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.-

[Cloud William]

All this was in 'They Were Expendable' by Commander Bulkelly, covering all the MTB operations out of Corrigidor, published at the end of WWII. Funny thing, in all the run up to the 1960 election and since, this book has never been reprinted, not even in paperback.

Actually, They Were Expendable is available at Amazon. The author's name is White; Bulkelly (sp?) was one of the officers who related the stories (much like the way Stephen Ambrose would later compile the stories of D-Day veterans). I can't tell when the most recent publication date was, but it's a modern paperback with a UPC barcode on the back cover.

I always liked the movie; now I'll have to pick up a copy of the book.

[Republican Wildcat]

Keep us posted.

[MJY1288]

Here is my take on John Kerry's service, I have read countless articles both pro and con, and after a couple hundred articles, public statements, sworn testimony, accounts from those who served with him, Military publications, Archived articles, and first hand "Letters to the Editor" of serving with John Kerry, I have concluded this......

John Kerry was born into a very wealthy family, he spent his teenage years hanging around John F. Kennedy and other North Eastern media elites. He chose the Navy in an effort to emulate John F. Kennedy, and I believe he had someone in the Navy looking after him in an effort to groom him for later political aspirations.

John Kerry received three Purple Hearts, one Bronze Star and one Silver Star in 4 months of service on a Swift Boat on the Mekong Delta. The descriptions of the wounds he received seem to any reasonable person as "Minor". The story behind his Silver Star is at least suspect, and I still can't find a story on how he earned his Bronze Star.

I understand that John Kerry served his country in Vietnam, and so did hundreds of thousands of others. They all have records and so does John Kerry. Since George W. Bush released all of his records while serving in the Texas Air National Guard, I thing it's time we all see John Forbes Kerry's Military records.

When that demand is made..... be prepared for the cries of foul play, just like the cries of foul play we are hearing about Ann Coulter article on how Max Cleland's lost his three limbs in Vietnam.

In my best Jack Nicholson voice, I will say this..... Hey you Liberals.... You say you want the truth..... You can't handle the truth

[Cloud William]

Re: # 63... what a great picture. Kerry always looks like he's caught a whiff of low tide down by the cannery.

[Republican Wildcat]

That would seem to explain quite a bit.

[kennedy]

WHEN IS THIS COWARD GOING TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY THE MEDIA?

When pigs fly out of Dan Rather's butt?

[MEG33]

I have heard before how beaching the boat was not good.

This is not a thing to use in the election,could be offensive to some ,but it does make you wonder about the Kennedy connection being more than previoualy thought.

[nopardons]

BTT

[Aliska]

I read that Kerry had his records sealed.

I heard that the paperwork for the medals was in Kerry's own handwriting. I'll see if I can come up with a source.

[sonofatpatcher2]

E-mailed to friends@foxnews.com

CCs to brenda.parsons@version.net, Midnightvette@cs.com, jsm4914@peoplepc.com, JLavoie101@.aol.com, tnfayette@aol.com, bkreyer@egcrc.net, russpr@st-tel.net, twright3@hotmail.com, johnbrown578@aol.com, jbrook1029@aol.com, seascow@msn.com, jlmiller@tscnet.com, tpeck49@cableone.net, Jenereski@aol.com, ndc@mwwed.com, bogey67401@yahoo.com, dalyeame@midusa.net, buddyb@atlantic.net, algarza@earthlink.net, oneilljohn@copn.com, hmcconnell@daytonalaw.com, ElbowG97@aol.com

Hey,
something's fishy here. You at "Fox & Friends" have the resources to check this out. Ask a few of the military folks you have and see if they agree with the following:

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


Posted on 02/18/2004 10:06:40 PM CST by 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.-


Posted at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1080942/posts
See also: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1080011/posts

I've sent CCs to the members of Kerry's Boat Squadron I could find. Hopefully, one or more of them will come foward to set the record straight.

[Bobibutu]

http://www.pcf45.com/home.html

A piece of the puzzle ..

I was there from 66 - 69 (incountry) and off and on from 70 - 72.

I have no experience with the Swift boats in the Delta but spent time there.

I agree - Kerry's story stinks. Heros don't flout their awards. I never could get my relatives to talk about WW2 or Korea where they were decorated - "Just doin' my job"

B

[spodefly]

Phoney Two-faced Poser Politician BUMP

[Southack]

"Interesting opinion here."

Perhaps, but it also reeks of "setup."

Oh, "Kerry's having an affair." Not.
Oh, "Kerry's medals were scammed." Not.
Oh, "Insert wild goose chase here." Not.

Look, Kerry is an uber-liberal New England perfumed prince son of priviledge.

He's so pro-gay that he can claim to be "anti-gay-marriage" and the Gay Lobby just winks, laughs, and sends him more money.

He's so enviromental that he can tell Union boss Hoffa, Jr. that he is all for drilling as many oil wells in Alaska as possible, and the Greens just laugh, wink, and send him more campaign ca$h.

He's so anti-war that he can vote *for* our invasion of Iraq and the peaceniks just laugh, wink, and send him more money. In short, Kerry's public record cements in most red and blue state voters against and for him.

...but none of that puts him into the White House. All that does is re-win for him in 2004 the states that Gore won in 2000.

And that means that he *loses* in 2004 just like Gore lost in 2000.

So what Kerry needs is to be seen as a victim. It needs to appear as though the great right wing is being unfair to him. It needs to be so unfair in appearance that independent voters in enough states give him the sympathy vote.

And I'm very leary of all of these anti-Kerry "non-scandals" that seem to be appearing first from known rats such as the non-afair rumour from Wesley Clark's aide.

Let me be frank about this matter: even if true, these rumors and scandals do us Pubbies no good. The Gore-2000 states aren't going to be turned off by such things (at least, not if they apply to their guy).

So there is No "upside" to pursuing such filth.

On the other hand, if we get caught hyping a planted, scandalous rumor that turns out to be untrue, then there is an enormous downside risk to us in that a sympathy vote could be generated for Kerry.

So enough of the tabloid chasing, people. These matters can only burn us.

[Howlin]

Duly chastised, sir! And, of course, you're right.

[Southack]

c#93

[wolficatZ]

If you've ever seen the documentary "Be Good, Smile Pretty", there is something rather strange and disingenuous about Kerry when Tracy Droz Tragos first meets him to talk about her father, at least it seemed to me that way; and I first saw the documentary  before Kerry entered the race; I barely knew anything about him or had heard him speak at the time. He struck me as being aloof and phony in the documentary, even though there is a pic of him with her father in Vietnam.

Maybe that's just his natural behavior.

Has anyone here ever seen this documentary?

 

http://www.justasailor.com/43death.html

 

http://orphansofwar.org/journey.html

[etcb]

I have no doubt that his individual service records are subject to the Privacy Act, but the after action reports and award recommendations should be contained in the unit records. Those records are not subject to his or any other individual service member's control. Since all of these boats have been retired and the units disbanded, the records should be archived somewhere. It would be a matter of tracing the command structure for the riverboats and making a detailed Freedom of Information Act request for the appropriate time period. Very little happens in the military that is not documented in some way.

[MEG33]

I agree that it could backfire ...really turn people off.

Kerry has so much that can be used against him..His very liberal anti national security,anti tax cut liberal voting record is plenty,although I really hold his betrayal of his comrades in arms against him personally.

[PISANO]

I, too, had questions about Kerry's service, but only suspicions. However your EXPERIENCE and first hand knowledge lend new credence to those suspicions. I might add that I have never known any combat VET of any WAR to trumpet himself the way Kerry has. It smacks of "STOLEN VALOR".

[Waco]

Looks like kerry's military tour was a pre-planned scam/sham to be used for his benefit at some "future" time.