TESTING KERRY'S MEDAL

New York Post ^ | 4/15/04 | NILES LATHEM

[kattracks]

April 15, 2004 -- John Kerry was facing questions about his celebrated war record yesterday after his former commanding officer in Vietnam said Kerry didn't deserve his first Purple Heart medal because his injuries were just a scratch. Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, who was division commander of then-Lt. j.g. Kerry's Navy unit, told The Post he opposed Kerry's petition for the Purple Heart, awarded to service people wounded in combat, for an encounter with Viet Cong smugglers Dec. 2, 1968.

[kattracks]

Kerry could put an end to this by authorizing the release of his records.

[onyx]

Kerry could put an end to this by authorizing the release of his records.

Only if he earned them.
That's his problem.

[nopardons]

Which he won't do.

Hmmmmm...so Kerry is "proud", now of what he did in Nam, but admitted, before Congress, all those years ago, that he committed war crimes? Talk about the flip-flop man!

[nopardons]

Well now, we all know that a hangnail deserves a Purple Heart,if one is JFKerry. :-(

[Nitro]

Here is an interesting historical note...

Did you know the US Government is still handing out 'Purple Hearts' made in 1945.

The secrecy of "The Manhattan Project" was so tight, they couldn't risk telling the purple heart manufacturer to stop. Someone would wonder why?

So, with that in mind, they manufactured the 1,000,000 medals.

[300winmag]

Hibbard said that despite his initial objections to the Purple Heart, Kerry apparently went over his head to petition Navy authorities for the medal.

This is the first I heard that Kerry went over his CO's head. This reinforces my suspicion that Kerry knew he had political pull, and could get away with it.

If some punk O-2 went over my head to promote himself for a Purple Heart for a suspicious scratch, I'd yank him off his boat, and assign him as PLO (permanent latrine officer) for the rest of his tour.

[AmericaUnited]

Kerry is a fraud! And he knows it. That's why he screams and squeals like a stuck pig if anyone dares questions his nam service. He has a very, very good reason to be hyper insecure.

[razorback-bert]

If my memory is correct, Kerry is on the record as going to the top to complain.

[jamaksin]

BINGO!!!

And, wonder of wonders, the "establishment media" is NOT hounding KetchUp-Kerry on this point; unlike that AWOL innuendo regarding Dubya's TANG (Texas Air National Guard) service where Bush_43 approved the release of his full military record - approximately 450 pages worth.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[Caipirabob]

So, with that in mind, they manufactured the 1,000,000 medals.

Wow, that is pretty interesting. I enjoy historical footnotes like that. Personally, and I'm sure everyone agrees, a surplus of purple hearts is something we can "live with". ; )

[zygoat]

That means he's at least one purple heart short of a transfer out of the war zone....or 8 months more combat service. Mr. Snowboard/hockey/biker/ACTION! man needs to get his ass back into action until he gets one or the other-in order to achieve the war hero status he likes to brag about.

May I suggest Fallujah as a starting point?

[Lokibob]

You will like this one then:
http://www.infomagic.net/~grog/Float.htm

Seems the Navy during WW2 sent submarines thru the Chicago sewers (called the Chicago Sanitary Canal).

[Nitro]

Angry and Navy...

I vote for George W

[laredo44]

"Look, the Navy made a decision 35 years ago to make an award based on normal procedures

And Kerry knew what the procedures were. That's why he demanded medical treatment for his scratch. What we need to know about this incident is how it differed from the hundreds of cuts each of us has received at home and treated ourselves without a trip to the emergency room.

and those of us who were there know what happened," Kerry said yesterday.

So what, exactly, is the problem with the rest of us knowing what happened? Release the records, John.

All that said, the men risked his life in service to the country, and that I must honor. Of course, I know that he knows what I must do.

[angkor]

those of us who were there know what happened," Kerry said yesterday.

Exactly. Lt. Cmdr. Hibbard was there, he denied the request, said it was a scratch, and Kerry went over his head.

[Puddleglum]

"[The medal] hasn't been questioned in 35 years . . . I'm proud of what I did on that particular night," Kerry said.

Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade called the charges "35-year old revisionist history by a political antagonist."

When they trot out Duck, Weave, and Bob to answer the question, you know something's there.

[no dems]

Somebody please tell me that the Bush/Cheney camp will have the gonads to exploit this when the campaign really heats up. Please, oh please, oh please.
I still say the GOP needs to flush Kerry out on where he stands on REPARATIONS. If he is for it, he will lose millions of Independents and Democrats. If he is against it, many, many black Americans will stay home on election day. It's a lose/lose for Kerry and a win/win for the Prez. IT'S TIME TO GET TOUGH.

[North Coast Conservative]

And I also must answer what he did when he came home. After di-di mauing on "three and you are out" he came back to the world and turned his back on his fellow Vietnam Veterans, branding them as war criminals , rapists, and murderers.

He gave "aid and comfort" to the enemy.

Gen Giap credits Kerry and the VVAW for giving them the encouragement to hang on while their partners in crime in the US Congress, (including Teddy Kennedy)gutted the American war effort.

He is a traitor, Silver Star or not.

In God We Trust…..Semper Fi!

[laredo44]

And I also must answer what he did when he came home.

Thank you for rescuing me from a "soft moment."