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Discrepancies noted in Kerry's record, Ex-skipper says website wrong
The Boston Globe ^
| 4-23-04
| By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff
Posted on 04/23/2004 3:22:07 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON -- Vietnam combat records posted on John F. Kerry's campaign website for the month of January 1969 as evidence of his service aboard swift boat No. 94 describe action that occurred before Kerry was skipper of that craft, according to the officer who said he commanded the boat at the time.
On the site, the Massachusetts senator is described as the skipper of Navy boat No. 94 during several actions in late January 1969.
However, Edward Peck, who was the skipper of the 94 before Kerry took over, said combat reports posted by the campaign for January 1969 involve action when he was the skipper, not Kerry. Peck, who was seriously wounded in fighting that took place on Jan. 29, 1969, said he believes Kerry campaign aides made a mistake in claiming Kerry as skipper of the 94 at that time.
On the Kerry website, the report of the combat on that day on the 94 boat is posted as occurring during Kerry's time as skipper of the boat. Peck said Kerry replaced him after the Jan. 29, 1969, event.
"Those are definitely mine," Peck said, referring to the combat reports that the Kerry campaign posted as representing Kerry's action. "There is no doubt about it."
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: edwardpeck; election2004; kerry; kerrylies; ketchup; liar; lies; lurch; militaryrecord; peck; phoney; vietnam; vietnamveterans; zero
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Peck, who was seriously wounded in fighting that took place on Jan. 29, 1969, said he believes Kerry campaign aides made a mistake in claiming Kerry as skipper of the 94 at that time. A misTAKE? Yeah, Right. That's what it was. Uh-huh. A mistake.
21
posted on
04/23/2004 4:17:08 AM PDT
by
BlessedBeGod
('I went to Vietnam, yada yada yada, I want to be President...")
To: Oldeconomybuyer
"I was on the 94 before I was not on the 94."
22
posted on
04/23/2004 4:17:28 AM PDT
by
auboy
To: Dog Anchor
"He won five medals, which is five more than George Bush won."You don't "win" medals, newbie. They're awarded. Now...........wanna talk about his Purple Hearts, smart guy?
To: BlessedBeGod
Mistake? I thought they were going by Kerry's military records?
24
posted on
04/23/2004 4:23:38 AM PDT
by
dalebert
To: auboy
LOL....John *Bacitracin* Kerry padding his war record again.
To: governsleastgovernsbest
The Globe has got to attack this guy. He's been a Senator up there a long time. They can't get scooped. It already looks like they haven't been doing their job.
Of course, the Senior Senator from that state has been there a long time as well, and he would be EVEN EASIER to sink.
*oops*
26
posted on
04/23/2004 4:26:15 AM PDT
by
steveyp
To: turbocat
There are clever people here that save things.
27
posted on
04/23/2004 4:27:23 AM PDT
by
MEG33
(John Kerry's been AWOL for two decades on issues of National Security!)
To: All
I cannot find exactly where the Globe found these comments - anyone know or have they already been pulled?
28
posted on
04/23/2004 4:28:44 AM PDT
by
turbocat
To: Oldeconomybuyer; maica; Travis McGee
bump
To: dalebert; kcvl
Did Kerry claim a injury in this battle?
30
posted on
04/23/2004 4:31:54 AM PDT
by
Dog
To: auboy
auboy said:
"I was on the 94 before I was not on the 94."
Oh. I will have a good day after that one.
Kerry is a laugh riot. Every day brings something new. I hope he stays healthy enough to stay out of the hospital for a couple of months so I can get some of this everyday.
31
posted on
04/23/2004 4:33:43 AM PDT
by
steveyp
To: kcvl
"I think somebody made a mistake who doesn't know" the timing of Kerry's service, Elliott said. Kerry was skipper of boat No. 44 in December and January before taking over command of the 94, he said. This story is really beginning to stink. With all the hoopla surrounding Kerry's service record, don't you think that somebody very senior at the Kerry campaign would be vetting these records BEFORE posting them on the internet? Sh*t, they've had enough time to SANITIZE the records, you'd think they could at least get the dates right!
32
posted on
04/23/2004 4:34:03 AM PDT
by
Tallguy
(Cannot rate this Reserve Freepers fitness: Not observed on this thread.)
To: Dog
AAaaahhh!!! I hope so!
33
posted on
04/23/2004 4:34:08 AM PDT
by
steveyp
To: Dog
John Kerry's Service Record (according to his website)...
View John Kerry's official naval records by clicking here.
View John Kerry's after-action combat reports by clicking here.
View The Command History for Coastal Division 11 for 1969
John Kerry volunteered for service in the Navy during the Vietnam War, where he served as skipper of a Swift Boat.
Lt. Kerry was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star with V, three awards of the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
He is a cofounder of the Vietnam Veterans of America and a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Kerry is also a member of the NamVets Association, the SWIFT Boat Sailors Association, and is the honorary co-chair of the United States Navy Memorial Foundation, a Corporate Council Member of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and sits on the Advisory Council for the Library of Congresss Veterans History Project.
In the years since Kerry returned from Vietnam, he has stood up for veterans and the issues of importance to veterans, like mandatory funding for VA healthcare, and concurrent receipt. John Kerry has made it his life's work to remind politicians that the first definition of patriotism is how a grateful nation treats its veterans.
John Kerry's Vietnam Service Record:
February 18, 1966 Kerry formally enlists in the U.S. Navy
August 22, 1966 Kerry reports for Naval Officer Candidate School at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island
December 16, 1966 Kerry receives commission as an Ensign
January 3, 1967 Kerry reports for duty at the Naval Schools Command at Treasure Island (CA)-Takes 10 week Officer Damage Control Course
March 22, 1967 Reports to U.S. Fleet Anti-Air Warfare Training Center (CA). Receives training as a Combat Information Center Watch Officer.
June 8, 1967 Kerry reports to USS Gridley-serves in several capacities
February 9, 1968 USS Gridley departs for a Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment, to engage in operations in support of the Vietnam War. Ship spends time in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam, at Subic Bay in the Philippines and in Wellington, New Zealand
February 10, 1968 Kerry requests duty in Vietnam He lists his first preference for a position as an officer in charge of a Swift Boat (designated PCF for Patrol Craft Fast), his second as an officer in a patrol boat (designated PBR, for Patrol Boat River) squadron
May 27, 1968 USS Gridley sets sail for the US
June 6, 1968 Kerry arrives in Long Beach the day after Senator Robert F. Kennedy is killed in Los Angeles
June 16, 1968 Kerry promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade
July 20, 1968 Kerry leaves Gridley for specialized training at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, CA in preparation for service as commander of a Swift Boat. These unarmored, but heavily armed, fifty foot aluminum hulled patrol boats depended on speed and agility when engaging the enemy.
November 17, 1968 Upon completion of his training, Kerry reports for duty to Coastal Squadron 1, Coastal Division 14, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam.
December 1968 through January 1969 Kerry commands PCF-44
December 2, 1968 Kerry experiences first intense combat; receives first combat related injury.
December 6, 1968 Kerry moved to Coastal Division 11 at An Thoi on Phu Quoc Island
December 13, 1968 Kerry moved to Coastal Division 13, Cam Ranh Bay
December 24, 1968 Kerry involved in combat during the Christmas Eve truce of 1968. The truce was three minutes old when mortar fire exploded around Lieutenant Kerry and his five-man crew. Reacting swiftly, John Kerry and his crew silenced the machine gun nest
January 22, 1969 Kerry and other Swift boat commanders travel to Saigon for meeting with Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, Commander Naval Forces Vietnam (COMNAVFORV), and Gen. Creighton Abrams, Commander United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam (COMUSMACV)
Late January, 1969 Kerry joined his 5 man crew on PCF-94
Late January through Early March, 1969 Starting in late January 1969, this crew completed 18 missions over an intense and dangerous 48 days, almost all of them in the dense jungles of the Mekong Delta. Kerry's crew included engineman Eugene Thorson, later an Iowa cement mason; David Alston, then the crew's only African-American and today a minister in South Carolina; petty officer Del Sandusky of Illinois; rear gunner and quartermaster Michael Medeiros of California; and the late Tom Belodeau, who joined the crew fresh out of Chelmsford High School in Massachusetts. Others rotated in and out of the crew. The most intense action came during an extraordinary eight days of more than 10 firefights, remembered by Kerry's crew as the "days of hell."
February 20, 1969 Kerry and crew involved in combat; Kerry receives second combat injury Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a shrapnel wound in his left thigh.
February 28, 1969 For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Coastal Division ELEVEN engaged in armed conflict with Viet Cong insurgents in An Xuyen Province, Republic of Vietnam, on 28 February 1969. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry was serving as Officer in Charge of Patrol Craft Fast 94 and Officer in Tactical Command of a three-boat mission. As the force approached the target area on the narrow Dong Cung River, all units came under intense automatic weapons and small arms fire from an entrenched enemy force less than fifty-feet away. Unhesitatingly, Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry ordered his boat to attack as all units opened fire and beached directly in front of the enemy ambushers. The daring and courageous tactic surprised the enemy and succeeded in routing a score of enemy soldiers. The PCF gunners captured many enemy weapons in the battle that followed. On a request from U.S. Army advisors ashore, Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry ordered PCFs 94 and 23 further up river to suppress enemy sniper fire. After proceeding approximately eight hundred yards, the boats again were taken under fire from a heavily foliated area and B-40 rocket exploded close aboard PCF-94; with utter disregard for his own safety and the enemy rockets, he again ordered a charge on the enemy, beached his boat only ten feet from the VC rocket position, and personally led a landing party ashore in pursuit of the enemy. Upon sweeping the area an immediate search uncovered an enemy rest and supply area which was destroyed. The extraordinary daring and personal courage of Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry in attacking a numerically superior force in the face of intense fire were responsible for the highly successful mission. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
March 13, 1969 For heroic achievement while serving with Coastal Division ELEVEN engaged in armed conflict with Viet Cong communist aggressors in An Xuyen Province, Republic of Vietnam, on 13 March 1969. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry was serving as Officer in Charge of Patrol Craft Fast 94, one of five boats conducting a SEA Lords operation in the Bay Hap River. While exiting the river, a mine detonated under another Inshore Patrol Craft and almost simultaneously, another mine detonated wounding Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry in the right arm. In addition, all units began receiving small arms and automatic weapons fire from the river banks. When Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry discovered he had a man overboard, he returned upriver to assist. The man in the water was receiving sniper fire from both banks. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain and with disregard for his safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry then directed his boat to return and assist the other damaged boat to safety. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerrys calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry is authorized to wear the Combat V.
March 17, 1969 The policy of Coastal Squadron One, the swift boat command, was to send home any individual who is wounded three times in action. After sustaining his third wound from enemy action in Vietnam, Kerry was granted relief under this policy.
Early April, 1969 Kerry departs Vietnam
April 11, 1969 Kerry reports for duty at the Military Sea Transportation Service, U.S. Atlantic Fleet in Brooklyn, NY.
January 1, 1970 Kerry promoted to (full) Lieutenant
January 3, 1970 Kerry requests discharge
March 1, 1970 Kerrys date of separation from Active Duty
April 29, 1970 Kerry listed as Registrant who has completed service
[Source: Boston Globe, John Kerry, the Making of a Candidate, 6/15/03-6/21/03; Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley, Published by William Morrow 2003; Selective Service System, National Headquarter]
34
posted on
04/23/2004 4:37:26 AM PDT
by
kcvl
To: Destro
Add Boston Globe to the list. lol
35
posted on
04/23/2004 4:37:32 AM PDT
by
#3Fan
(Kerry to POW-MIA activists: "You'll wish you'd never been born.". Link on my homepage.)
To: Oldeconomybuyer
As my ole Buddy Gomer sez:
SUPRIRZE! SURPRIZE!
36
posted on
04/23/2004 4:37:39 AM PDT
by
DeaconRed
(It's Only Rock and Roll, But I love it. . . . .)
To: governsleastgovernsbest
But it's clear they really don't like the guy.
Or, perhaps, they do like the guy and this is an innoculation move.
37
posted on
04/23/2004 4:37:44 AM PDT
by
pt17
To: Dog
Whoa, doggie...! Thanks for the ping...this is good.
38
posted on
04/23/2004 4:39:39 AM PDT
by
EllaMinnow
("Pessimism never won any battle." - Dwight D. Eisenhower)
To: Oldeconomybuyer
Maybe he got Peck's Purple Heart too?
39
posted on
04/23/2004 4:43:10 AM PDT
by
Schnucki
To: pt17
Thanks getting a little too complicated for me. I've heard outside sources flatly state that the powers that be at the Globe really don't like Kerry, and that in general he is not beloved in his home state.
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