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Kerry gets shrapnel in his ass-what was he doing? Diving for cover ?

I'm not here to defend John Frankburns Kerry, but have you seen Band of Brothers? I remember at least 3 of the guys in Easy Company of the 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne getting wounded in the hind end while fully engaged in opening a can of smite on the Nazis. There are a lot of ways a patrol boat skipper could catch some shrapnel in the tuchis while doing his job honorably; the skipper is not always facing the enemy directly, and even if he were at the very tip of the bow, shrapnel from a hit behind him could hit him in his stern. :-)

No one can justify a PH for a bruise, not even Kerry.

He didn't get a PH for a bruise, he got it for taking shrapnel.

"He didn't get a PH for a bruise, he got it for taking shrapnel."

"contusions on his right forearm"- is a bruise.
Someone ( Kerry ? ) listed the contusion as an injury in his PH paperwork.

" Kerry gets shrapnel in his ass-what was he doing? Diving for cover ? "

The buttock shrapnel was Kerry's 3rd and out card. According to David Brinkley-Kerry was the only one injured on his boat-in fact, no else was injured during all 3 of Kerry's engagements where he put in for the PH.

This was posted to me by mohresearcher:

"Just finished reading Douglas Brinkley's book "Tour of Duty"; Senator Kerry supplied most of the material about Kerry's war experiences in Vietnam, and Brinkley adds snippets from other published sources (mostly from a leftist perspective, but excluding extensive coverage by the Communist Party newspaper Daily World, which glorified Kerry's antiwar activities in 1971.) Anyway, I was particularly interested in knowing the details of the three Purple Hearts that Kerry was awarded for supposed combat wounds."

"Most of the men that I knew personally or read about were dead on their third Purple Heart wound in Vietnam. I am an Army veteran, and most combat units had strict rules prohibiting Rambo wannabes from claiming the Purple Heart for scratches from shrapnel that could be covered with a Band-Aid."

"Brinkley writes about Kerry's FIRST Purple Heart on pp. 146-148. The so-called action happened on December 2, 1968 in the DaNang area. Brinkley's description is glaringly vague, and BRINKLEY DOES NOT REPORT ANY OTHER CREWMEN BEING INJURED ( Caps WIR) Kerry didn't need any hospitalization for that injury, which most Army and Marine combat veterans would find suspicious. Wags might call this event Kerry's personal Gulf of Tonkin incident"

"The SECOND Purple Heart wound was on February 20, 1969 in the Delta, covered on pp. 280-288. There was enemy action recorded in detail, and Kerry had another minor shrapnel wound, for which he did not need hospitalization.AGAIN,HE WAS THE ONLY ONE INJURED ( Caps WIR). Why is he the only one very slightly wounded? "

"The THIRD Purple Heart was on March 13, 1969, also in the Delta. It was a legitimate combat wound from my reading of Brinkley's description of the action on pp. 304-317. If I read this section carefully,KERRY WAS THE ONLY ONE INJURED ON HIS SWIFTBOAT ( Caps WIR ) . Brinkley records others injured on other boats in the engagement"

"So, inquiring minds must be pondering: which came first, Kerry reading Navy regs to learn that if you had three awards of the Purple Heart you could get out of Vietnam pronto; or, a deliberate strategy on his part to get his return ticket punched a third time so he could abandon his crewmates and bug out after only four months in a combat zone? "

Kerry is the only one injured, in all 3 of his Purple Heart engagements. I wonder what odds the touts in Las Vegas would give this ?

As for Band of Brothers- it's my favorite book and series.

My favorite quote by Major Richard Winters :

"I wasn't a hero, I served in the company of heroes."