-94 surely remember that Alston never served under Kerry; Sandusky specifically recalls Peck being wounded and removed from command, but he wouldn't remember that Alston left at the same time?

5. One could argue that they served on the same boat, of course, and I look forward to that Clintonian parsing used in Kerry's defense. After holding Alston up as an expert on his leadership, he'll be hard pressed to explain how that expertise came to Alston from a hospital bed miles away from Kerry and his old PCF.

If this gets out to the mainstream media, this story kills Kerry's campaign. This isn't just a guy embellishing his war record -- this is a deliberate and longstanding attempt to mislead and defraud people by creating his own witnesses after the fact. That he could have done such a clumsy job should disqualify him for higher office on that basis alone.

Posted by Captain Ed at August 14, 2004 01:25 AM

[Quick_Rod]

Here is another mystery since this thread is about when Kerry took over the duties of PCF94.

I did a search for the exact date which Ted Peck sustained his injuries and from Mr. Peck himself he stated 29 January 1969 in an article that appeared on Boston.com's website dated April 23, 2004.

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

Now all of Kerry's records refer to a late January 1969 time period (his other swift boat patrol command is general as well) for this command assignment. It's strange enough when you look at all the other specific dates listed on his time line website.

http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/service_timeline.html

I then did a search to see if I could find the history of PFC94 (hopefully from a government website) and came across this news release http://releases.usnewswire.com/printing.asp?id=143-04232004 dated the exact same day as the story concerning Peck's injuries, April 23, 2004, referencing his "Official Naval Records". On it was the following;

"The direct address for PFC 94's After-Action Combat reports is: http://www.johnkerry.com/about/combat_reports.html

The direct address for the Command History of Coastal Division 11 - 1969 is: http://www.johnkerry.com/about/command_history.html"

But strangely enough neither of these two links are active yet the others continue to work.

Why would a news source report on this story and then remove the source documents from the article? Was another lie uncovered?

[claudiustg]

---The crewman with the best view of the action was Frederic Short, the man in the tub operating the twin guns. Short had not talked to Kerry for 34 years, until after he was recently contacted by a Globe reporter. Kerry said he had "totally forgotten" Short was on board that day.---

Ooopps!

[Dr. Eckleburg]

And still more paid shills are uncovered among the Manchurian Candidate's entourage.

[Quick_Rod]

Does not explain the angle of the shadows.

No matter how fast one moves you will never be able to get ahead of your own shadow.

[Nov3]

It is the rear gun with a cover. The bump appears to be a charging handle. Am I missing something.

Let's find Alston's billet for these dates! That is hard evidence.

[MeekOneGOP]

---

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.

---

Again, what a LIAR Kerry is !

John Kerry wrote his Review for "Apocalypse Now" on Oct 14, 1979 in the Boston Herald.

Here is the article in JPG format.

Thank you, thank you FreeRepublic.com !

---

In the BOTTOM JPG, check out the TOP RIGHT paragraph regarding Cambodia .....

"On more than one occasion, I, like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, took my patrol boat into Cambodia. In fact, I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real."

There is the lie. He NEVER WAS in Cambodia. The Swiftboat book Unfit for Command addresses that issue. And Nixon, who had WON election in November 1968, did not take office until January, 1969.

John Kerry is a LIAR! I think mostly Bush haters would vote for Kerry. I say George Bush in a landslide win November 2nd !

John Kerry's "Apocalypse Now" fantasy in Cambodia.
Great scan of 1979 newpaper article.

[EdReform]

read thread later

[TruBluKentuckian]

The whole area in the oval I put in the picture shows evidence of airbrushing... it's actually more obvious when you look at the original with no magnification. There is blurring there that can't be natural.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I can't explain the shadows, but the existance of another shot with the same guys with different expressions and positions makes the fake photo theory less likely to me.

Maybe a Photoshop expert could tell for sure.

[dread78645]

Would it even be possible for a relatively junior petty officer to "take command" as OIC on a Swift?

Chiefs and PO1s would command PBRs. I don't know about PCFs, but I'd doubt it.
I think Del Sandusky was making a weak joke here ...

[texasbluebell]

Why would this surprise anybody? He took people who never even served in Vietnam to testify before Congressional committees. I want to know who pays those guys' expenses.

Howlin, I think it all goes back to that blankety-blank Fulbright who was so encouraging towards Kerry in that visit to Congress that Kerry made in 71, which cspam played a few months ago, in which Kerry proceeded to malign his fellow soldiers.

Fulbright also mentored along that sack of lard clinton.

Unfortunately, since Fulbright has gone to his reward, I can no longer tell him where to go, though I would like to.

But he did a lot to hurt this country over several decades in DC, and his legacy lives on in those 2 jerks.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

If you were going to fake one shot, maybe you'd cover yourself by making several.

[No Surrender No Retreat]

Communist traitors helping other communist, through lies, deceptions and propaganda. Kerry and the DNC would not know the truth if they tripped over it. Kerry, (Lies-R-Us)Bush/Cheney 2004

[alwaysconservative]

This story was initially posted by FReeper The_Bandit, wasn't it? Kewl, that we're that far ahead of the game.

[texasbluebell]

I think what Alston's speech was all about (and I didn't listen to it, am just now reading your excerpt) is this. It's misdirecting any attention that might have been uncovered about Kerry peeling out of there during that incident when Rassmann was thrown overboard.

Kerry ran for cover then, and came back to pick up the guy who fell off the boat, but the issue they're trying to cover up is Kerry's cowardice when he ran with his boat in the heat of a battle.

Do I have the circumstances correct, re: that incident? Anyone certain? I think this is approximately what was going on, and Alston's speech was to erase any lingering memories others may have of that.

[MediaMole]

It is too difficult to tell in that image, the image is full of jpeg artifacts because it is highly compressed. The blurring could be jpeg artifacts. Look at the forehead of the guy to the left, there are artifacts around his glasses and then his forehead has no detail.

If anyone can point me to a higher quality copy of the image I would appreciate it.

[dread78645]

Do we know EXACTLY when did Kerry start serving on Swift Boats and which ones?

Not really but this Fitness Report Analysis looks as good as any.

Short version (comments in parenthesis are my own):

08 Nov - 06 Dec CosDiv14 Boston Whaler (transferred a few days after his first Purple Heart "action")
06 Dec - 13 Dec CosDiv11 PCF44 OIC (or under observation of Lt. Wright, the "real" PCF44 OIC?)
14 Dec - 28 Jan CosDiv13 Unknown (awaiting his own craft to command --or undergoing "re-training" due to Wright's poor opinion of Kerry?)
29 Jan - 26 Mar CosDiv11 Mar PCF94 OIC (After Lt. Peck was wounded)
27 Mar - 31 Jul MSTSA Admiral's aide (Combat vet in MSC ?)

[Aliska]

It says Charlotte Observer, July 27, 2004

with other detailed info about Alston's service, that "Kerry took over command of Alston's boat, PCF-94, after a battle in which the boat's previous lieutenant had been injured. Alston was also wounded in that fight, a clean gunshot through the arm."

The scar on his head might be totally unrealted.

[texasbluebell]

Those are probably what was being discussed a few days ago, when people were noticing that items were being deleted from the Kerry website -- I believe people were saying the spot reports (I think that's what they were mentioning) from Jan 69 were being deleted.

Those links were probably working just fine in April at the time the article you mention was written.

[FairOpinion]

Thanks for the timeline.

14 Dec - 28 Jan CosDiv13 Unknown (awaiting his own craft to command --or undergoing "re-training" due to Wright's poor opinion of Kerry?)


I think it should be very interesting to find out where Kerry really was during this time.