Posted on 08/14/2004 7:15:31 AM PDT by 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.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.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.
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
There was a post yesterday that shows that the picture put out by the campaign may have been doctored to include this person as being on Kerry's boat.
But this is great news.
Maybe Kerry can go to Najaf and get some films showing how big a hero he can be now.
I hope it's already at the printers and on the way to the newsstands, because when this comes out, that will be revealed as a lie as well. What's he going to say then, "Oh yeah, it wan't January, either. Must've been February. That's right, I remember putting ornaments on the Valentine's tree in the Officer's Quarters."
If this can be confirmed, then President Bush himself needs to be getting this out.
ping
Yes, but is it series?
Wow! I assume I should be skeptical and hesitant to accept this report as factual... I also assume that O'Reilly and the many others who have disdained the Swiftboat Vets for Truth will view this as another "low blow" and ridiculous charge/challenge to the decorated war hero (JFK).
John Kerry has made his Vietnam experience the cornerstone of his candidacy and qualifications for the presidency. While we know his record of the past 20 years in no way prepares or qualifies him for the presidency, I think it is certainly valid to question what he purports to be his primary qualifications.
Thanks for posting.
It just might be useful to start some choruses of "Say it ain't so, John!" - through the mainstream media. For example, if we emailed letters along these lines to newspaper editors along these lines - how could they protest?:
To the editor:
"The right-wing conservatives are accusing Kerry of lying about his military service and heroism. This must be stopped in its tracks. Kerry should immediately release all his military records and show the entire nation that this is all a smear campaign."
Heh-heh
It's a familiar pattern. See also the 9-11 families and Kirsten Breitweiser. Media coverage is so slanted, it is prone.
BTTT
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/page2.html
| On March 13, 1969, a mine detonated near Kerry's boat, slighting wounding Kerry in the right arm. He was awarded his third Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for valor. PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) 94 crew in March 1969, |
|
David Alston is the black fellow (in case you've been out of the loop)
Is this photo semi-staged where some served under Kerry and Alston was an add on for political correctness. Remember, in Viretnam JK often mouthed off about being president some day
That is funny!
WTF,O???
While I've never been on one, I didn't think Swift boats had any sort of galley. Why in the world would a sack of potatoes be on a Swift boat? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but this statement makes no sense to me at all.
"From Jan. 30 to March 13, 1969, Kerry and the crew of the PCF-94 would conduct 18 missions"
= 43 days, correct?
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/service_timeline.html
Late January through
Early March, 1969
Starting in late January 1969, this crew completed 18 missions over an intense and dangerous 48 days, almost all of them in the dense jungles of the Mekong Delta. Kerry's crew included engineman Eugene Thorson, later an Iowa cement mason; David Alston, then the crew's only African-American and today a minister in South Carolina; petty officer Del Sandusky of Illinois; rear gunner and quartermaster Michael Medeiros of California; and the late Tom Belodeau, who joined the crew fresh out of Chelmsford High School in Massachusetts. Others rotated in and out of the crew. The most intense action came during an extraordinary eight days of more than 10 firefights, remembered by Kerry's crew as the "days of hell."
They met, and the picture is not doctored. The falsehood is that Alston served under Kerry. Another falshood is that Alston was injured in action that in any way involved Kerry.
Kerry was a "double-naught spy" in the best tradition of Jethro Bodine.
Kerry had another boat before taking over on PCF-94 on Jan 30.
And Lt. j.g. John Kerry, whose crew on PCF-44 had rotated back home, needed men to lead.
The press needs to talk to the crew of PCF-44 about the bogus Cambodia stories and the crew of both boats about whether Alston served on the boat with Kerry.
Last I heard Al-Sadr claims to have 3 shrapnel wounds too!
I could argue that I played on the same field as Mickey Mantle. In the old days, they used to allow fans onto the field after the game. My brother and I did just that after a Yankee game, and we tossed a rubber ball to each other in the outfield. Actually, why stop there? I played on the same field as Babe Freaking Ruth.
Well...........wee doggie..........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
