Purple Hearts: Three and Out

Insight ^ | April 12, 2004 | Stephen Crump

[jcb8199]

ping

[Yaelle]

Instead of giving Kerry flip-flop sandals at appearances, what about Band-Aids? They come in so many colors and styles. I would be proud to hand the Senator a goodly supply of Scooby-Doo, Sponge Bob, and Clifford glow-in-the-dark Band-Aids. Poor li'l Senator's got himself a boo-boo.

[BlessedByLiberty]

Applause for a great idea!

I want someone to ask Kerry who tipped him off to this regulation and whether he knew about it before he left for Viet Nam. Preplanned minor injuries? One does wonder.

Kerry cannot be allowed to run as a self-declared war hero casting aspersions on President Bush with the AWOL charge and not accept questions about his own service.

Furthermore, Kerry must not be allowed to get away with not explaining why he did not report the names and incidents of the war crimes he says he witness in front of Congress. He said his fellow troops were committing daily atrocities and that they were all murderers - he owes them no less that a complete repudiation of his charges.

[MEGoody]

"It would take a miracle to win a Purple Heart at that place and time."

Well, one would hope it would take a miracle ANYWHERE to get a purple heart for a scratch on the arm. Apparently, Kerry had no respect for the guys who really got hurt.

[zygoat]

"At least Kerry left CONUS, and was actually in-country."

As opposed to whom? Even Gore was "in country" for that matter.

[SGCOS]

...Kerry is obviously hiding something. It is time for the media to start asking him hard questions.

That made me laugh out loud.

[stuartcr]

As opposed to those that did not.

[There's millions of'em]

"But Kerry met with his immediate superior officer, Lt.Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, the next morning and requested a Purple Heart for his wound. Hibbard recalls that Kerry had a "minor scratch" on his arm and was holding in his hand what appeared to be a fragment of a U.S. M-79 grenade, the shrapnel that had caused the wound. "They didn't receive enemy fire," Hibbard tells Insight. Since this was an essential requirement for the award, the commander rejected Kerry's request. Hibbard does not remember that Kerry received medical attention of any kind and confirms that no one else on the mission suffered any injuries.

His subsequent appeal for the award should be in his official file, in the Army it was called a 201 file. I would love to know the basis for his appeal.

If this article is accurate, it raises several questions. Like where is the after action report of this "mission"? What was in the Sampan and what was the fate of its occupants?

[Docbarleypop]

My Great-Uncle received 3 purple hearts and was nominated for 2 more while serving in the south pacific in WWII. Two were in the same battle. He refused to be sent home after the 3rd (due to ripped sutures). His command tried to send him home not due to a 3 times rule, but because he had kids and a wife and everyone thought he didnt have much luck left. I cant imagine him putting himself in for an award but then again he was a real man and a real American.

[SkyPilot]

http://www.stolenvalor.com/

[mabelkitty]

Whenever I receive a "stinging piece of heat", I usually peal the bee off my skin, with stinger, and put balm on it.

[bannie]

AHAHAHA! Band-Aids with little broken purple hearts on them. Just a purple heart would be too insulting to all of those wonderful, beloved, patriots who were truly injured in service for our freedom...but a BROKEN purple heart...or a broken LAVANDER heart...would hold the insult well!

[mass55th]

"I have never heard of anyone going to their superior officer "requesting" a Purple Heart! Ridiculous!"

And when he didn't get the answer he wanted, he went to his next commander to pursue his quest. His behavior sounds like the convicts I used to have to deal with. When they couldn't get their way from one officer or piece of brass, they'd continue on down the line until they got the response they wanted.

I'd like to know if Kerry's transfer after Hibbard's denial was as a result of a personal request or if it was an internal move. I'd bet Kerry requested it because he couldn't get cooperation from Hibbard on the Purple Heart. I read in one of these Kerry stories that he got the first injury within his first 24 hours in Vietnam. What a snake.

[bannie]

Parse, parse, parse. If you break it into short enough sentences, you may be able to convince yourself that what you are claiming is legitimate.

Remember billyblythe's word game: "I did not have sex with that woman.(period) Ms. Lewinski."

OR

"I did not have sex with that woman (as he looks to Madeline Albright), Ms. Lewinski." (as he imagines himself to be simply speaking TO--not ABOUT--Ms. Lewinski)

Liberal parsing games are transparent: They only work to convince the parser that he is, somehow, succeeding in his trickery.

Lawyer trickery and crap. Scheisters in the German sense of the word.

[Lion in Winter]

Had a couple of relatives killed Nam. I was too old besides I was in the Korean conflict.

I had a young relative who was the one of the best physical therapists in the Army.... he never went to Nam. He never left CONUS but he worked real hard to rehabiltate some pretty banged up soldiers. He gave 100% and then some!!! He was a real expert on helping guys with missing legs.

Are you saying or inferring that IF you didn't leave the CONUS that you did NOT contribute to the USA war effort? 'Cause if you are, hoss, you are full of______!!

[pete anderson]

Outstanding Article! Thanks for posting

President Bush should produce a campaign commercial quoting the above article while showing footage of the President delivering his Iraq War Victory speech from the Carrier Lincoln.

[stuartcr]

What I did say, was legitimate. Nothing more, nothing less. No claims to anything being made.

[Lion in Winter]

BTTT... well said!!

[Lion in Winter]

Could just be that he is a mere dim bulb on the billboard of life. : ^ )

[Tribune7]

The story's starting to get legs.