Kerry's PCF (Swift) Boats Records [Where Is He?]

Swift Boats Net ^ | Composite

[Hon]

Kerry commanded his first swift boat, No. 44, from December 1968 through January 1969. He received no medals while serving on this craft.

Kerry experienced his first intense combat action on Dec. 2, 1968. He was slightly wounded on his arm, earning his first Purple Heart.

In late January 1969, Kerry joined a five-man crew on swift boat No. 94 completing 18 missions over 48 days, almost all of them in the Mekong Delta.

Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a minor shrapnel wound in his left thigh on Feb. 20, 1969.

---

February 28, 1969: When Kerry's Patrol Craft Fast 94 received a B-40 rocket shot from shore, he hot dogged his craft beaching it in the center of the enemy position. To his surprise, an enemy soldier sprang up from a hole not ten feet from Patrol Craft 94 and fled. The boat's machine gunner hit and wounded the fleeing Viet Cong as he darted behind a hootch. The twin .50s gunner fired at the Viet Cong. He said he "laid 50 rounds" into the hootch before Kerry leaped from the boat and dashed in to administer a "coup de grace" to the wounded Viet Cong. Kerry returned with the B-40 rocket and launcher. Kerry was given a Silver Star for his actions.

---

Kerry and crew stand together in An Thoi, Vietnam, on February 28, 1969, after presentation of Kerry's Silver Star. He also received a Purple Heart for a minor wound. From left: Del Sandusky, John Kerry, Gene Thorson, Thomas Belodeau. Kneeling from left, Mike Medeiros, Fred Short.

---

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. PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) 94 crew in March 1969, from left, Gene Thorson, David Alston, Thomas Belodeau, Del Sandusky, and John Kerry.

PCF 44
Crew	e-mail Address	Dates	Base	Comments
		17 April 1966	Cam Ranh Bay	first arrived in South Vietnam
Leland M. Mills, LT, OinC		4/66-??	Cam Ranh Bay	??Glenview, IL??
George Hoover, BM2		4/66-??	Cam Ranh Bay
David Franklin Parsons Jr, RM3	brenda.parsons@version.net	4/66-??	Cam Ranh Bay	Lakeland, FL
Francis Joseph "Sonny" Buchta, EN3		4/66-5/66	Cam Ranh Bay	Dayton, TX
Cox, GMG3		4/66-??	Cam Ranh Bay
Wayne Watkins, SN		4/66-??	Cam Ranh Bay
Lucian Gale Jewell, EN1		5/66-1/67	Cam Ranh Bay	Dawson Springs, KY
James A. Colombo, LT, OinC	Midnightvette@cs.com	??-6/67	Cam Ranh Bay	Hagerstown, MD
James Stephen Matheny, RMSN	jsm4914@peoplepc.com	3/67-6/67	Cam Ranh Bay	Granite, IL
Michael Gene Cosper, GMG3		??-6/67	Cam Ranh Bay
Gary Earl Nolan, RM3		??-6/67	Cam Ranh Bay
Ralph E. Duerre, LTJG, OinC		?/67-12/67	Cam Ranh Bay	was from Ithaca, NY
Joseph R. LaVoie II, QM1	JLavoie101@.aol.com	67-68	Cam Ranh Bay	Kent, WA
W.P. "Sonny" Taylor, RD2	tnfayette@aol.com	5/67-3/68	Cam Ranh Bay	Oakland, TN
		12/27/67-4/30/68		overhaul in Sasebo, Japan
Robert T. Grace, LTJG, OinC		5/68-??	Cam Ranh Bay	Virginia Beach, VA
MacKinnon, QM2		5/68-??	Cam Ranh Bay
Goss, BM3		5/68-??	Cam Ranh Bay
Anthony, EN2		5/68-??	Cam Ranh Bay
Donald J. Shaw, RD2		5/68-7/68	Cam Ranh Bay	Northbrook, IL
Robert Allen Kreyer, GMG2	bkreyer@egcrc.net	5/68-8/68	Cam Ranh Bay	Novoto, CA
John Everet Repshire, EN1	russpr@st-tel.net	6/68-??	Cam Ranh Bay	Russell Springs, KS
Peter V. Carey, LTJG, OinC			Cam Ranh Bay	was from Farmington, CT
Thomas Williams Wright III, LT, OinC	twright3@hotmail.com	11/68-4/69	An Thoi	Savannah, GA
James T. Thompson, EN2		11/68-4/69	An Thoi
George E. Bobb III, RD3		11/68-4/69	An Thoi	Westerville, OH
William J. Newman, BM3		11/68-4/69	An Thoi
Donald Eugene Kinser, BMSN		11/68-4/69	An Thoi
Frederick  J. Nastasuk, GMGSN		11/68-4/69	An Thoi
Michael A. Adkins, LTJG, OinC		6/69-5/70		La Mesa, CA
		31 October 1969	Saigon	transferred to South Vietnamese Navy
PCF 3851

- PCF 44 and 6 other swifts were delivered to Cam Ranh Bay, from Subic Bay, PI, onboard the USS Tortuga, LSD-29 on 17 April 1966.   While offloading, at night, from the LSD, one (1) boat suffered a damaged screw and four (4) others damaged skegs.

- PCFs 43, 44 and 47 stopped an infiltration attempt by taking an enemy arms trawler under fire and destroying it, 29 February 1968.

- In August 1969, a ceramic gunshield was installed on mount 52 for evaluation.   The disadvantages of restricting the movement of the .50 caliber mount, with the after pin removed, the restricted viewing area, due to the height of the shield, and the fact that it was a one shot item, that would have to be replaced after any damage, ruled out any further installations.

PCF 94
Crew	e-mail Address	Dates	Base	Comments
		October 1966	An Thoi	first arrived in South Vietnam
Thomas S. Winslow, LTJG, OinC		5/67-5/68	An Thoi	Oakland, CA
Quint, RM1		5/67-5/68	An Thoi
Carlyle John Brown, EN2	johnbrown578@aol.com	5/67-5/68	An Thoi	Watervliet, MI
Guraltemo, GMG2		5/67-5/68	An Thoi
James L. Brookshire, BM3	jbrook1029@aol.com	5/67-12/67	An Thoi
Mike ????, SN		5/67-5/68	An Thoi	Navajo Indian
Thomas M. Herritage II, OinC		3/68-3/69		Novi, MI
Larry James Balok, OinC	seascow@msn.com	7/68-11/68	An Thoi	Bradenton, FL
James L. Miller, RD1	jlmiller@tscnet.com	7/68-11/68	An Thoi
Kenneth Poole, EN2		7/68-11/68	An Thoi
Vern Radcliff, GMG3		7/68-11/68	An Thoi
		11/9/68-1/17/69		overhaul at NSF Cat Lo
Edward Robert "Tedd" Peck, LTJG, OinC	tpeck49@cableone.net	1/69-1/69	An Thoi	Santa Rosa, CA
Delbert Sandusky, QM1		1/69-1/69	An Thoi
Eugene Kenneth "Thor" Thorson, EN2		1/69-1/69	An Thoi	Ames, IA
Michael Richard Eugene Medeiros, QM2		1/69-1/69	An Thoi	San Leandro, CA
Stanley E. Jenereski, RD2	Jenereski@aol.com	1/69-1/69	An Thoi	Southborough, MA
Daniel Salinas II, LTJG, OinC		1/69-??	An Thoi
Joseph Edward Muharsky, RD2	ndc@mwwed.com	1/69-4/69	An Thoi	Mentor, OH
Larry G. Potter, QM2		1/69-??	An Thoi
James Barry Bogart, EN3	bogey67401@yahoo.com	1/69-8/69	An Thoi	Salina, KS
Dalmas K. Coates, BM3	dalyeame@midusa.net	1/69-??	An Thoi	Wamego, KS
Chris Whalen, GMGSN		1/69-??	An Thoi
Henry "Buddy" Berman, QM2	buddyb@atlantic.net	5/69-7/69	An Thoi	DeLeon Springs, FL
Alfonso Abrego Garza, RD3	algarza@earthlink.net	6/69-6/70	An Thoi/Cat Lo	Richmond, TX
John Ellis O'Neill, LTJG, OinC	oneilljohn@copn.com	9/69-3/70	An Thoi/Cat Lo	Houston, TX
Harry George McConnell, LTJG, OinC	hmcconnell@daytonalaw.com	12/69-11/70	Cat Lo	Ormond Beach, FL
Bradford Miles Slepicka, RD3	ElbowG97@aol.com	9/70-10/70	Cat Lo/Sa Dec	Katy, TX
		1 October 1970	Cat Lo	transferred to South Vietnamese Navy
PCF 3915

- On 29 January 1969, PCFs 5, 72, 93 and 94, together with units of COSDIV 13, conducted operations in the Cua Lon river.  PCFs 72 and 94 came under fire while probing a side canal resultings in 3 USN WIA and light damage to PCF 94.

- PCF-94, in company with PCFs 22, 35 and VNN PCF-3806, 14 January 1970, were supporting a troop sweep when PCF-94 was hit by a claymore mine resulting in two (2) friendly WIA and damage to the hull and one engine.

- While patrolling on the Rac Giang Thanh, 25 April 1970, PCFs 3 and 94 came under heavy AK-47 and B-40 rocket attack.  Three (3) B-40 rockets detonated close aboard PCF-94, causing shrapnel damage, the starboard bow was also hit by 9 AK-47 rounds.  One crewman on PCF-3 was wounded.  The PCFs suppressed the fire and then spotted for a SEAWOLVES strike on the surrounding area.

[demlosers]

I thought it was illegal to use 50 cal on human targets?

Nope.

[backhoe]

I'll cross link this to this:

-John Kerry- some selected, informative links...--

-and email to the Usual Suspects across the 'net.

[Weimdog]

Find his military records first before you try to skewer him. By cutting and pasting websites together to make your point is a bit cheap don't you think?

Stooping to the Dems level does not serve conservatives well or this website.

[yatros from flatwater]

Here he is, OinC of PCF 66, 10/68-4/69.

Interesting that there is no history of the vessel's number in any of the engagement descriptions on the page you cited.

Clerical error, I suppose.

 

PCF 66
Crew	e-mail Address	Dates	Base	Comments
		2 June 1966	Qui Nhon	first arrived in South Vietnam
Donald B. DaParma, LTJG, OinC	daparma@warwick.net	6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon	Pine Island, NY
Benjamin F. Woods Jr, BM1		6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon
Stephen J. Carney, GMG1		6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon
David W. Cristee, RM2		6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon	??Saint Albans, WV??
William E. Morrow, EN3		6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon
Jimmy D. Wells, GMG3		6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon
J.J. Vogel, SN		6/66-5/67	Qui Nhon
Thomas R. Snell, LTJG, OinC		5/67-??	Qui Nhon	was from Winston-Salem, NC
Walter Buturla, RD1		5/67-??	Qui Nhon	Pawtucket, RI
Michael A. Tortosa, BM3		5/67-??	Qui Nhon	??Bogota, NJ??
Raymond M. Larue, RD3	raynan@aol.com	5/67-??	Qui Nhon	Attleboro, MA
Michael Gary Barnes, GMGSN/3	shortoff@hci.net	5/67-??	Qui Nhon	Nebo, NC
James Calvin Willis, FN/EN3		5/67-??	Qui Nhon
William B. Hoole Jr, LT, OinC		4/68-4/69	Qui Nhon	Darlington, SC
Glenn K. Anderson, EN2		68-69	Qui Nhon
Stanley G. Simonson, GMG3		68-69	Qui Nhon
Virgil H. Chambers, RD3	vhchambers@midohio.net	4/68-10/68	Qui Nhon	Ostaander, OH
Donald Christopher Brown Jr, RDSN	d.64@insightbb.com	4/68-4/69	Qui Nhon	Bowling Green, KY
Gale Roger Kitchen Jr, GMGSN		68-69	Qui Nhon	Portsmouth, OH
John H. Davis, GMGSN	john.davis@nortrax.com	7/68-7/69	An Thoi	Yolo, CA
John Forbes Kerry, LTJG, OinC		10/68-4/69	An Thoi	Boston, MA
Michael Richard Eugene Medeiros, QM2		??-5/69	An Thoi	San Leandro, CA
Thomas M. Belodeau, RDSN		??-4/69	An Thoi	deceased 11/10/97---Dracut, MA
Charles R. Gibson, LTJG, OinC		69
Fred Burns, BM2		69
Mel Baker, RD3		69
?Gary James?"Muggsy"Montgomery, RD3		69
Donald Paul Bilodeau, RDSA		69		Union City, CA
Frederick Alan Short, GMG3	f_short@yahoo.com	2/69	An Thoi	North Little Rock, AR
		8/14-10/2/69		overhaul at NSF Cam Ranh Bay
		31 October 1969	Saigon	transferred to South Vietnamese Navy

[Hon]

Navy Cross 1
Silver Star 1
Bronze Star 26
Navy Commendation Medal 20
Purple Heart 16

Out of all of those men what are the odds that one person would get the only Silver Star, one of only 26 Bronze Stars, and THREE of the 16 Purple Hearts?

(Especially when the actions he was involved in don't even seem worth a mention in the directory's record.)

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - VNVAJK

[Salvation]

BTTT!

[Hon]

Thanks. I searched that page just to make sure, using control + f "find" and I got no hits for Kerry. Weird.

But as you say it must be a clerical error, since the rest of his crew (from the photos) are listed in the PCF 94 boat.

[cynicom]

Who put Kerry in for the silver Star??? Kerry???

[Fenris6]

I thought it was illegal to use 50 cal on human targets? - Nope Sure? I specifically remember being told during 50 cal training that it was against the Geneva Convention or something along those lines to use it on personnel - becasue I recall alot of us rolling our eyes when we heard that. But maybe I've got it mixed up with the 25mm APDST.

[Hon]

BTW, wouldn't you have thought, especially since Kerry was such a hero, that one of his fellow crew members would have corrected the list--especially since they keep it updated with email addresses and such?

[faithincowboys]

zero!!!

[T'wit]

>> I would hope we shoot the walking, armed, unsurrendered wounded. They can shoot us.

Sure, but this was a coup de grace. By definition the enemy soldier was helpless.

[VadeRetro]

It was some kind of a "hooch," which I take to mean a lightly built hut. A rocket launcher and one rocket round were recovered, brought back to the boat by Kerry. Thus, the VC soldier must be assumed a threat to destroy the boat unless one of the .50 cal rounds took him out.

I can't prove Kerry didn't shoot a dead or dying man, or a man trying to surrender. Kerry is the only one still alive who saw what happened inside the "hooch." The way the system works, we don't require proof of innocence except in the special case of the Bush ANG "AWOL" story. (But that's OK too. The proofs of innocence have been turning up.)

[Just mythoughts]

Which one of these events describes JFKerry pulling aboard that wounded Republican?

[MeekOneGOP]

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

February 28, 1969: When Kerry's Patrol Craft Fast 94 received a B-40 rocket shot from shore, he hot dogged his craft beaching it in the center of the enemy position. Kerry was given a Silver Star for his actions.

I read a more complete bio of Kerry's swift boat career, and, as I recall, he received his Silver Star in the above mentioned engagement. When he beached his boat a teenager with a B-40 jumped up aiming it at them. Probably because he was too close to safely fire, he turned around and ran. Kerry jumped off the boat, ran after him and shot him before he could fire the B-40. His action likely saved the boat and crew.

After reading the account I had to admit that it sounds like a legitimate Silver Star. I don't think his actions under fire, however, warrant the behavior Benedict Kerry displayed upon his return home.

[VadeRetro]

By definition the enemy soldier was helpless.

See post 36. "By definition?"