Something's fishy.

The Essex Soapbox ^ | February 17, 2004 | Mike Morrison

[Bubba_Leroy]

I've long thought that John Kerry's war record was phoney. We talked about it when you were here. It's mainly been instinct because, as you know, nobody who claims to have seen the action he does would so shamelessly flaunt it for political gain.

I was in the Delta shortly after he left. I know that area well. I know the operations he was involved in well. I know the tactics and the doctrine used. I know the equipment. Although I was attached to CTF-116 (PBRs) I spent a fair amount of time with CTF-115 (swift boats), Kerry's command.

Here are my problems and suspicions:

(1) Kerry was in-country less than four months and collected, a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three purple hearts. I never heard of anybody with any outfit I worked with (including SEAL One, the Sea Wolves, Riverines and the River Patrol Force) collecting that much hardware so fast, and for such pedestrian actions. The Swifts did a commendable job. But that duty wasn't the worst you could draw. They operated only along the coast and in the major rivers (Bassac and Mekong). The rough stuff in the hot areas was mainly handled by the smaller, faster PBRs. Fishy.

(2) Three Purple Hearts but no limp.. All injuries so minor that no time lost from duty. Amazing luck. Or he was putting himself in for medals every time he bumped his head on the wheel house hatch? Combat on the boats was almost always at close range. You didn't have minor wounds. At least not often. Not three times in a row. Then he used the three purple hearts to request a trip home eight months before the end of his tour.. Fishy.

(3) The details of the event for which he was given the Silver Star make no sense at all. Supposedly, a B-40 (rocket propelled grenade) was fired at the boat and missed. Charlie jumps up with the launcher in his hand, the bow gunner knocks him down with the twin .50 (caliber machine guns), Kerry beaches the boat, jumps off, shoots Charlie, and retrieves the launcher. If true, he did everything wrong. (a) Standard procedure when you took rocket fire was to put your stern to the action and go (away) balls to the wall. A B-40 has the ballistic integrity of a Frisbee after about 25 yards, so you put 50 yards or so between you and the beach and begin raking it with your .50's. (b) Did you ever see anybody get knocked down with a .50 caliber round and get up? The guy was dead or dying. The rocket launcher was empty. There was no reason to go after him (except if you knew he was no danger to you - just flopping around in the dust during his last few seconds on earth, and you wanted some derring-do in your after-action report). And we didn't shoot wounded people. We had rules against that, too. (c) Kerry got off the boat. This was a major breach of standing procedures. Nobody on a boat crew ever got off a boat in a hot area. EVER! The reason was simple. If you had somebody on the beach your boat was defenseless. It couldn't run and it couldn't return fire. It was stupid and it put his crew in danger. He should have been relieved and reprimanded. I never heard of any boat crewman ever leaving a boat during or after a firefight.

Something is very fishy.

Here we have a JFK wannabe who is hardly in Vietnam long enough to get a good tan, collects medals faster than Audie Murphy in a job where lots of medals weren't common, gets sent home eight months early, requests separation from active duty a few months after that so he can run for Congress, finds out war heros don't sell well in Massachusetts in 1970 so reinvents himself as Jane Fonda, throws his ribbons in the dirt with the cameras running to jump start his political career, gets Stillborn Pell to invite him to address Congress and Bobby Kennedy's speechwriter to do the heavy lifting, winds up in the Senate himself a few years later, votes against every major defense bill, says the CIA is irrelevant after the Wall (Berlin) came down, votes against the Gulf War, a big mistake since that turned out well, decides not to make the same mistake twice so votes for invading Iraq, but oops, that didn't turn out so well so he now says he really didn't mean for Bush to go to war when he voted to allow him to go to war.

I'm real glad you or I never had this guy covering out flanks in Vietnam. I sure don't want him as Commander in Chief. I hope that somebody from CTF-115 shows up with some documented facts challenging Kerry's Vietnam record.

I know in my gut it's wildly inflated. And fishy.

This e-mail was written by Mike Morrison, who won a bronze star in Vietnam and who is now retired, but wrote speeches for Lee Iacocca for many years. It was sent to his brother Ed, who sent it to one of our readers who follows such matters. -Ed.-

[WaterDragon]

What I remember about the anti-war people during those years is that they all made fun of the medals, usually saying they were handed out like candy and not worth much.

I think it's very likely that Kerry met men braver, better, more intelligent than he could ever be, while he was in Viet Nam, and that's why he trashed them all, even knowing he was endangering their lives by doing it, when he came back. What a nasty piece of work he is.

[Radix]

I was not there, and I will not likely ever know the truth about John Kerry's Viet Nam adventures. On the other hand, I live in Massachusetts, and I have seen a lot of John Kerry over the last 30 years or so. The man is completely shameless, absolutely unprincipled, and definitely the next big loser from Massachusetts who is going to have his ass kicked by George W. Bush in November.

My gut tells me that Kerry is not, nor ever has been a hero of any sort. He is simply a contemptable political operative, who has shamelessly gotten himeself into the limelight.

In Massachusetts, he is often referred to as "Live shot Kerry." He seems to love the cameras, and the stage. Perhaps the Democrat Party might consider giving Senator Kery a medal for being so willing to be a sacrificial lamb while the Hillary Beast waits in the wings for her opportunity to take over the reigns of Government and lead us all to perdition.

Hillary is one scary person, and Kerry, is an imbecile who is merely going to be one more victim of the Arkansas riff raff. I cannot decide who I despise more, the evil Clintons, or their enablers such as Kerry and his supporters.

[BigSkyFreeper]

How about a twofer?

My thought exactly.

[BigSkyFreeper]

How about a twofer?

My thought exactly.

[maica]

You must be in a very small minority at class reunions!
Did your classmates think you had lost your marbles when they learned you were a vet?

[PhilDragoo]

Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry

John Kerrys History Page

[js1138]

My college career was split into before Vietnam and after. One of my friends told the jock element I suffered from what is now called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. For several months I wondered why guys twice my size jumped aside when I walked past. (I'm really a lovable fuzzball with no agressive tendencies at all.)

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. I love the little logo "I think he's french for a reason".

[SAMWolf]

The only loser I see is Kerry.

[maica]

Now you have introduced a new thought to my aging brain. Quaker jocks!!! LOL!

My education never stops!

[PhiKapMom]

Let Freepers know if there is a cost and I bet that you will find a willing group of Freepers ready to donate to a worthy cause like this.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the ping, Phil. I don't know a darn thing about swift boats, but the whole thing does sound fishy.

[Sacajaweau]

btt

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Check out this thread. The e-mail w/ author's full name, 200+ Freeper comments...(stay tuned!)

[Lexington Green]

Excellent... Thanks

[XHogPilot]

(3) The details of the event for which he was given the Silver Star make no sense at all. /snip/ Kerry beaches the boat, jumps off, /snip/ I never heard of any boat crewman ever leaving a boat during or after a firefight.

Mike Morrison forgot to mention, that when Kerry jumped off, it was his command he was leaping from! The captain jumping off his boat, leaving other crew onboard. Un-kerrying believable.

(4) (Added) Kerry took a movie camera with him to VietNam. Filmed himself extensively. What with all the action, how could he ever have had the time. But he did. Stand by for home movies of Kerry, who served in Vietnam, running against Bush, the deserter.

Something is fishy indeed.

Thanks Bubba for posting this excellent read.

[cateizgr8]

I don't get it

[cateizgr8]

I don't get it

[cateizgr8]

I don't get it

[cateizgr8]

weird.....when I went to the post I got your profile...which is why I wrote that I didn't get it....also, I only clicked on post once & it looks like it posted several times.