Posted on 04/20/2004 5:48:11 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid questions about his military records, John Kerry's campaign on Tuesday provided documentation of Vietnam War injuries that included shrapnel wounds to his arms, legs and buttocks that earned him three Purple Hearts.
Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said the campaign was in the process of compiling the rest of Kerry's naval record and planned to begin posting it on Kerry's Web site by day's end. Kerry said all his military records are available to the public during an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Meehan said the Massachusetts senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee requested a copy of his record from the Navy last month and received roughly 150 pages last week.
Conservatives, talk radio and some newspapers editorials have questioned whether Kerry was deserving of the three Purple Hearts, fueling questions about his Navy service from 1966 to 1970 and the seriousness of his injuries.
He served two tours of duty, four months on the USS Gridley frigate off Vietnam's shore and nearly five months as a swiftboat commander in the Mekong Delta. He volunteered for the second tour and earned all his medals during the second stint.
Meehan gave The Associated Press 13 pages that included documentation for the Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. The Boston Globe obtained some of the records last year for an extensive series on Kerry.
The documents also included declassified reports that briefly explain the injuries that led to Kerry's Purple Heart awards. They show Kerry had shrapnel wounds in his left thigh after his boat came under intense fire on Feb. 20, 1969, and he suffered shrapnel wounds in his left buttock and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close to his boat on March 13, 1969.
The campaign could not locate a similar report for Kerry's original Purple Heart. As evidence that Kerry was wounded, Meehan showed The Associated Press a "Sick Call Treatment Record" from Kerry's personal files that included a brief written note dated Dec. 3, 1968, and stamped from the naval support facility at Cam Ranh Bay.
"Shrapnel in left arm above elbow. Shrapnel removed and appl bacitracin dressing. Ret to Duty," it said. The note is followed by a signature that appears to say "JCCarreon" and some illegible letters that Meehan said probably designate the medical official's rank.
Meehan said the campaign would allow a reporter to see the record at the campaign's headquarters, but not take a copy. He said it would not be made available to the public because Kerry considers it a private medical record.
Documentation for the second two injuries show that Kerry was deemed to be in good condition and returned to active duty after treatment. The documentation does not describe the severity of the injuries. A third Purple Heart meant Kerry could be reassigned out of Vietnam, and a document dated March 17, 1969, said Kerry requested duty as a personal aid in Boston, New York or the Washington, D.C., area.
Meehan said although Kerry could have asked to stay in Vietnam, it was the Navy's decision to request that he be reassigned. Kerry left the country in early April 1969.
Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager, accused Kerry's campaign of waffling on the release of his military records, saying the campaign's position on Tuesday to release the records in "due diligence" is contrary to Kerry's comments on "Meet the Press" that the records would be made public immediately.
"Senator Kerry's record of nondisclosure and his flip-flop on this issue should concern voters," Mehlman said.
Meehan responded, "Senator Kerry's record on the military is one we are running on, not running from. We are happy to compare Senator Kerry's record of service to anybody in the Bush campaign who has or has not served."
Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, but did not serve in combat. Bush released hundreds of pages of his Vietnam-era military records in February to counter Democrats' suggestions that he shirked his duty in the Texas Air National Guard.
The White House said the documents comprise his entire military record. The records did not provide evidence that Bush was in Alabama during a period when Democrats have questioned whether he reported for service.
Kerry on Friday questioned Republicans who avoided the war and now criticize him on national security, but he didn't mention Bush.
"I fought under that flag and I saw that flag draped over the coffins of friends," Kerry said. "I'm tired of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and a bunch of people who went out of their way to avoid the chance to serve when they had the chance."
The Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers who are wounded or killed by enemy forces. The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action, and the Bronze Star is for heroic achievement.
Kerry received the Bronze Star for his actions after being wounded by the mine, which led to the third Purple Heart. According to his citation, one of Kerry's boatmates was thrown overboard and Kerry pulled him to safety with "his arm bleeding and in pain and with disregard for his personal safety." Kerry and the man, retired Los Angeles police officer Jim Rassmann, had an emotional public reunion in January, two days before Kerry would win the Iowa caucuses.
___
On the Net:
Facsimiles of Kerry's Purple Heart citations are available at:
http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/purplehearts.pdf
Facsimiles of Kerry's bronze and silver star citations are available at:
http://wid.ap.org/documents/kerry/stars.pdf
Facsimiles of reports describing Kerry's wounds are available at:
Maybe he told them he was queer. He's the girly boy type. Maybe they just figured he was.
When he jumped on the Bush Guard Duty bandwagon, his untouchability went POOF!
Spin, hell. They're out right editing and rewording Kerry's comments! It's unbelievable! This reporter is acting like he (or she) is the Kerry Campaign's communications director. For instance:
Kerry on Friday questioned Republicans who avoided the war and now criticize him on national security, but he didn't mention Bush."I fought under that flag and I saw that flag draped over the coffins of friends," Kerry said. "I'm tired of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and a bunch of people who went out of their way to avoid the chance to serve when they had the chance."
I don't have the exact quote at hand from another source for comparison, but I *think* words may have actually been left out within the quotation marks. In any case I remember hearing Kerry's comment well enough to know that the reporter has absolutely changed the sense of it with his introductory sentence.
Kerry was most definitely NOT complaining about criticism of his position(s) on "national security". That may be what the reporter thinks Kerry should have said, but it's nothing like what Kerry did say.
Kerry complained in plain English (or as plain as his English ever gets anyway) about Republicans in the Bush administration/campaign attacking his patriotism.
Bear in mind that the distinction has been frequently drawn by pundits and campaigners on both sides between attacking a person's record or policy on the one hand, and attacking a person's patriotism (or engaging in some other personal, ad hominem attack) on the other. Kerry's comments quite unambiguously fell on one side of that dichotomy (in so far as what he was accusing Republicans of doing) and the reporter, on his/her own initiative, just picked them up and moved them to the other side of the dichotomy!!!
Apparently this reporter knows that on one (in the Bush administration/campaign) has attacked Kerry's "patriotism." The reporter is sufficiently embarrassed for Kerry, so it would seem, that he/she has actually corrected Kerry (in surreptitious, Orwellian fashion by editing the historical record). Either that or the reporter is massively incompetent, yet this report is full of such covering for Kerry gaffes/exaggerations/misstatements.
That's good. That's real good. A keeper.
This seems to be a Kerry theme....here are just a few of the various Kerry quotes found on Google....they go on and on...
"I know what it's like to try to choose between friend and foe in a foreign country when you're carrying out the policy of your nation,"
"I know what it's like for these guys, who are going down streets and they suck in their breath, and they don't know where the rocket's coming from, and they're standing guard and they don't know if the station wagon that's driving at them is a bomb or a family.."
"I know what it's like to be spied on by the government, because that's what they did to me when I came back and stood up against the war."
"But I know what it's like to come from behind. I'm known as a good closer, and I intend to be a good closer in this campaign.''
And this is REALLY interesting....from a Dec. 4, 2002 article, quoting John Kerry on MTP:
He continued, "I've seen people die and I know what it's like to almost die. I don't think that -you know, dying is scary for a while, but in the end, the punishment is gone. When you're alive and you're deprived of your freedom each day … that is tough, my friend."
Almost verbatim what he said on TODAY's MTP
I want to see that signature.
If that was a Corpsman's signature, that would be the smoking gun that documents that Kerry sea lawyered himself into a phony Purple Heart which he later used to sea lawyer himself out of combat after only 4 months of service.
Good point. The Democrats thought they had questions about Bush's military records!!!
I'll bet the Democrats know the real story, and that's why Hillary is being wooed by the press. It's not too late for a presidential draft, you know.
And from what I understand from other articles, the first was received within 24 hours of his arrival in Vietnam. Fast work!
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