Kerry's Medical Records Don't Jive

Wash Times ^ | Charles Hurt

[The Bandit]

The military records that Sen. John Kerry posted on his Web site yesterday raise new questions about the actions he took to earn several prestigious war medals and whether he deserved them.

The Navy awarded Mr. Kerry three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in just four months of commanding a gunboat along rivers in Vietnam. It's an extraordinary record, say many veterans, and one that raises questions on its face.

[PeterPrinciple]

shipped his butt out of the command, before he got someone killed.

The Peter Principle has been around for awhile and is actually useful at times.

[soozla]

"God, am I behind the times, or what!!! Here I am thinking that purple hearts are reserved for grievous injuries: missing limbs, serious internal injuries, etc."

No, you're not behind the times............until John Effin' Kerry, that's what my family thought, too!! My brother-in-law received a Purple Heart for HIS service in Nam too, but he came back paralyzed, from the chest down, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I think most families whose loved ones suffered battle injuries in VietNam and other wars, look upon John Effin' Kerry's record of awards as "questionable", to say the least!

[Mo1]

Question:

The distinguished medal of honor that Kerry received .. how many of them were awarded to soldiers during Vietnam ?

[kellynla]

"Requesting a purple heart is apparently a kind of "honor system" thing."

Let's be clear here. A Purple Heart is awarded a wounded combatant. It is NOT REQUESTED by the combatant.

I will post the military regulations for a Purple Heart.

But until now, I have never, ever heard of anyone "requesting" a Purple Heart. Which is why Kerry's C.O. looked at this clown and probably laughed at him when he "asked" for a PH with a piece of shrapnel in his hand.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[Mr Rogers]

That would make a great Freeper poster!

[kellynla]

Excellent piece. Thanks for posting it.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[kellynla]

Here is the link governing the Award of the Purple Heart: http://www.purpleheart.org/Awd_of_PH.htm

[rs79bm]

[auggy]

"He was credited with killing 20 enemy fighters."

Wow! Not only is he a hero, he is "The Terminator", also.

What a Macho Man..

[presidio9]

[VaBthang4]

JOHN KERRY IS A WAR HERO!!



...Now move along. Nothing to see hear....as I was saying, it's all Bush's fault.

[quadrant]

If John Kerry had served in the Army, I could believe so many awards in so short a period of time. Though not as conservative as the Marine Corps, the Navy is more conservative than than the Army, so it is unlikely that Kerry's actions were such as to warrant the awards he received.

[hunyb]

I find the fact he got any purple hearts an insult to my father who was shot in the head in Vietnam and got the same medal.

[auggy]

"What does that tell you about Kerry?"

Well, he definitely isn't an honorable man, nor does he have a conscience.

Sounds like the perfect candidate for a Liberal President.

[VaBthang4]

If it's this easy then I want a purple heart.

One time in Northern Kuwait, I heard an eery combatlike noise off in the distance...I was startled by this somewhat hushed, weaponized cacophony and I stumbled to the ground in terror, falling onto my canteen cup, scratching my left index finger...


...maybe I can get a purple heart ipso posto facto.

[Jokelahoma]

Well, it's important to remember that Kerry voted he was not wounded before voting that he was.

[kabar]

Based on my own experience as a naval officer who served in the same era as Kerry only twice as long, I find Kerry's evaluation reports to be average compared to his peers. The most revealing part of the reports are Section 15 of the earlier reports and section 18 of the revised form, i.e., overall evaluation. This indicates how many officers received similar ratings from the rating officer. It helps put the inflated prose into perspective.
Most of his reports cover very short periods of time. The 1 Sep 1967 - 22 Mar 1968 report on the Gridley puts Kerry in the top 2 of the total of 4 officers. The other Gridley report from another officer covering the period 23 Mar 1968 to 20 July 1968 rates Kerry 1 of 3 officers but he is not rated as outstanding. The rating officer probably just had a different standard.

There are two Vietnam reports. The report covering the period 8 Nov 1968 to 6 Dec 1968 by Hibbard is essentially nothing but unobserved. Hibbard rates 13 officers with Kerry being placed in the not-observed block of the overall evaluation along with another officer. The second major evaluation report by LCDR Elliot covers the period 14 Dec 68 to 26 Mar 69. Kerry's overall evaluation (Section 18) places him among the top 7 officers with 8 other officers being rated in a lower category.

Having written these kinds of reports, nuance and other indications help the promotion panels sort out the water walkers from the rest. I thought it was interesting that Elliot said, "LTJG Kerry was assigned to this division for only a short period of time..."

The Press will eat this stuff up because they are not familiar with the military rating system and what is average or not. Kerry was promoted to LT on January 3, two days after he was discharged and a little less than 4 years after he was commissioned. His promotion rate was average.

[Jokelahoma]

I couldn't agree more. My mother has a board full of the medals her brother (my uncle) got while in Vietnam, including the posthumously awarded Purple Heart. The fact Kerry was awarded the same medal for "bruises", and used those as a way to get home to plot the death of senators, and to lie about atrocities supposedly committed by soldiers such as my uncle, well, it's almost as though Kerry has taken the medals from those who earned them legitimately and wiped his *ss with them, laughing the whole time. Geraldo Rivera is more deserving of a Purple Heart than is Kerry, for crying out loud. How anyone could possibly consider supporting this man is far, far beyond me.

[kellynla]

"He was credited with killing 20 enemy fighters."

Another point of fact, anyone who spent one day in combat in Viet Nam will attest that because of the jungle it was practically impossible to determine number of enemy kills by anyone except for the Sniper "confirmed" kills.

[CholeraJoe]

Sgt Smokey Gordon, a machine gunner for E Company, 506th PIR in WWII received 4 Purple Hearts. 1 for a shrapnel wound to the shoulder, 1 for a bullet wound to the leg, 1 for a boil that had to be lanced, and one for a hit in the spine that paralyzed him. Smokey Gordon was a patriot and a hero. Kerry is neither.